Sichuan Recipe
Dan Dan Noodles
Dan dan noodles are a Sichuan noodle dish built around chile oil, sesame paste, preserved vegetable, ground pork, Sichuan peppercorn, and a small amount of sauce.
Why this dish works
Dan dan noodles teach that a noodle dish can be intense without being soupy. The sauce should cling to the noodles and create a balance of heat, nuttiness, savoriness, and numbing aroma.
Recipe at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Serves | 2 |
| Time | 30 minutes |
| Core technique | Sauced noodle assembly |
| Heat level | Medium to hot |
| Best with | A cold cucumber dish or simple greens |
Ingredients
- 8 oz wheat noodles
- 4 oz ground pork, optional
- 1 tablespoon ya cai or other preserved vegetable, chopped
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste or tahini
- 1 tablespoon chile oil, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground toasted Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- Scallions for garnish
- Noodle water as needed
Method
- Cook noodles until just tender. Reserve a little noodle water.
- Cook pork in a skillet until browned. Add preserved vegetable, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine.
- Mix sesame paste, chile oil, vinegar, sugar, Sichuan peppercorn, and garlic.
- Loosen the sauce with a spoonful of hot noodle water.
- Toss noodles with sauce until coated.
- Top with pork mixture and scallions.
- Serve immediately and mix before eating.
Variations and substitutions
- Skip pork and use mushrooms for a vegetarian version.
- Use peanut butter if sesame paste is unavailable, though the flavor changes.
- Use rice noodles only as a nontraditional adaptation.
- Add blanched greens for a fuller bowl.