Dan Dan Noodles

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Dan dan noodles can be made with beef or pork mince.   Most recipes I've seen are made with pork mince, however, this dan dan noodle recipe from Ching-He Huang's Chinese Food Made Easy recipe book is made using beef mince.   The recipe is available online on several sites - here's the link on the ITV website.  

This is the first time we've made it - we'd been looking through our book to get some ideas for what to have for Chinese New Year this year and decided to give it a try.    We're wondering why we haven't made it before...it was so good!   The flavours are delicious and very well balanced and go incredibly well together.

Info from Ching-He Huang

Ching-He provides the following information regarding dan dan noodles within the recipe book:

• This famed Sichuan dish originated in Chengdu; the name comes from the bamboo shoulder poles (dan) from which the noodle sellers suspended their stoves, noodles and sauces.  This is served as a quick solution to those in need of a snack – mah-jong players and gamblers wandering around the city at night – but she loves to serve small bowls of it as a starter to get the tastebuds going.   There are several versions, some spicier and some drier than others, but she likes more sauce and has added chicken stock.   Traditionally, this dish also uses preserved mustard greens or Tianjin preserved vegetables, but one day she didn’t have any and used pickled cornichons instead.

Tips

• Prepare and make ahead - the dish is very quick to cook so I'd highly recommend that you have all of the ingredients looked out and prepared beforehand.   The noodle base and sauce can be made in advance and either kept warm on the low heat or reheated gently when you need it.   The garnish can be made ahead, ready for serving.
• You’ll find a few other Chinese dishes within the recipe links below.

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Ingredients

Meat topping:

• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
• 1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 250g beef or pork mince
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 100g cornichons or cocktail gherkins in vinegar, drained and finely diced
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

Noodle base and sauce:

• 500g any wheat flour noodles (I used medium egg noodles)
• toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame paste, or tahini blended with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp chilli oil
• 750ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Garnish:

• 1 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 large spring onion, finely chopped
• fresh coriander - a small handful, leaves and stalks finely chopped
• 1 tsp chilli oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

1. Make the noodle base and sauce first - put the sesame paste or blended tahini, the chilli oil and vinegar into a small wok or pan, add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low while you cook the noodles and make the meat topping and garnish.
2. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions then drain and toss them through with some toasted sesame oil. Put to one side.
3. Now make the meat topping, heat a wok over a high heat and add the groundnut oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the minced beef. As the beef starts to turn brown, add the rice wine or sherry and cook for a few seconds. Stir in the cornichons or gherkins and cook until fragrant, then season with the soy sauce and keep on a very low heat.
4. For the garnish, put the Sichuan peppercorns into a small pan and dry roast until fragrant, then remove from the heat and crush in a pestle and mortar, or place in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin
5. To serve, divide the noodles between four bowls, then ladle on the sauce and top with the meat. Garnish with the Sichuan peppercorns, spring onion and coriander. Drizzle chilli oil over the dish, add a drizzle of sesame oil to taste around the edge of the sauce and serve immediately, with extra chilli oil if you like.

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Dan Dan Noodles

Deborah

Can be made with beef or pork mince. The flavours are delicious and very well balanced and go incredibly well together.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

Meat topping:

• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 cloves garlic crushed and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
• 1 medium red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
• 250g beef or pork mince
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 100g cornichons or cocktail gherkins in vinegar drained and finely diced
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

Noodle base and sauce:

• 500g any wheat flour noodles I use medium egg noodles
• toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame paste or tahini blended with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp chilli oil
• 750ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Garnish:

• 1 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 large spring onion finely chopped
• fresh coriander - a small handful leaves and stalks finely chopped
• 1 tsp chilli oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

 

• Make the noodle base and sauce first - put the sesame paste or blended tahini, the chilli oil and vinegar into a small wok or pan, add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low while you cook the noodles and make the meat topping and garnish.
• Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions then drain and toss them through with some toasted sesame oil. Put to one side.
• Now make the meat topping, heat a wok over a high heat and add the groundnut oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the minced beef. As the beef starts to turn brown, add the rice wine or sherry and cook for a few seconds. Stir in the cornichons or gherkins and cook until fragrant, then season with the soy sauce and keep on a very low heat.
• For the garnish, put the Sichuan peppercorns into a small pan and dry roast until fragrant, then remove from the heat and crush in a pestle and mortar, or place in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin
• To serve, divide the noodles between four bowls, then ladle on the sauce and top with the meat. Garnish with the Sichuan peppercorns, spring onion and coriander. Drizzle chilli oil over the dish, add a drizzle of sesame oil to taste around the edge of the sauce and serve immediately, with extra chilli oil if you like.

Notes

• Prepare and make ahead - the dish is very quick to cook so I'd highly recommend that you have all of the ingredients looked out and prepared beforehand.   The noodle base and sauce can be made in advance and either kept warm on the low heat or reheated gently when you need it.   The garnish can be made ahead, ready for serving.
• You’ll find a few other Chinese dishes within the recipe links below.

 

You might also like to try:

• Chinese

Keyword beef mince, black rice vinegar, chilli oil, Chinese Food Made Easy, ching he huang, dan dan noodles, egg noodles, light soy, pork mince, sesame oil, shaoxing, tahini