Dan dan noodles can be made with pork or beef 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.
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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
- 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 ready for serving and then I’d suggest cooking the noodles next as the hot noodle sauce will reheat them if they’ve cooled down. Make the meat topping last so that it’s hot and fresh.
- As noted above, dan dan noodles can be made with pork or beef mince. Give it a try with pork mince too.
- You’ll find a few other Chinese dishes within the recipe links below.
Other Recipes
You might also like to try:
Ingredients
For the 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 minced beef
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 100g cornichons or cocktail gherkins in vinegar, drained and finely diced
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
For the 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
For the 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
- Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions then drain and toss them through with some toasted sesame oil. Put to one side.
- To 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.
- Next make the noodle sauce. 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.
- Put the Sichuan peppercorns for the garnish 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, either divide the noodles between four bowls or leave in the wok, then ladle on the sauce and top with the stir-fry. 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.
Dan Dan Noodles
Ingredients
For the 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 minced beef
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 100g cornichons or cocktail gherkins in vinegar drained and finely diced
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
For the 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
For the 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
- Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions then drain and toss them through with some toasted sesame oil. Put to one side.
- To 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.
- Next make the noodle sauce. 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.
- Put the Sichuan peppercorns for the garnish 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, either divide the noodles between four bowls or leave in the wok, then ladle on the sauce and top with the stir-fry. 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
- 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 ready for serving and then I'd suggest cooking the noodles next as the hot noodle sauce will reheat them if they've cooled down. Make the meat topping last so that it's hot and fresh.
- As noted above, dan dan noodles can be made with pork or beef mince. Give it a try with pork mince too.
- You’ll find a few other Chinese dishes within the recipe links below.
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