Dan Dan Noodles
This is one of my favorite dishes to serve and order at restaurants. The dish is served un-mixed, with pristine white noodles laying under a saucy pork serving and veggies decorating the side of the dish. The eater then gets to excitedly mix this dish together and watch the noodles get thick with spicy sesame + chili oil sauce— and probably get a stain or two on their shirt, especially if they’re like me and bravely wearing a white shirt while eating this dish. It’s spicy, savory, sesame goodness smothered carbs.
What I also love about this dish, is you can really season and flavor it as your own. I added some Taiwanese flair to mine, but this dish is yours to mix + match!

Ingredient list
For the noodles and topping
Your choice of noodles, we usually choose a dried white noodle for this dish
Vegetable for health if desired, we like bok choy with this dish
Crushed peanuts (you can crush with a little sugar if you like!)
Chopped scallions
For the pork marinade
Black pepper to taste
1 lb ground pork
1 tbsp sweet bean sauce
1 tbsp shao xing wine
1 tsp black rice vinegar
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp five spice
1/4 tsp ginger powder
2 star anise (optional)
1/2 Chinese cinnamon stick (optional)
1-2 tbsp of chopped pickled chinese vegetables like mustard greens (suan cai), preserved mustard (zha cai) (optional)
If you love spice, you can throw in a couple of chopped bird’s eye chilis
For the dan dan sauce
1/2 tsp crushed sichuan peppercorns
1.25 tbsp sesame paste
3-4 garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp five spice
2-3 tbsp chili oil (alter to your liking)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar or pian tang (Chinese brown candy / sugar)
1/4 tsp ginger powder
Splash of noodle water if the sauce consistency is too thick
How to make it
Mix the pork with all of the marinade ingredients and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
Throw the pork + marinade into a wok on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, then simmer until the pork is golden brown in color.
If you’re adding veggies, you can stir-fry them with the pork or blanch them. Set aside.
Mix the dan dan sauce together.
And assemble meat, noodles, sauce + vegetables! You can add some crushed peanuts, chinese pickled vegetables and any additional chili oil on top! :)
X, Ewa