Dan Dan Noodles from Everyday Chinese Cookbook

These Dan Dan Noodles are simple to make and full of flavor! It’s one of the many great recipes in the newest Chinese cookbook in my collection!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve resolved to cook more Asian-inspired foods. Southeast Asian, Chinese, Japanese – you name it and I’ve wanted to explore the methods, spices and recipes much more. 

I repeatedly fall short of that goal, but every now and then something comes along that helps me out. I get back on track and we have a week or so filled with noodles, fried rice and five spice powder. 

This time that help came from Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cookbook. You might remember that I made the Spicy Thai Salad from her Everyday Thai Cooking back in 2013. I still enjoy that cookbook and find myself turning to it for quick and easy Thai dishes quite often. 

I was happy to get a copy of her new book to explore some easy ways to work more Chinese cooking into our weekly meals. The book contains 101 recipes from her mother. It’s really a cookbook to honor her mother which makes it timely for this weekend. 

Once again, this book is filled with really great recipes that have inspired me. It turns recipes that seem unachievable into something simple and flavorful. It has all your favorite Chinese dishes like Cashew Chicken and Beef with Broccoli, but there are also some that are more adventurous for the average cook to explore, like recipes for whole fish. There is also a chapter for vegetables and tofu dishes. 

I have wanted to try making Dan Dan Noodles for the longest time. I know it’s a pretty familiar dish for most people, but it’s one I’ve never taken the time to explore. Katie’s version was so easy to make and so delicious!

If you are interested in adding some more Chinese foods to your kitchen skill set, I’d definitely start with this book. I expect I’ll be using it often, every time I revisit that resolution to cook more Asian-inspired meals. 

From the book:

This is a quintessential homestyle Sichuan dish, with ground meat stir-fried in a chili-laced sesame vinegar sauce. Dan Dan Noodles are sinfully delicious and traditionally very spicy. I had these for the first time when my parents brought us to a Sichuan restaurant in New York as kids. We had never tasted anything so spicy, and we started crying (shaming our parents for rearing children with bland, Midwestern palates). Fortunately, we all grew up to be Sriracha junkies. The amount of chili oil in this recipe is for someone who doesn’t mind some heat, but feel free to adjust accordingly. The ground Sichuan Pepper adds a tingly heat to the noodles, and the Sichuan preserved vegetables add a slight bitter and sour edge to the dish. Both are optional, but they add surprising depth.

Serves 4 as a main course
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

8 oz (250 g) dried egg noodles or 12 oz (350 g) fresh egg noodles (page 140)

Sauce

2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons chicken stock, homemade (page 62) or store-bought
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons Chinese sesame paste or tahini
1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar or good quality balsamic vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons chili oil, homemade (page 25) or store-bought
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
¼ teaspoon five-spice powder
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (optional)

2 teaspoons oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 green onions (scallions), white and green parts separated, finely chopped
4 oz (100 g) ground pork or turkey
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or sherry
4 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons canned Sichuan preserved vegetables, finely chopped (optional)

1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook until almost al dente, about 5 minutes for dried noodles, 3 minutes for fresh. Drain well and set aside.

2 Make the sauce: In a small saucepan, bring the water and chicken stock to a boil. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and combine until blended. Remove from heat.

3 Distribute the noodles evenly among four bowls. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss to coat with the sauce. Set aside.

4 Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and green onions (white parts) and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ground pork and stir-fry until the meat is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add the rice wine or sherry and stir-fry for 1 minute more, then remove from heat.

5 Spoon the cooked meat mixture over the noodles. Garnish with the green onions (green parts), peanuts and Sichuan preserved vegetables, if using, and serve immediately.