China · Cereal and Pasta Dishes
Dan Dan Noodles
Wheat noodles dressed in a sauce built from sesame paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, and chili oil, topped with pork mince cooked until slightly crispy and a scattering of crushed peanuts.
Ingredients
- wheat noodles400 g
- ground pork300 g
- vegetable oil1 tbsp
- soy sauce2 tbsp
- Shaoxing wine1 tbsp
- dark soy sauce1 tsp
- Chinese sesame paste4 tbsp
- chili oil3 tbsp
- soy sauce2 tbsp
- Chinese black vinegar1 tbsp
- Sichuan peppercorn, toasted and ground1 tsp
- sugar1 tsp
- garlic cloves3
- hot noodle cooking water180 ml
- crushed roasted peanuts2 tbsp
- scallion stalks2
- baby bok choy or spinach200 g
Method
- 1Cook the pork first: heat oil in a wok or pan over high heat. Add the pork and press into a single layer. Leave untouched 1–2 minutes until the bottom browns and crisps. Then break apart and stir-fry, adding soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and dark soy sauce. Cook until the liquid evaporates and the pork is deeply brown and slightly crunchy at the edges — about 8 minutes total. Set aside.
- 2Build the sauce in each serving bowl — not in a pan. Per bowl: 1 tablespoon sesame paste, thinned with a tablespoon of hot water first until smooth. Then add chili oil, soy sauce, black vinegar, ground Sichuan pepper, sugar, and minced garlic. Stir to combine. The sauce should be liquid enough to coat noodles but not watery.
- 3Cook the noodles according to package directions. Reserve 180 ml of noodle cooking water. In the last 30 seconds, add the bok choy or spinach to the boiling noodle water and blanch briefly. Drain everything.
- 4Add 2–3 tablespoons of the hot noodle water to each bowl of sauce and stir — this loosens the sesame paste and warms the sauce at the same time. Add the drained noodles and vegetables on top.
- 5Spoon the crispy pork over the noodles. Scatter with crushed peanuts and green onion. Bring to the table and toss everything together right before eating — the sauce should coat every noodle completely. Adjust chili oil and vinegar at the table.