Dan Dan Noodles (Spicy Sichuan Noodles, 担担面)

What are they made of

This scrumptious Sichuan speciality contains:

• A thick sauce made of Chinese sesame paste, chilli oil, ground Sichuan pepper, soy sauce, black rice vinegar, etc. It delivers a distinctive nutty, hot & numbing taste.
• Delicious toppings consisting of fried minced meat, preserved vegetables & fried peanuts/soybeans.
• Plain wheat flour noodles, sometimes accompanied by some leafy green vegetables.

Don’t let the length of the ingredient list scare you. They are what make this dish a wonder. It might take you some time to find all of them, but for a great finished taste, all these ingredients contribute.

Workflow

In terms of cooking, it’s quite straightforward. Follow three simple steps:

• Fry the toppings: Firstly fry peanuts or soybeans in oil. Then fry minced meat and preserved vegetable in the remaining oil.
• Mix the sauce: Thin Chinese sesame paste with water, then add chilli oil, ground Sichuan pepper & other seasonings.
• Cook the noodles: Cook noodles in boiling water. Blanch some leafy green vegetable at the end.

Voilà! Now you just need to put everything in serving bowls and give the noodles a good stir!

Make the toppings

The typical toppings for Dan Dan noodles include fried minced meat, some preserved vegetable and fried peanuts (you may use soybeans too). Here are some tips and substitute ideas for making delicious toppings.

How to fry the minced meat

Pork or beef mince are the two popular choices. However, you may use minced chicken too. Fry the meat in a little oil and season it with soy sauce, rice wine, preserved vegetable and chilli flakes.

When frying minced meat (particularly the machine ground one), you might find it clots easily. To solve this problem, I always mix raw meat with soy sauce and rice wine prior to frying. The liquid seasoning helps to loosen the mince.

Vegetarian alternatives

To make Dan Dan noodles vegetarian/vegan-friendly, you may replace the minced meat with mushrooms. Dried/fresh shiitake mushrooms or king oyster mushrooms does the job. Chop small and fry them the usual way.

Choices of preserved vegetables

Providing an aromatic, rich saltiness to dishes, preserved vegetables are commonly used in Chinese cuisine. Traditional recipes for Dan Dan noodles call for Yá cài/芽菜 which is preserved mustard greens. I use minced Yá cài (Suì Mǐ Yá cài/碎米芽菜) which is chopped into tiny pieces and very handy to use. You may find it in small plastic packages available in most Chinese stores.

Zhà cài/ 榨菜, aka preserved mustard stem, is a good alternative and more accessible. Usually, it comes in strips or slices. Remember to finely chop them prior to cooking.

Prepare the sauce

Making a tangy, exciting, additive sauce is the most important part of cooking Dan Dan noodles. Chinese sesame paste is a must (You find it in Classic Sesame Noodles). Its powerful fragrance, along with the Mala flavour (hot and numbing) created by chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorn, is the soul of Dan Dan noodles.

Chinese sesame paste & its substitutes

Made of toasted sesame seeds, Chinese sesame paste is a dark brown, semi-solid paste resembling the thick version of peanut butter. Not only does it give Dan Dan noodles a distinctive nutty aroma, it also contributes by thickening the sauce which coats the noodles very well.

I’ve seen some online resources suggesting that Chinese sesame paste/芝麻酱 can be replaced by tahini. This is misleading. Chinese sesame paste is made of toasted, whole sesame seeds, whereas tahini uses raw, hulled sesame seeds (sometimes lightly toasted). They have very different tastes and thus, are not interchangeable.

If you have a hard time finding Chinese sesame paste, read my post “Chinese sesame paste & 3 substitute ideas” and try one of the options. 

Unlike peanut butter, Chinese sesame paste has a very thick consistency. You need to thin it with some water to achieve a smooth, semi running texture.

Make your own Chinese chilli oil

The hotness of Dan Dan noodles comes from chilli oil which is also called Red Oil/红油 in Sichuan cuisine. You would find many types of Chinese chilli oil in Asian stores and they vary a lot in terms of flavour. 

I highly recommend you make your own chilli oil for Dan Dan noodles. It’s super aromatic but doesn’t interfere with other flavours of the dish like some shop-bought ones would do. Also, there isn’t any flavouring agents/preservatives involved and it’s very useful for many Sichuan dishes.

Use freshly ground Sichuan pepper

Regarding Málà (hot & numbing) dishes, one suggestion I always emphasize is grinding your own Sichuan pepper whenever possible. Its freshness and intense flavour would make your Dan Dan noodles stand out.

I’ve received many enquiries on this unique spice, particularly on how to avoid grittiness when grinding. Please refer to my post “Homemade Sichuan pepper powder” to learn how to grind Sichuan peppercorns correctly.

Noodle choices

Wheat flour-based noodles with round, thin shape are the most popular type used in Dan Dan noodles.

• Use shop-bought dried noodles, preferably the thin type, about 100g for a serving.
• Homemade alkaline noodles (ramen noodles) would work too.
• If you don’t have a noodle maker but still want fresh noodles, try either hand-rolled noodles or hand-pulled noodles.
• If you are looking for a gluten-free option, then use round rice noodles.

Make ahead & storage

You can make the sauce in advance or in bulk. It can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Just remember to leave out the minced garlic. Add it prior to serving.

I also like making a big batch of the toppings (fried meat & peanuts). Store them in air-tight containers in the fridge and consume with 4 days.