Dan Dan Noodles ~ Easy Weeknight Recipe

I’ve made a lot of noodle bowls over the years, and this is still one of the best things to come out of my kitchen. It has everything I want in a weeknight dinner ~ big flavor, great texture, and very little work. Best of all, my version lands on the table in about 30 minutes.

Dan Dan noodles started as Sichuan street food

Dan Dan noodles (dan dan mian) come from Sichuan, China. The name refers to the carrying poles once used by street vendors, who balanced baskets of noodles and sauce from either end as they moved through the streets. There are lots of versions, but the flavors you see again and again are wheat noodles, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorns, seasoned ground pork, and often sui mi ya cai, finely chopped preserved mustard greens.

One detail I love: the sauce traditionally goes into the bottom of the bowl, with the noodles and toppings piled over it. You toss everything together just before eating, pulling that spicy, nutty sauce up through the noodles.

My recipe keeps the Sichuan flavor, skips the specialty shopping

This is my weeknight version, so I’ve made a few practical swaps. I use dried noodles instead of fresh, prepared chili oil instead of making it from scratch, and tahini in place of Chinese sesame paste. I leave out the preserved mustard greens, which gives you one less specialty ingredient to track down.

It’s creamier and more streamlined than a traditional Chengdu-style bowl, but the combination that hooked me in the first place is all here ~ chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn, crisp pork, chewy noodles, and that rich sesame sauce.

That famous Sichuan tingle is called málà

If you’ve never cooked with Sichuan peppercorns, this is the recipe that makes their whole point clear. They aren’t hot in the same way chiles are. They have a bright, citrusy flavor followed by a tingling, gently numbing sensation on your lips and tongue.

In Sichuan cooking that combination is called málà: má is the tingle from Sichuan peppercorns and là is the heat from chiles. The tingle comes largely from a compound called hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, which activates touch-sensitive nerves in your mouth. That’s why Sichuan peppercorn feels so different from ordinary chile heat.

The everyday ingredients behind my 30-minute version

• Sichuan peppercorns ~ these give Dan Dan noodles their signature citrusy tingle. They’re not really peppercorns at all, but the dried husks of berries from the prickly ash family.
• Chinese chili oil ~ use one you like because it’s a major part of the sauce. Look for a pourable oil with plenty of red chile sediment in the jar. My homemade chili oil works beautifully here, too.
• Tahini ~ this is my easy stand-in for Chinese sesame paste. Chinese sesame paste is made from toasted sesame seeds, so it’s darker and roastier; tahini is lighter but gives this quick sauce the creamy body I want.
• Ground pork ~ keep cooking it after the pink is gone, until the seasoning liquid evaporates and you get dark, crisp little bits. That’s where so much of the flavor comes from.
• Wheat noodles ~ fresh Chinese wheat noodles are classic, but dried wheat or ramen-style noodles make this an easy pantry dinner. I like a noodle with some chew rather than something very soft or delicate.
• Baby bok choy + scallions ~ I blanch them right in the noodle pot at the end, so you get fresh greens without another pan.

If you ever want to take this version one step closer to the Sichuan original, look for sui mi ya cai at a Chinese market or online. Those salty, savory preserved mustard greens add another layer of flavor, but I still love this recipe without them.

Fresh noodles are traditional ~ dried ramen keeps this recipe easy

Dan Dan noodles are traditionally made with thin or medium Chinese wheat noodles. Fresh noodles are great if you have access to them, but I use dried Japanese ramen noodles here because they’re easy to keep on hand and have the firm, springy texture I want.

Other dried Chinese wheat noodles work well, too, and thin spaghetti will get dinner on the table in a pinch. Whatever you use, cook the noodles just until tender ~ they’ll soften a little more once they’re tossed with the sauce.

Three small moves make this recipe much better

• Get the pork truly crisp. Let the seasoning liquid cook away and keep going until you have browned, almost bacon-y bits.
• Save the noodle water. A splash loosens the sesame sauce so it coats the noodles instead of sitting heavily at the bottom of the bowl. I also use it to scrape all those browned pork bits from the skillet.
• Give the greens a quick dunk. Bok choy and scallions only need the last minute or so in the noodle pot. They stay bright and give the bowl some fresh crunch against the rich sauce.

Dan Dan noodles make great leftovers

This is one noodle dinner that reheats surprisingly well. The sauce thickens in the refrigerator, so add a small splash of water before microwaving and toss everything well once it’s hot. The leftovers may not be quite as pretty as that first bowl, but they’re every bit as satisfying.

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Dan Dan Noodles

4.90 from 49 votes

My favorite Chinese takeout-style noodles, made weeknight-easy with chewy noodles, crispy pork, tender greens, and a creamy sesame sauce.

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Prep Time:15 minutes minutes

Cook Time:15 minutes minutes

Total Time:30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

pork

• 1 tsp cooking oil
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 2 tsp Hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp Mirin
• 1 tsp Tamari soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder

noodles

• 9 ounce package dried ramen noodles, I use Hakubaku

sauce

• 2 Tbsp tahini, an easy-to-find stand-in for Chinese sesame paste.
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder
• 1/2 tsp ground sichuan peppercorns (I did this in my coffee/spice grinder)
• 1/3 cup chili oil, chili oils vary enormously in heat. Mine is mild enough to use the full 1/3 cup; if yours is fiery, start with 2 tablespoons and add more to taste.
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

veggies

• 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 or 3 baby bok choy, trimmed and sliced lengthwise

garnish

• chopped peanuts

Instructions

• Set a large pot of water to boil on the stove.
• Put the oil in a skillet and heat on medium high. Brown the pork, breaking it apart into crumbles as it cooks. When it has cooked through, add the Hoisin, Mirin, soy and spice powder and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated and the meat is nice and crispy. Remove the meat to a plate.
• Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, this is usually just a few minutes. At the last minute, add the greens to the boiling water. Reserve about a cup of the cooking water, then drain.
• Add 1/3 cup of the cooking water to the pork skillet, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom, off the heat.
• Whisk the sauce ingredients to combine. Note: you're not cooking the sauce, just mixing it. Taste to adjust any of the ingredients to your liking. Add a little more noodle water if you like it thinner. Divide the sauce equally between 4 bowls.
• Top the sauce with the noodles and wilted veggies. Then spoon the crispy pork over top.
• Garnish with chopped peanuts. Toss the noodles with the sauce before eating.

Notes

Feel free to double the sauce recipe of you like your bowls a little saucier.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese/American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: 30 minute, Chinese, dinner, ground meat, noodle bowl, noodles, pork

Nutrition

Calories: 679 kcal · Carbohydrates: 49 g · Protein: 20 g · Fat: 45 g · Saturated Fat: 12 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 6 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 25 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 41 mg · Sodium: 2261 mg · Potassium: 383 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 2594 IU · Vitamin C: 28 mg · Calcium: 116 mg · Iron: 5 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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