Dan Dan Noodles

Name: Dan Dan Noodles
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 15 ml/1 tbsp groundnut/peanut oil; 5 ml/1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, finely ground; 45 g/1¾ oz/3 tbsp Sichuan pickled vegetables, chopped; 15 ml/1 tbsp Chinese wine or dry sherry; 15 ml/1 tbsp dark soy sauce; 10 ml/2 tsp yellow bean paste; 115 g/4 oz/½ cup minced/ground pork or beef, not too lean; 30 ml/2 tbsp fresh chilli paste or chilli oil; 15 ml/1 tbsp Xinkiang black vinegar; 30 ml/2 tbsp light soy sauce; 350 g/12 oz thin fresh wheat noodles (see Cook’s Tip); 4 spring onions/scallions, chopped

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

China

By Terry Tan

Published 2020

About

Of all the Sichuan street foods, this dish has probably the highest profile and is also the most well-travelled. It was originally sold by itinerant hawkers in Chengdu, and the name is believed to derive from the bamboo pole, or dan, slung across the hawkers’ shoulders. The dan held baskets at each end containing cooking paraphernalia such as a stove and other kitchen equipment. The hawkers announced their arrival by shouting ‘Dan dan mien!’