Dan Dan Mian

This is one of the recipes I’m proudest of. My sister and I spent years trying to find a version of dan dan mian (担担面) that resembled the one from our childhood. It was always too saucy and meaty, and too similar to another Chinese noodle dish called zhajiangmian. For me, the perfect dan dan mian is a small bowl of sesame paste-slicked noodles with a sprinkling of crispy pork. Fragrant with Sichuan pepper, dried chillies and ya cai (Sichuan pickled vegetable), th