Dan Dan Noodles

I think this recipe has every flavor your tongue can taste in it. Spicy chili oil, astringent and cooling Szechuan pepper, salty and bitter pickled greens, meaty pork, and just a hint of sweet and sour. Some of the ingredients may seem exotic, but many of them can be substituted with more common things. This recipe is easily scaled for however many people are eating and for individual tastes, as you add the seasoning to each bowl individually. I make lots of the pork topping and freeze it for later use, because the other items are in my cupboard all the time. It is based on this YouTUBE recipe.

Pork Mixture

1 lb. ground pork
1/2 c. Chinese pickled vegetable/cabbage
1/2 c. chopped bamboo shoots
salt

Brown the ground pork with a few pinches salt. Rinse the pickled vegetable and squeeze out the excess water. Chop finely. Add the vegetable and bamboo shoots and heat through. If you don’t have the pickled vegetable (you can find it in a can at the Asian store), add finely chopped cabbage or mustard greens and extra salt. Bamboo shoots can be omitted.

This recipe is for one bowl’s worth. To scale up to more bowls, just add the same thing to each bowl, accommodating for the eater’s taste.

1 bundle round noodles, typically wheat, though rice or yam would be good
1 c. hot chicken broth
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Chinese black vinegar or balsamic
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. black sesame paste or tahini mixed with 1 tsp. roasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp. ground Szechuan peppercorn
1 small clove garlic, crushed
dash of chili oil, to taste
sliced green onions for garnish

While boiling noodles, combine all sauce ingredients in each bowl. If you don’t have black sesame paste or tahini, peanut butter can be substituted. Adjust proportions until the broth in each bowl has the desired flavor. When the noodles are cooked, drain them and scoop into each bowl. Top with a pile of the pork mixture and some fresh green onions. Enjoy!