Dan Dan Noodles

A Sichuan street-food classic: wheat noodles dressed in a sauce of sesame paste, chilli oil, black vinegar, and minced pork. Quick to cook once the sauce ingredients are assembled. Pairs with Lanzhou Beef Noodles and Wonton Soup to cover "chinese noodle soup" vocabulary. Also catches "spicy noodles" and "sesame noodles" queries.

Ingredients

• 200 g fresh or dried Chinese wheat noodles
• 150 g ground pork (pork mince)
• 2 tbsp ya cai (Yibin preserved vegetables) or finely chopped capers
• 3 tbsp tahini or Chinese sesame paste
• 2 tbsp chilli oil (with sediment)
• 1 tbsp black vinegar (Chinkiang)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• To serve: spring onion (scallion, green onion), roasted peanuts, Sichuan pepper

Method

1. Whisk sesame paste, chilli oil, black vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and a splash of warm water into a smooth sauce.
2. Brown ground pork (mince) in a hot wok with ya cai until crisp. Set aside.
3. Cook noodles per packet. Drain, reserving a ladleful of cooking water.
4. Toss noodles with sauce, adding cooking water to loosen if needed.
5. Top with pork, spring onion (scallion), peanuts, and a dusting of Sichuan pepper.

Tags: chinese, sichuan, spicy, 30min, noodles, dan dan mian, sesame noodles, chilli noodles, quick noodles, ground pork, mince, scallion, green onion, spring onion