Well, came across Dan Dan Mian over at Closet Cooking blog and once I made it we are now hooked and since then I've made it many times although I have altered it a little bit.
Dan Dan Noodles:
Sesame paste and/or peanut butter is sometimes added, and occasionally replaces the spicy sauce, usually in the American Chinese style of the dish. In American Chinese cuisine, dan dan mian is often sweeter, less spicy, and less soupy than its Sichuan counterpart. Sorce: Wikipedia
A nice tingly heat of the Szechuan peppercorns, although you can, of course, put in as much or little of them as you fancy.
Keep reading for a printer-friendly recipe card.
Dan Dan Noodles Recipe
Ingredients:
400g pork mince - be sure to get a low-fat (5%)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/2 a tablespoon of Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
a glug of vegetable oil
1 medium onion - very finely chopped
3 fat cloves of garlic - very finely chopped
fresh ginger - about 2 inches by 1 inch in size and then peeled and finely chopped
Mix together in a small bowl:
2 good heaped tablespoons of peanut butter
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark
2 teaspoons of chilli oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 heaped tablespoons chilli sauce (I use 'Maggi Extra hot') use less or more if you want
Toast and Grind:
2 tablespoons of Sichuan peppercorns
You will also need:
200ml chicken stock - made from 1/2 of a Knorr stock cube
about 400g of fresh egg noodles
a little oil and a little Ketjap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) to add to the noodles when stir-frying your noodles
To Serve:
a good handful of roasted unsalted peanuts - roughly chopped
3 spring onions - sliced
Method:
Start by lightly toasting the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan. Keep them moving so they don't burn - and they do burn very easily! Then remove from the pan, and then bash them up in a pestle and mortar then put to one side.
Get a bowl and add the pork mince, dark soy sauce and Shaoxing.
Now heat up a large frying pan and stir-fry the pork begins to brown. When it has, tip the pork and any juices into a clean bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, heat a glug of vegetable oil and add the onions. Cook until they're nice and soft but not coloured.
Now throw in the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute.
Pour in the mixture of peanut butter, light and dark soy sauce, oil and chilli sauce.
Almost straight away add in the toasted and ground peppercorns along with the chicken stock. Give it all a good stir and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Top Tip!
You can get the Szechuan peppercorns and Ketjap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) from either Sainsbury's or Waitrose.
Yield: 2-4

Dan Dan Mian - Dan Dan Noodles
If you like spicy food you will love this recipe. Your lips will tingle with the heat from the Sichuan peppercorns, but my guess is, if you do make it you'll soon be hooked!
ingredients:
- 400g pork mince - be sure to get a low-fat (5%)
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1/2 a tablespoon of Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
- a glug of vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion - very finely chopped
- 3 fat cloves of garlic - very finely chopped
- fresh ginger - about 2 inches by 1 inch in size and then peeled and finely chopped
- Mix together in a small bowl:
- 2 good heaped tablespoons of peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark
- 2 teaspoons of chilli oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 heaped tablespoons chilli sauce (I use 'Maggi Extra hot') use less or more if you want
- Toast and Grind:
- 2 heaped tablespoons of Sichuan peppercorns
- You will also need:
- 200ml chicken stock - made from 1/2 of a Knorr stock cube
- about 400g of fresh egg noodles
- a little oil and a little Ketjap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) to add to the noodles when stir-frying your noodles
- To Serve:
- a good handful of roasted unsalted peanuts - roughly chopped
- 3 spring onions - sliced
instructions:
How to cook Dan Dan Mian - Dan Dan Noodles
- Start by lightly toasting the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan. Keep them moving so they don't burn; they do burn very easily and will taste bitter if they do.
- Remove from the pan, and then bash them up in a pestle and mortar then put to one side.
- Get a bowl and add the pork mince, dark soy sauce and Shaoxing.
- Now heat up a large frying pan and stir-fry the pork begins to brown. When it has, tip the pork and any juices into a clean bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan, heat a glug of vegetable oil and add the onions. Cook until they're nice and soft but not coloured.
- Now throw in the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute.
- Pour in the mixture of peanut butter, light and dark soy sauce, oil and chilli sauce.
- Almost straight away add in the toasted and ground peppercorns along with the chicken stock.
- Give it all a good stir and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
I am longing for this dish now after looking over your photos.
ReplyDeletethis looks really good!!
ReplyDeleteBeen playing catch up here today Jan. You have been cooking some delicious food in my absence!! This looks fabulous. I have not seen Jamie's new cookbook. Will have to look that one up!
ReplyDeleteSweet, salty, crunchy soft, meaty.....I am running out of words here....yum, this looks deliciously comforting!!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I'm missing is the peanut butter - will have to try this one soon
ReplyDeleteMmm those noodles are my kind of food! Love everything in there, will definately be eating these soon!!
ReplyDeleteThis looked amazing. I'll be making this as soon as I get back home.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
This looks sooooo good!
ReplyDeleteYour dan dan mian looks so good! I am going to have to look for some of that ketjap manis to try on the noodle.
ReplyDelete