Dan Dan Mian

Thin wheat noodles in a trickle of deeply complex sauce (sesame paste, Sichuan doubanjiang, black vinegar, soy, numbing Sichuan pepper and chilli oil) topped with crisp minced pork and preserved vegetables. Small, fiery, and devastatingly layered: the street food that defined Sichuan's global reputation.

Origin: Chengdu, Sichuan, China

From the journey of Wheat.

Dan dan noodles (擔擔麵) take their name from the shoulder pole (担担, dàn dan) that street vendors used to carry their portable stoves and ingredients through the streets of Chengdu, beginning around 1841. The vendor would lower one end of the pole (a charcoal brazier with a wok) and ladle noodles directly into a customer's bowl. The dish became famous for its intense concentration: not a large bowl of soup, but a small, almost dry bowl of noodles with a measured intensity of sauce that builds with each bite. The Sichuan mala flavour, simultaneously numbing (麻) and hot (辣), is what makes dan dan mian unique in world noodle culture.

Ingredients

  • 400 g fresh thin wheat noodles or dried ramen-style noodles
  • 200 g minced pork
  • 60 g yacai (Sichuan preserved mustard greens)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • 4 tbsp chinese sesame paste (or tahini)
  • 2 tbsp doubanjiang (chilli bean paste)
  • 3 tbsp chilli oil
  • 1.5 tsp sichuan pepper, toasted and ground
  • 2 tbsp black vinegar
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • tbsp hot noodle cooking water
  • to garnish Spring onion, sliced

Method

  1. Cook the pork mince in a dry wok over high heat until crumbly and browned. Add yacai, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. Stir-fry until fragrant and slightly crispy. Set aside.
  2. Make the sauce: whisk together sesame paste, doubanjiang, chilli oil, Sichuan pepper, black vinegar, soy sauce and sugar until smooth.
  3. Cook noodles in boiling water according to package: al dente. Reserve a cup of the cooking water.
  4. Thin the sauce with 4–6 tbsp hot noodle water until pourable.
  5. Divide sauce between 4 bowls. Add drained noodles. Top with the pork mixture and a slick of chilli oil. Finish with spring onion and extra Sichuan pepper.
  6. Mix everything together at the table before eating.
The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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