Café China’s Dan Dan Noodles

Name: Café China’s Dan Dan Noodles
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: asian, chinese
Ingredients: 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil; 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons); 3 whole star anise; 4 teaspoons red-pepper flakes; 2 teaspoons ground chile, such as cayenne; 2 teaspoons fennel seeds; 8 whole cloves; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil; 3/4 pound ground pork; 1/3 packed cup suimiyacai (Sichuan preserved mustard greens; see Tip); 2 tablespoons mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce (or regular soy sauce); 4 teaspoons Chinese sesame paste or tahini, whisked to combine; 4 teaspoons Maggi seasoning, or use soy sauce; 6 ounces snow pea shoots; 16 ounces fresh Shanghai-style wheat noodles, or other fresh noodles; Thinly sliced scallion greens, for garnish

Recipe from Shaoyan He

Adapted by Alexa Weibel

Updated Oct. 6, 2020

Café China’s Dan Dan Noodles — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(1,046)
Comments: Read comments

Also known as dan dan mian, these noodles have regional variations — you’re likely to find a peanut-laden, vegetarian version in Taiwan — but this recipe comes from Café China, a beloved Sichuan restaurant in New York City. Popularized in Chengdu, this dish takes its name from the Mandarin verb “dan,” which refers to how vendors once carried the ingredients, hanging from bamboo poles balanced on their shoulders. The dish builds on a complex chile sauce that is more rich and robust than fiery. Though the ingredient list is lengthy, the process is clear-cut: Get the water boiling for your noodles while you prepare the sauce. Sauté the pork, seasoned with suimiyacai (preserved mustard greens), boil your noodles, and dinner is served. —Alexa Weibel

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Chile Oil

½cup canola or vegetable oil
1(2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
3whole star anise
4teaspoons red-pepper flakes
2teaspoons ground chile, such as cayenne
2teaspoons fennel seeds
8whole cloves
¼teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Dan Dan Noodles

1tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
¾pound ground pork
⅓packed cup suimiyacai (Sichuan preserved mustard greens; see Tip)
2tablespoons mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce (or regular soy sauce)
4teaspoons Chinese sesame paste or tahini, whisked to combine
4teaspoons Maggi seasoning, or use soy sauce
6ounces snow pea shoots
16ounces fresh Shanghai-style wheat noodles, or other fresh noodles
Thinly sliced scallion greens, for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to boil for the noodles.
Step 2
Prepare the chile oil: In a medium skillet, heat the ½ cup oil over high. Add the ginger, star anise, red-pepper flakes, ground chile, fennel seeds, cloves and cinnamon to a medium heatproof bowl. Once the oil is shimmering, about 3 to 5 minutes, pour it over the spices. (The mixture will bubble vigorously.) Set aside for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing to extract as much seasoned oil as possible. Makes ⅓ cup chile oil.
Step 3
Prepare the pork: In a wok or nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil over high. Add the pork and cook, breaking it up the pork and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the suimiyacai and stir quickly until just combined. Set aside. (The goal here is simply to integrate the mustard greens; there is no need to cook them.)
Step 4
Once chile oil has cooled, whisk in the soy sauce, sesame paste and Maggi seasoning. Set out four individual serving bowls, and add 2 tablespoons of chile sauce to each.
Step 5
Once the water boils, add the snow pea shoots to blanch just until wilted, about 1 minute, then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a bowl. Add noodles to the boiling water and cook until just softened and tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water just to cool slightly.
Step 6
Using tongs, divide the noodles and pea shoots among the bowls. (It’s OK if the noodles are dripping some water; a little extra moisture is ideal so the noodles remain glossy but not sticky.) Top each with pork mixture, sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve immediately.
Step 7
Mix the noodles to coat with chile sauce before eating, and serve with additional sauce at the table.

Tip

Intensely salty and tangy, canned or packaged suimiyacai can be found in many Asian markets.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,046 user ratings

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Comments

Cesar N4 years ago

This was a great recipe. I reduced the pepper flakes and cayenne as suggested here, but I wish I hadn’t. Given that you are largely infusing the oil and adding other ingredients, I would suggest making it as outlined in the recipe. As written, the recipe seems complex and has many step, but it is rather simple (a great thing). I would recommend making the sauce and setting it aside and then work on the pork and noodles, rather than trying to juggle so much at once.

Annie4 years ago

There is another recipe here in the NYT for Dan Dan Noodles and the author uses peanut butter instead of sesame paste. It seems to have good reviews on the whole. Obviously, you would need to leave out the sesame oil he uses. Hope that helps!

Henry4 years ago

Please feel free to make one and tell us all about it.

William1 month ago

It's insane how good this dish is. It's on my rotation of dishes to serve guests, and it gets rave reviews every time. I use tahini instead of the Chinese sesame paste. I find the tahini melds gorgeously with the other flavors and yields a more complex result than when using the paste.

Dee8 months ago

I added Sichuan peppercorns to the mix of spices for the chili oil, and momofuku dried wavy noodles because it’s what I had on hand. I also stir fried some bok choy in sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce and added that because I don’t have any Chinese preserved veggies. I really enjoyed it!

dan p8 months ago

Made pretty much to the recipe and it was better than expected. No mushroom soy or maggi so I used normal low sodium soy. Honestly, still a little salty. Used blanched bok choy as the veg. The cured mustard greens in the pork are a must. Next time I will add Szechuan peppercorns to the oil and replace a bit of the soy sauce with Worcestershire sauce as the sauce was a bit bland.

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