History of Dan Dan Noodles and how to make it

 

The origin of Dan Dan Noodles

Dan Dan Noodle is a traditional dish that was made popular in Sichuan consisting of noodles and a spicy sauce. Legend has it that there was a hawker who would carry a pole (dan) on his shoulders up and down the streets of Chengdu. Attached to each ends were baskets, one containing handmade noodles and the other containing the Dan Dan sauce. 

As his daily routine, the hawker would carry them through the streets, stopping for whoever wanted a bowl of his noodles. Since the noodles came at an extremely cheap price and was delicious, he was well-known and sought out by the locals. Today in Chengdu, a statue stands of the hawker with the pole and basketfuls of noodles and sauce on his shoulders to celebrate the man and his popular noodle dish.

Variations of Dan Dan Noodles

Stemming from that original Dan Dan Noodle recipe, we have seen many variations of this dish. Here in Vancouver, we've found that depending on the cuisine of the restaurant and the region of the cuisine, you will find that each one has their own take on the dish. Certain variations are more soup-based and have no meat and a lot more broth. One of our favourite variations of Dan Dan Noodle is made with a rich and savoury peanut sauce. The peanut sauce isn't quite broth, but it is soupier than the original Dan Dan Noodle recipe.

Dan Dan Noodles recipe

For us, this is a Dan Dan Noodle recipe that's quick to make and doesn't use a peanut sauce, but a sesame paste. In the Western world, we're familiar with a sesame paste called tahini. While they're similar, there are also slight differences between tahini and an Asian brand sesame paste. While tahini is a fine substitute, finding the Asian brand sesame paste will be more accurate to the flavour.

Come visit our store at Typical Noodles in Richmond today and pick up a pack of our noodles and try out the Dan Dan Noodle recipe for yourself.

FULL RECIPE BELOW.

Ingredients

For the meat topping

225g ground pork
1 pack of preserved mustard
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons Shaoxing Wine

For the sauce

2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder
1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
2 tablespoons sesame paste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chilli oil
1/4 cup hot water

For the noodles and garnish

1 pack of Typical Noodles Shanghai Noodles (thin)
1 chopped scallion for toppings (optional)
6-8 baby bok choy cut in half for garnish

Recipe

Serves: 2-3 people
Time: About 30 minutes

For making the meat topping

  1. In a medium pan or a wok, heat the oil over medium heat and brown the ground pork.

  2. Add the sweet bean sauce, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, and five spice powder. Stir it until everything is mixed well, then add the preserved mustard. Cook until all the liquid is evaporated.

For making the sauce

  1. Mix together all the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook on low to medium heat until it's warmed and everything is combined. When cooked, divide the sauce in bowls.

For making the noodles and the vegetables

  1. Boil some water and cook the bok choy first. Remove the bok choy from the boiling water

  2. Cook the noodles in the boiling water for 4-5 minutes and drain. Place the noodles on top of the sauce in the bowls.

  3. Add the meat topping and the bok choy on top of the noodles and serve.

 
Markus