Simple Recipes for Every Day
Dan Dan Noodles

- Serves: 7
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fresh udon or yaki soba (or 1lb other dried asian noodles), cooked according to package instructions
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup dry sherry (or Chinese rice rice wine vinegar or red wine vinegar)
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 6 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, ground (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
- 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
Method
- Cook noodles according to package. Divide evenly in 4 bowls.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add pork, breaking it up into small bits, about 8 minutes. Once the pork is nearly cooked through add fresh ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Stir in the soy sauce, sherry, chicken stock, peanut butter, cinnamon, ground Sichuan peppercorns, sugar and chili paste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until sauce thickens, about 5-7 mins.
- Spoon equal amounts of pork sauce over cooked noodles and garnish with peanuts and scallions.
Notes: Some recipes use Chinese sesame paste. This tastes nothing like tahini, use peanut butter as a sub instead! We’re using peanut butter because our favorite local Chinese restaurant does and it’s crave worthy!
Notes: How to grind your peppercorns: Either use a mortar and pestle, roughly chop with a knife, coffee grinder or simply use a pepper grinder.
If you leave the peanut butter out, it is still a wonderful dish.