I am having a love affair with Fuchsia Dunlop’s cookbook The Food of Sichuan. It’s not my first time going down a rabbit hole with one of her books. Her recipes always deliver, and I wasn’t surprised to learn that her books sell well not only in her home country, England, but also in China. I’ve been wanting to make dan dan noodles as I imagine them in Sichuan for a long time—with the salty, fiery sauce on the bottom, noodles in the middle, and seasoned meat on the top so you get to play with tossing everything together. She has two recipes for dan dan noodles in The Food of Sichuan, but one that struck me as simple and delicious sounding was her variation on “Mr. Xie’s Dandan Noodles.” She writes, “The following is my own re-creation of a legendary and unique version of dandan noodles served in a tiny restaurant near Sichuan University… These noodles are not for the faint-hearted—they are shamelessly spicy, but utterly delicious.” I made it last night after stoping by Pacific Foods off of NE Glisan in Portland, Oregon to pickup some Tianjin preserved vegetable. It was the one hard-to-find ingredient in this recipe. You could replace it with other pickled mustard greens or omit it and suffer the very minor consequences. This will still be delicious!
These dan dan noodles were even more satisfyingly delicious than I’d imagined AND it took almost no time to make, which shocked me. I think this will enter my regular cooking rotation. I blanched raabs in the water before I boiled the noodles and they were a perfect side dish to cut the lip-smacking greasiness of this classic that deserves all the fame it receives. If Fuchsia Dunlop’s is a re-creation, then mine is even one step further removed—an adaptation of a re-creation. I hope you will make it your own.
Makes 3 servings
Topping
3 tablespoons neutral high heat oil (like sunflower)
3 dried Thai birds eye chilies, cut in half, seeds shaken our and discarded
1/2 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
1/2 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon Yibin yacai (pickled mustard stems) or Tianjin preserved vegetable (a salty napa cabbage like cabbage pickle), rinsed and squeezed dry, or other pickled mustard greens, chopped
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame paste (aka toasted tahini)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili oil
1 tablespoon sediment in chili oil jar
1/2 teaspoon ground roasted Sichuan pepper (I toasted the whole peppercorns in a try skillet until fragrant, about 1 minute, and then grind them in a mortar and pestle)
Assembly
12 ounces (1 package) Umi Organic fresh ramen noodles
3 green onions, thinly sliced at a diagonal
Handful cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped
Directions:
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium head. Add the chilis and stir until they are fragrant and start turning a little bit chestnut brown. Add the Sichuan peppercorns, cook about 30 seconds, and then add the beef. Cook, stirring frequently to break the beef into small pebble-sized pieces, until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Take off the heat. Add the Yibin Yacai, Tianjin preserved vegetable, or other pickled mustard green and stir well. Add the soy sauce, mix, and set aside. You will reheat this right before serving so leave it in the pan.
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.
Stir together all of the sauce ingredients until well combined, smooth, and a little runny. Add a heaping spoonful into each of three bowls. There should still be some sauce left. Leave this in case you want to season your noodles more later.
Tease apart noodles and add to boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes. Use a timer so you don’t cook them too long! Drain in a strainer. Rinse briefly under running water to remove any excess starch. Divide between three bowls, placing on top of the sauce.
Briefly reheat the beef topping until it’s piping hot, divide between the three bowls, and then top each with green onion and cilantro. Invite each eater to toss their bowl together to combine. Enjoy!
