This dish is commonly served at street side stands in Chengdu, Sichuan (where I lived from 2014 to 2016), and is simply an amalgam of all the yummy sauces and flavors that adds up to Sichuanese food. It contains so many delicious ingredients that even if you’re missing a couple of them, the other ingredients more than make up for it.
Dan Dan Noodles
Serves 4
1 lb fresh Chinese noodles or ¾ lb dried Chinese noodles, cooked, drained, and rinsed in cold water
For the meat topping:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-2 teaspoons whole Sichuan pepper
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1-2 teaspoons ground red chili pepper
2 tablespoon Sichuan “ya cai” or other Chinese preserved vegetable
¼ lb ground beef or pork, preferably with 20% or more fat (ground turkey or ground meat substitute can also be used, but won’t be quite as crisp)
2 teaspoons regular soy sauce (Lee Kum Kee premium, Kikkoman, or Shoyu)
¼ teaspoon salt
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (or double the amount of peanut butter)
3 tablespoons peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
¼ cup to 1 cup chicken stock or water
1/3 cup regular soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted and crushed Sichuan peppercorn
1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
Sichuan-style chili oil, to taste
To garnish:
Minced scallion greens
Crushed roasted peanuts
Make the meat topping
Heat the oil in a wok on medium for 3-4 minutes. Add the red chili pepper, Sichuan pepper, and preserved vegetable and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the ground beef and stir for another 3-4 minutes, until browned and slightly crisp. Add the light soy sauce and salt, stir for another 1 minute and remove from heat.
Make the sauce
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame paste, peanut butter with ¼ cup of warmed chicken stock or water. (For a soupier noodle dish, use more chicken stock/water.) Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Combine it all
Divide the sauce into 4 bowls equally, add the cooked noodles, and add the beef topping and garnish. Serve immediately.