Dandan noodles

Alex hasn’t been feeling good, so he’s been on an Asian food adventure; but the easiest place around here is the freezer section. Well, this week I tried something I hadn’t had before, dandan noodles. They were the PF Chang’s cook it at home from the bag kind and it was some of the best noodle’s id ever had, so as usual I consulted my Asian expert also Alex on what they were and where it came from.

According to google and Alex, dandan noodles are a Chinese noodle dish that started out as a street food in Sichuan. They’d carry it around on bamboo poles holding baskets that held all their cookware and ingredients. It’s legit the first food cart and I think that’s awesome.

When cooking this at home you’ll probably need to go to a Chinese grocery or Asian market for the chili oil, sesame paste, msg, Szechuan peppercorns, noodles, and bok choy unless you live in a place where your Asian isle is awesome. If it is, please tell me where you live so I can come stock up. I hadn’t thought about it before but maybe I’ll try the Publix down the street and report back next week.

Now that we got all that info out of the way let get into the recipe. First, you’re going to marinate your ground pork in Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, salt, and five spice powder, and get your water boiling. Next mix up your sauce in a bowl, it’s going to be chili oil, light soy sauce, sesame paste, ground Sichuan peppercorns, give spice powder, sugar, and garlic. If you’re using msg put it in here. Next render down your meat in canola oil. Render meaning to cook on lower heat to cook the fat out and brown the meat to a deeper flavor. Once you’re done with the meat cook your noodles according to the package. While the noodles are cooking cut up and sauté your veggies in the oil from the pork. I like using Bok choy celery onion and some bell peppers, but you use what you’ve got. Add the sauce you made earlier and add the noodles when they’re done. Reserve the water in case you need it to loosen up the sauce. Once everything is combined top with peanut and scallions if you want and enjoy.

As always if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact me through email or comment below. Be Blessed!!