Dan Dan Noodles
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These Dan Dan Noodles are my interpretation of the most famous Sichuan street foods! Freshly boiled noodles served with a really spicy and savory sauce, crispy pork, bok choy and finally topped with some crushed peanuts. Stir everything together until the noodles are fully covered in this magical sauce, and all that’s left to do is to slurp away!
Dan Dan Noodles
I love experimenting with dishes from other countries and one of my favorite cuisines besides Italian is Asian, which is probably why you’ll see quite a few Asian dishes here on the blog. If you’re a fan of spicy Asian food, then you’re guaranteed to love these Dan Dan Noodles.
This dish is all about the layering of all the components. You first start off with a spicy, fiery red chili sauce, followed by freshly boiled noodles and topped with marinated stir fried pork with preserved mustard greens (Sui MI Ya Cai). Finally, you top off the noodles with some crushed peanuts and green onions. If you want more spice, you can throw in some more of the Sichuan red pepper powder.
I, for one, am not someone who can handle really spicy foods, though I’ve tried to teach myself over the years to eat spicier and spicier. It’s worked a bit, but I haven’t really gotten too far. But this is what I love about this dish, you can add as much or as little of the fiery sauce as you like.
While the list of ingredients may look slightly long, once everything is prepped and ready to go, this Dan Dan Noodles dish is quite easy and quick to make.
Ingredient Notes
Dan Dan Sauce
- Tahini – I prefer to use a toasted sesame tahini, but regular tahini works too.
- Soy Sauce – I’m using both regular soy sauce (low sodium) and dark soy sauce. The dark soy sauce is to really add a darker color to the sauce so if you don’t have it, you can skip it.
- Chili Oil – I love this chili oil, it’s a bright red color and it’s spicy. You can find this in any Asian grocery store.
- Chili Sauce – I just used my favorite, Sambal Oelek but there are other brands you can use.
- Sichuan Pepper Powder – This is one of the key ingredients in this dish and it’s quite unique. It actually induces a tingling numbness when you eat it, rather than a fiery heat. This can also be found in all Asian stores.
Pork
- Pork – You’ll need some ground pork for that authentic Dan Dan Noodle dish but can be substituted with ground beef or chicken.
- Hoisin Sauce – This is a fermented soybean paste and it’s salty and sweet, similar to an American style Barbecue sauce. You can substitute this with Teriyaki sauce.
- Ginger and Garlic – Essential flavor enhancers.
- Shaoxing Wine – It’s a Chinese rice wine found in all Asian stores.
- Soy Sauce – As usual, I like to use a low sodium soy sauce, but we only need a bit to add to the pork to marinate in.
- Sui Mi Ya Cai – Another key ingredient in this dish. Sui Mi Ya Cai is basically preserved mustard greens and they actually taste like a pickled vegetable. If you can’t find this, you can replace with some kimchi.
For Assembling The Dish
- Noodles – You can use any kind of white noodles here. I used ramen noodles, but fresh noodles are typically used. Other noodles that will work are udon, even spaghetti.
- Bok Choy – Or other Chinese greens.
- Garnish – Green onions and crushed peanuts.
- Chicken Broth – You’ll want some hot chicken broth to add to mix with the sauce.
How To Make Dan Dan Noodles
- Make the Dan Dan sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Prep the pork: In a bowl add ground pork, garlic, Hoisin sauce, ginger, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and mix well. Let the pork marinate for 10 minutes.
- Cook the pork: Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet. Add the pork mixture and cook until the pork is no longer pink and starts to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the Sui Mi Ya Cai and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Cook the noodles and bok choy: Cook the noodles according to package directions. Remove noodles from pot and in the same water add the bok choy and cook for 1 minute.
- Assemble the dish: In each serving bowl, ladle ¼ of the Dan Dan sauce. Place noodles on top of the sauce, add some of the blanched bok choy, top with about ¼ of the pork mixture, and pour about ¼ cup of the hot chicken broth. Garnish with chopped green onions and peanuts or sesame seeds. Mix everything well until all the noodles are coated in the sauce and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Dan Dan Noodles?
“Dan Dan” refers to the type of carrying pole that street vendors would use to sell dishes to people. It actually translates to “noodles carried on a pole”.
Are Dan Dan Noodles spicy?
Yes, this dish is supposed to be really spicy and it’s supposed to be served as a hot dish. The spice level is meant to warm up your body. However, since you’re making it yourself, you can add as much or as little of the spicy, fiery sauce as you wish.
What if I can’t find Sui Mi Ya Cai?
I actually get mine from Amazon but if you can’t find it, you can skip it or use kimchi instead.
Some Tips
- When assembling the dish, add as much or as little of the spicy sauce that you can handle. Your dish, your rules. While this dish is quite spicy as it’s written, it’s not extremely spicy.
- Note that we’re only using a small amount of ground pork because it’s just added as a topping rather than making this a meat dish, however it is quite tasty, so if you wish to double it, you can.
- Sui Mi Ya Cai is a preserved mustard greens ingredient and can be found in all Asian stores or on Amazon. If you can’t find it, you can skip it or simply replace it with kimchi.
- Sichuan Pepper can be replaced with white pepper, but it’s quite unique as it induces a tingling numbness when you eat it, rather than a fiery heat.
- Use any type of white noodles you have, I used ramen, but udon, or any fresh white noodles are great here.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Dan Dan Noodles
Video
Ingredients
For Dan Dan Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons tahini (preferably with toasted sesame seeds)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons chili oil
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce (such as Sambal Oelek)
- 2 teaspoons Sichuan pepper powder (or toasted Sichuan peppercorns and ground)
For Pork
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 ounces Sui Mi Ya Cai ((preserved mustard greens))
To Assemble
- 1 pound fresh noodles (such as Chinese egg noodles, ramen, or spaghetti)
- 2 bunches bok choy (or spinach)
- 1 green onions (chopped)
- 1 cup chicken broth (hot)
- 1 tablespoon peanuts (crushed, or sesame seeds)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Make the Dan Dan sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Prep the pork: In a bowl add ground pork, garlic, Hoisin sauce, ginger, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and mix well. Let the pork marinate for 10 minutes.
- Cook the pork: Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet. Add the pork mixture and cook until the pork is no longer pink and starts to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the Sui Mi Ya Cai and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Cook the noodles and bok choy: Cook the noodles according to package directions. Remove noodles from pot and in the same water add the bok choy and cook for 1 minute.
- Assemble the dish: In each serving bowl, ladle ¼ of the Dan Dan sauce. Place noodles on top of the sauce, add some of the blanched bok choy, top with about ¼ of the pork mixture, and pour about ¼ cup of the hot chicken broth. Garnish with chopped green onions and peanuts or sesame seeds. Mix everything well until all the noodles are coated in the sauce and enjoy!
Notes
- When assembling the dish, add as much or as little of the spicy sauce that you can handle. Your dish, your rules. While this dish is quite spicy as it’s written, it’s not extremely spicy.
- Note that we’re only using a small amount of ground pork because it’s just added as a topping rather than making this a meat dish, however it is quite tasty, so if you wish to double it, you can.
- Sui Mi Ya Cai is a preserved mustard greens ingredient and can be found in all Asian stores or on Amazon. If you can’t find it, you can skip it or simply replace it with kimchi.
- Sichuan Pepper can be replaced with white pepper, but it’s quite unique as it induces a tingling numbness when you eat it, rather than a fiery heat.
- Use any type of white noodles you have, I used ramen, but udon, or any fresh white noodles are great here.
- Store Dan Dan noodles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This is so great! Jo, I love your blog. I have made many of your recipies and really appreciate your flare for delicious, hearty meals that anyone can make using fresh ingredients that really come through in the dish. Your recipies have helped me become more confident in the kitchen when I wasn’t feeling great about what I could produce. Great noodles…will be using your site for many more dishes and inspiration!
I’m so glad you like these noodles and happy to hear you’re enjoying my blog. Keep on cooking!
These Dan Dan noodles earned me rave reviews from my dinner guests! They were a snap to make, I doubled the batch bec I wanted leftovers but everyone went for seconds so the Tupperware stayed in the cupboard. LOL. I added mushrooms bec I love them and used kimchi.
Isn’t that the best compliment, when there are no leftovers!