Dan Dan Noodles Recipe

Easy Dan Dan Noodles (spicy Szechuan noodles)

Dan Dan Noodles (Dan Dan Mian) are spicy Sichuan noodles with pork in a fiery chilli sauce with peanut butter. 

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*Post updated January 2023

But seeing as there are hundreds of different recipes out there, how do you know which one to try?

Once I made Dan Dan Noodles for the very first time, we've been hooked ever since!

Dan Dan Mian - Dan Dan Noodles

Sesame paste and/or peanut butter is sometimes added, and occasionally replaces the spicy sauce, usually in the American Chinese style of the dish.

Apparently, in American Chinese cuisine, Dan Dan Mian is often sweeter, less spicy, and less soupy than its Sichuan counterpart.

A nice tingly heat of the Szechuan peppercorns, although you can, of course, put in as much or little of them as you fancy.

Equipment

If you don't have one already, you will need to buy a wok - you'll find them over on  Amazon or in any good supermarket.

It's probably worth spending a bit of money on a half-decent one as a cheap one won't last.

Sichuan Peppercorns

Used in Sichuan cooking and other popular Chinese dishes such as Kung Pao Chicken. It has a tongue-numbing, lip-tingling spiciness rather than the usual fiery heat that is actually quite addictive! 😉

Don't be put off by what looks like a long list of ingredients, this is so worth making and really most of the ingredients you probably already have in your store cupboard.

Ingredients

• Lean pork mince (5% fat)

• Vegetable oil

• Dark soy sauce

• Light soy sauce

• Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)

• Onion 

• Garlic 

• Fresh ginger

• Peanut butter

• Chilli oil

• Sesame oil

• Chilli sauce 

• Sichuan peppercorns

• Chicken stock 

• Egg noodles

• Ketjap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) 

• Roasted unsalted peanuts - roughly chopped

• Spring onions (scallions)

Top Tip!

You can buy Szechuan peppercorns and Ketjap Manis and Shaoxing rice wine from either Sainsbury's or Waitrose.

Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!

Dan Dan Noodles Recipe, Dan Dan Mian Noodles, spicy Shichuan noodles recipe

Chinese, Main, Noodles

Chinese

Yield: 2-4

Author: Jan Bennett

Dan Dan Noodles Recipe (Dan Dan Mian)

If you like spicy food you will love this recipe. Your lips will tingle with the heat from the Sichuan peppercorns, but my guess is, if you do make it you'll soon be hooked!

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Ingredients

• 400g pork mince - be sure to get a low-fat (5%)
• 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
• ½ a tablespoon of Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion - very finely chopped
• 3 fat cloves of garlic - very finely chopped
• fresh ginger - about 2 inches by 1 inch in size and then peeled and finely chopped
• Mix together in a small bowl:
• 2 good heaped tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark
• 2 teaspoons of chilli oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 heaped tablespoons chilli sauce (I use 'Maggi Extra hot') use less or more if you want
• Toast and Grind:
• 2 heaped tablespoons of Sichuan peppercorns

You will also need

• 200ml chicken stock - made from ½ of a Knorr chicken stock cube
• about 400g of fresh egg noodles
• a little oil and a little Ketjap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) to add to the noodles when stir-frying your noodles

To Serve

• a handful of roasted unsalted peanuts - roughly chopped
• 3 spring onions (scallions) - sliced

Instructions

1. Start by lightly toasting the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan. Keep them moving so they don't burn, they do burn very easily and will taste bitter if they do.
2. Remove from the pan, and then bash them up in a pestle and mortar then put them to one side.
3. Get a bowl and add the pork mince, dark soy sauce and Shaoxing.
4. Now heat up a large frying pan and stir-fry until the pork just begins to brown. When it has, tip the pork and any juices into a clean bowl and set aside.
5. In the same pan, heat a glug of vegetable oil and add the onions. Cook until they're nice and soft but not coloured.
6. Now throw in the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute.
7. Pour in the mixture of peanut butter, light and dark soy sauce, oil and chilli sauce.
8. Almost straight away add in the toasted and ground peppercorns along with the chicken stock.
9. Give it all a good stir and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

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