Dan Dan Noodles Recipe

Dan Dan Mian 

Stir-fried ground pork with spicy noodles in a fiery Sichuan chilli and peanut butter sauce. Quick and easy to make recipe.

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*Post updated November 2024

As there are hundreds of different recipes out there, how do you know which one to try? 😐

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

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

But 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 use as much or as little of them as you fancy.

Equipment

If you don't already have one, you will need to buy a wok - you'll find them on  Amazon or in any good cookshop or 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, oh and, Mapo Tofu both have a tongue-numbing, lip-tingling spiciness rather than the usual fiery heat that is quite addictive! 😉

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

Ingredients

• Lean pork mince (ground pork) (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, Ketjap Manis and Shaoxing rice wine in any good supermarket such as Sainsbury's or Waitrose.

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

easy dan dan noodles, dan dan mian, spicy noodles recipe

Chinese, Main, Noodles

Chinese

Yield: 2-4

Author: Jan Bennett

Dan Dan Mian Recipe

If you like spicy food you will love this recipe. Your lips will tingle from the heat of the Sichuan peppercorns.

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

Ingredients

• 400g pork mince (ground pork) - 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 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

• ½ of a Knorr chicken stock cube - diluted in 200ml of hot water
• 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 them

To Serve

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

Instructions

Gather and prepare the ingredients

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. Remove from the pan, then using a pestle and mortar bash them up and then set aside.
2. Add the pork mince, dark soy sauce and Shaoxing to a bowl.
3. Now heat a large frying pan and stir-fry until the pork only just begins to brown. When it has, tip the pork and any juices into a clean bowl and set aside.
4. Use the same pan without washing, heat a little vegetable oil and add the onions. Cook until they're nice and soft but not coloured.
5. Now throw in the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute.
6. Pour in the peanut butter, light and dark soy sauce, oil, and chilli sauce mixture. Then straight away, add in the toasted and ground peppercorns along with the chicken stock. Give it all a good stir and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

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