DAN DAN MIAN - DAN DAN NOODLES

This is the first time I made this dish and used two recipes to make my own version. I used the one from Larkin Cen mostly, but I cooked the pork using another recipe as it contained basic ingredients such as garlic and ginger, which I thought would give the pork a nicer flavour. Everything was made from scratch except for the crunchy chilli oil, that came from a jar. I couldn't get the traditional preserved mustard greens (yacai), so I made Quick-pickled turnips to give a bit of crunch and sweetness to the dish. I can see why it is a very popular street food in Sichuan. A lovely dish for a relatively cold evening.

Ingredients:

Quick-pickled turnips

250g of baby turnips, or regular turnips

1 tbsp of salt

125ml of water

125ml of rice wine vinegar

100g of caster sugar

Dan dan sauce

100g of sesame paste or smooth peanut butter

10g of light soy sauce

1/2 tsp caster sugar

1 pinch of Sichuan peppercorns

1 garlic clove, ideally confit or roasted

1/2 tbsp of toban djan chilli bean sauce

Pork

1 Tbsp Sichuan peppercorns

200g minced pork

50g preserved turnip, rinsed and finely chopped

2 Tbsp oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 Tbsp grated ginger

2 tsp hoisin sauce, or sweet bean sauce

2 tsp Shaoxing wine

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

150ml chicken stock

Noodles

400g thin wheat flour noodles

2 tsp light soy sauce

3 spring onions, green parts only, very finely sliced

4 Tbsp of crunchy chilli oil

Method:

1. Start by preparing the turnip pickles.

To begin, wash the turnips. If using baby turnips halve them, cutting any that are larger than a walnut into quarters. If using large turnips, peel them and cut them into misshapen pieces, roughly the size of an olive/hazelnut. You want to be able to eat a piece easily whilst standing up, having a drink.

Massage the salt into the turnips and leave to stand for an hour in a colander.

Dissolve the sugar in the water and vinegar. Lightly brush any excess salt from the turnips, place in a container and pour the sugar solution over the top. Leave for at least an hour before serving.

2. Make the sauce:

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside until ready to serve.

3. Cook the pork.

Deep-fry the Sichuan peppercorns in a wok or pan until brown and aromatic, then crush lightly.

Combine the pork with the preserved turnip and soy sauce and leave to marinate for a few minutes.

Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot. Add the garlic and ginger to the wok and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the pork and stir-fry until crisp and browned, then add the hoisin, Shaoxing wine, dark soy and five-spice. Cook for a little longer until the pork absorbs the liquid, then keep warm.

4. To serve.

When ready to serve, cook the noodles until al dente according to the packet instructions and heat the chicken stock.

Drain the noodles and divide the noodles between bowls, then add 2 tablespoons of the sauce, 1 tablespoon of chilli oil and then top with the ground pork. Add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock to the noodles.

Finish with the light soy sauce and the Sichuan peppercorns. Serve immediately with a pinch of the finely sliced spring onion greens on top. Mix everything in the bowl and enjoy!

Serves 4

Comments

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