Dan Dan Noodles. A classic Chinese noodle dish made of thick chewy noodles coated in a delicious spicy nutty sesame sauce that is packed with flavor!
Perfect as a meal and ready in less than 20 minutes!
An Iconic Noodle Dish
If there's one iconic dish that makes me think of China, it's this one! If you like spicy food, then you need to try this one out! There are many versions of dan dan noodles but this one rivals the Chinese restaurants as it's packed with flavor and it's so delicious!
Quick & Easy
I love making this dish as it's easy, tasty and pretty quick as it's not a stir fry. The noodle sauce is simply made by mixing the ingredients in a large bowl and then adding the hot noodles to it along with that savory crispy pork. Both take about 10 minutes to cook or less if you're multi-tasking! The end result is such a delectable dish. It's no wonder it's so famous in China.
What are Dan Dan Noodles?
Dan Dan Noodles (aka Dan Dan Mian) are spicy noodles that originate from the Sichuan province in China. These spicy Sichuan noodles are very popular in Sichuan cuisine. Many street vendors or noodle shops will serve different types of these Chinese noodles.
In addition, all Sichuan restaurants have their own version of dan dan noodles. In fact, there are even regional variations too! But the key ingredients usually remain the same.
This dish is iconic for its fresh noodles, spicy sauce with a complex flavor profile and crispy ground pork! Altogether this authentic dan dan noodle recipe will satisfy all your taste buds!
Easy Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles
Despite the different ingredients, this dan dan noodle dish is actually quite quick and simple to make in about 20 minutes! The sauce requires no cooking at all. You're simply marinating and frying the ground pork until crispy and boiling noodles until Al dente. That's it! Most of the time will go towards preparing your ingredients, which is very common in Chinese cuisine.
Ingredients
You’ll need the below ingredient list for these authentic dan dan noodles. Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Note: The Asian market is likely to carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select local grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Fresh wheat noodles: I highly recommend fresh ones over dried or frozen ones for the best texture. If you use dried wheat noodles, please follow package directions to cook noodles. If you can't find either fresh or dried wheat noodles, substitute with spaghetti noodles or thick egg noodles.
- Ground pork: traditional dan dan noodles use ground pork. But feel free to substitute with any ground meat such as ground chicken, ground turkey, ground beef or crumbled extra firm tofu for a vegan option.
- Reserved noodle water: the starchy water helps to loosen the noodles and helps create a very creamy spicy sauce when mixed. If you forget to reserve the noodle water, hot boiling water will work.
- Green onion or fresh scallions
- Neutral oil, like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
Noodle sauce:
- Sesame paste: or substitute with tahini paste, or peanut butter for a peanut sauce
- Chinese chili oil: or substitute with a homemade chili oil (I share one here on the blog!). This is a spicy red oil made of red pepper flakes, tingly Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, onions, garlic, cinnamon and cloves. It's delicious and fragrant in the best way possible! You can find store bought Chinese chili oil at most Asian grocery stores.
- Dark soy sauce: This is not the same as all purpose soy sauce or light soy sauce. It's much thicker in consistency and darker in color. It's meant to color a dish.
- Regular soy sauce: aka all-purpose soy sauce. The label will simply say "Soy Sauce". You can alternatively substitute with light soy sauce.
- White granulated sugar: to help balance out the saltiness from the soy sauce. This is a must for a balance taste profile. Many people ask me "why sugar?" and that's why!
- Chinese black vinegar: optional but highly recommend!
- Garlic cloves: to give our noodle sauce a garlicky flavor which compliments the Sichuan peppercorn powder.
- Sichuan peppercorn powder aka Szechuan peppercorn powder: this is the key ingredient of this popular Chinese noodle dish for those Sichuan flavors!
- Sesame seeds: or substitute with sesame oil
- Chicken bouillon powder: I love adding this ingredient as it contains a bit of MSG giving the noodle dish an "ahh that hits-the-spot-taste!" If you're refraining from MSG, feel free to omit this altogether.
Pork seasoning:
- Regular soy sauce: aka all-purpose soy sauce. The label will simply say "Soy Sauce". You can alternatively substitute with light soy sauce.
- Shaoxing wine: or substitute with rice wine vinegar or Dry Sherry wine.
- Chinese Five-spice powder: most Asian or Western grocery stores will carry this item. You can also easily find this online, on Amazion It really adds a nice floral fragrance to the ground pork.
- White granulated sugar
- White pepper or black pepper
How to Make Dan Dan Noodles
Season ground pork with Seasoning ingredients as listed. Set aside as you prepare other ingredients.
In a small bowl, combine Noodle Sauce ingredients as listed above.
Transfer sauce to the base of a large serving bowl.
In a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat, cook marinated pork ground and break it up in finer pieces. Cook until the pork is browned, crispy on the edges and fat has rendered out. Set aside and keep warm.
In a medium pot filled with enough water, bring to a boil. Add fresh wheat noodles and lower to medium heat. Boil for 2-3 minutes until Al Dente.
Reserve ½ cup of hot noodle water.
Strain the noodles. Do not rinse off with cold water.
Place hot noodles on top of the Noodle sauce in large serving bowl. Followed by the reserved noodle water.
Place crispy pork mixture on top. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy by giving the noodles and pork a good stir with clean utensils until they're mix well and coated in sauce.
Storage for Dan Dan Noodles
This dish will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for 2-4 minutes until hot or reheat on the stovetop and add a bit of water to help loosen the noodles.
FAQ
What can I serve these noodles with?
These noodles are typically served with a preserved vegetable called Zha cai aka pickled mustard greens. These can be found at the Asian market in the preserved vegetable aisle. They add a nice acidity to help balance out the spicy, savory, nutty noodles! But you can enjoy it with any leafy greens that you enjoy!
What are substitutes for Chinese sesame paste?
Tahini paste or smooth peanut butter.
Below is the brand of sesame paste that I enjoy using.
Are there any substitutes for Sichuan peppercorn powder?
You can substitute with a 1:1 ratio of ground black pepper and ground coriander.
What can I replace Chinese chili oil with?
Any chili oil that you can find at the grocer will work as a replacement.
I can't find Shaoxing wine, any replacements?
Dry Sherry or rice wine vinegar.
Other recipes you may enjoy!
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my other noodle recipes:
- Scallion oil noodles
- 10-minute easy Sesame Noodles
- Shanghai Fried Noodles
- Easy Spicy Peanut Noodles
- 10-minute Garlic Chili Oil Noodles
Dan Dan Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh wheat noodles or sub with dried wheat noodles, thick egg noodles or spaghetti
- ½ lb ground pork or sub with ground chicken, turkey, beef or tofu
- ½ cup reserved noodle water
- 1 green onion finely chopped for garnish
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Noodle sauce:
- 2 tablespoon sesame paste or sub with tahini paste or smooth peanut butter
- 2-3 tablespoon
Chinese chili oil or sub with any chili oil of your choice or make my homemade versionhere - ¾ tablespoon dark soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar *not shown in video
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds toasted
- ¼ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
Pork seasoning:
- 2 teaspoon regular soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or sub with dry sherry or rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
- ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
Instructions
- Season ground pork with Seasoning ingredients as listed. Set aside as you prepare other ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine Noodle Sauce ingredients as listed above. Pour sauce to the base of a large serving bowl.
- In a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat, add vegetable oil and cook marinated pork ground until browned and fat has rendered out. Break it up in finer pieces. Set aside and keep warm.
- In a medium pot filled with enough water, bring to a boil. Add fresh wheat noodles and lower to medium heat. Boil for 2-3 minutes until Al Dente. Reserve ½ cup of hot noodle water. Strain noodles. Do not rinse off with cold water.
- Place hot noodles on top of the Noodle sauce in large serving bowl. Followed by the reserved noodle water.
- Place crispy pork mixture on top. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy by mixing the noodles and pork into the sauce until everything is coated in sauce.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
These noodles look so so good! I loved your tips on adjusting the heat. That was so helpful.
Jon Rubin
Just made these -- and my girlfriend's reaction was: yum! do it again, do it often!
Which is all I want from a recipe.
Thanks so much!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Jon! So glad your girlfriend enjoyed them! I appreciate the kind comment 🙂
Dan
Couldn’t find sichuan peppercorn powder. Other than that it worked fine. Careful with the chili oil. The one I purchased is really hot. I used shrimp sautéed in Chinese five spice. Thanks for the recipe.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe! Glad it worked out fine!