A delicious, satisfying, and spicy Sichuanese dish. This easy dandan noodle recipe is great for weeknight dinners, and makes delicious leftovers.
Originally Posted: Oct. 13, 2024
Total Time: 45 minutes
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Dandan Noodles is one of my absolute favorite noodle dishes. This includes both the original Sichuanese version as well as the Japanese. After enjoying it at various restaurants near me, I began looking up recipes online to try and make it myself. It quickly became one of my favorite dishes to cook.
Brief History
Dandan noodles, or dandanmian, are a Sichuanese dish with a name meaning “carrying pole noodles” after the way they were transported by street venders in the capital of Chengdu.
The consistency of the dish can range from a more soup-like noodle dish (made popular in Hong Kong), or one with a thick sauce (the original Sichuanese variation). The following recipe is for the latter style, though I would like to try making the soupy style someday as well.
Some Non-Traditional Changes
Although I love this dish, I’ve never understood the use of minced or ground pork as the main protein. It’s not easy to pick up using chopsticks. When I get the ramen version, tantanmen, I usually resort to using the soup spoon.
Because of this, I usually get a pound of chicken thighs or pork tenderloin and cut the meat into ½ to ¾ inch cubes. It makes for an easier eating experience, though it is a little extra effort compared to throwing a pound of ground pork into a wok. Sometimes I dice meats ahead of time, vacuum seal them, and freeze them for when I feel like making this dish.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 lb. diced Chicken Thigh or Pork Tenderloin
- 1 tsp Cooking Oil
- Pre-made packaged Noodles
- I usually use an entire 3-pack of Trader Joe’s “Thai Style Wheat Noodles”, or a 5-pack of “Boiling Point Wok Noodles” which are pretty much plain, unseasoned ramen noodles.
- You can also make a keto version using konjac/shirataki noodles. Pre-made shirataki noodles are one option, but I like cutting thick noodles from a konjac cake in this style.
- 1 Shallot
- 1 bunch Scallions, whites and greens separated
- ½ inch knob Fresh Ginger, peeled and minced
- Frozen pre-minced ginger cubes also work
- Baby Bok Choy (maybe three or four of them)
- (Optional) Zha cai or Ya cai pickled mustard stems
- You may find this at an Asian grocery store, but I’ve also used this Zha cai from Amazon before.
Sauce/Marinade for Meat
- 2 tsp Hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp Mirin
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 1 Tbsp Chili Crisp Oil
- I really like Lee Kum Kee or this one from NPG, but use whatever you prefer.
- ½ tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
- I bought this one from McCormick in bulk because I ended up using it in a lot of recipes, including this one for Smoked Char Siu Ribs.
- A splash of Shaoxing cooking wine (optional, for acid)
- I’ve used this one from NPG, but I’ve also found various brands at my local Asian grocery stores.
Sauce for Noodles
- 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 2 Tbsp sesame paste
- Tahini works, but an Asian sesame paste is said to be better
- 2 tsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
- ½ tsp ground Sichuan Peppercorns (use a mortar and pestle or a spice/coffee grinder)
- As with the Chinese Five Spice, I wound up buying this one from Fusion Select in bulk from Amazon.
- 1/3 cup Chili Crisp Oil
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- A splash of Shaoshing wine (optional, to thin out the sauce)
Garnish
- Choose as few or as many of the following:
- Micro-Greens of your choice
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Chinese mustard greens
- The green portions of the above green onions, cut on a bias
Equipment
- Wok, preferably well-seasoned carbon steel
- A cheap carbon steel one from an Asian market like 99 Ranch works great for any stir-fry. I bought one for my girlfriend recently for something like $14.99 or $16.99 and seasoned it for her on her gas range.
- I wound up upgrading to a Babish wok because you can unscrew the wooden handle and season the whole thing in your oven if you want. This is especially useful if you have an electric or induction range instead of a gas range.
- Here’s a Serious Eats article about seasoning a wok for more information about your options.
- A pot for cooking noodles
Written Instructions
Total Time: 45 minutes
Vegetable Prep (Mise en Place)
Separate greens and whites from a bunch of green onion. Slice the whites with a regular cut, and slice the greens on a bias (for the aesthetic) and set aside.
Dice shallot, garlic cloves, and peel and mince fresh ginger (or use frozen minced ginger cubes, I’m not your mother).
Cut bok choy however you want. I prefer to separate the whites and leafy greens, then slice each into strips. They’ll cook at different rates, so I like to add them to the boiling noodle water at different times later on.
Meat Prep
If you haven’t done this ahead of time, start by dicing your meat (chicken thighs or pork tenderloin). Mix the meat sauce/marinade: hoisin, mirin, soy/tamari, five-spice, chili crisp oil, and the optional Shaoxing wine.
I’ve used this both as a cooking liquid and a marinade, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. However, cooking the meat on its own first makes it easier to visually see whether it’s cooked through.
Cook Vegetables & Meat
Preheat a carbon steel wok and add cooking oil, then add diced shallot, the whites from the green onions, and minced ginger. Cook until fragrant, then add diced meat.
Cook meat through, then add the meat sauce. Cook until thickened and well coated, then remove meat from heat.
Cook Noodles
Heat water in a pot. Cook noodles per package instructions. Add the white portions of the bok choy to the boiling water at the same time as the noodles, but add the bok choy greens at the end. When they’re finished, drain the noodles, but reserve some of the cooking water for later.
Making Noodle Sauce
Mix the noodle finishing sauce: soy/tamari, sesame paste, sugar, five-spice, ground Sichuan peppercorns, chili crisp oil, minced garlic, and optional Shaoxing cooking wine. Whisk together until smooth. If you feel the sauce needs to come together a little thicker, add the reserved noodle cooking water and whisk until thickened (Italian pasta sauce-style).
Finishing
Add cooked meat, noodles, and noodle finishing sauce back to wok and mix everything together. I like to mix in some toasted sesame seeds for a little texture, as well as any Zha cai or Ya cai if I have it.
Serving
Serve garnished with your choice of garnish. I like to use the greens from the green onions, micro-greens, sesame seeds, and some Chinese mustard greens if I can find some. At the very least I’ll do the green onions and microgreens since they’re relatively easy to find in my area without having to make a last-minute stop to an Asian grocery store.
The noodles will be at their spiciest when served fresh, but are still very delicious as reheated leftovers.
Dandan Noodles
Equipment
- 1 Wok seasoned carbon steel
- 1 Pot to boil noodles
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 lb. Chicken Thigh or Pork Tenderloin diced
- 1 drizzle Cooking Oil
- 3 – 5 portions Noodles
- 1 Shallot diced
- 1 bunch Scallions/Green Onions whites and greens separated
- 1/2 in Fresh Ginger 1/2-in knob, peeled and minced
- 3 – 4 Baby Bok Choy whites and greens separated
- Zha cai or Ya cai (optional)
Sauce for Meat
- 2 tsp Hoisin
- 2 tsp Mirin
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 1 Tbsp Chili Crisp Oil
- 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
- 1 splash Shaoxing Cooking Wine optional, to add acid, thin out sauce
Sauce for Noodles
- 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Paste an Asian one is best, but tahini works
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
- 1/2 tsp Sichuan Peppercorns ground
- 1/3 cup Chili Crisp Oil
- 3 cloves Garlic minced or crushed
- 1 splash Shaoxing Cooking Wine optional, to thin out sauce
- 1 splash Reserved Noodle Cooking Liquid optional, to thicken/emuslify sauce
Garnish
- Scallion Greens optional
- Chinese Mustard Greens optional
- Microgreens optional
- Toasted Sesame Seeds optional
Instructions
- Start by prepping the green onions, shallot, ginger, and bok choy.
- Separate greens and whites from the green onions, slicing the whites regularly and the greens on a bias (for the aesthetic).
- Dice shallot, then peel and mince ginger (or use frozen minced ginger).
- Prepare bok choy how you like. I separate the whites and the leafy greens,then cut each into strips.
- If you didn’t do this beforehand, cut your meat into ½ to ¾ inch cubes.
- Mix meat sauce: hoisin, mirin, soy/tamari,five-spice, chili crisp oil, and the optional Shaoxing wine.
- Add oil to wok, then add meat and cook through. Add meat sauce and cook until well coated and thickened, then remove from heat.
- Heat water in a pot, then add noodles and the white portions of bok choy. Cook per package directions, then add the leafy greens of the bok choy at the end. Drain noodles and bok choy, but reserve some of the cooking water for later.
- Mix the noodle finishing sauce: soy/tamari,sesame paste, sugar, five-spice, ground Sichuan peppercorns, chili crisp oil,minced garlic, and optional Shaoxing cooking wine. Whisk until combined, then add reserved noodle cooking water to thicken the sauce.
- Add cooked meat, noodles, and noodle finishing sauce back to wok and mix everything together. (Optional) Add toasted sesame seeds for a little texture, as well as any Zha cai or Ya cai if you have it.
- Serve with your choice of garnish.
- The noodles will be at their spiciest when served fresh, but are still very delicious as reheated leftovers.
Keto Version
You can make this recipe keto by substituting regular noodles for konjac/shirataki noodles.
I’m always on the lookout for keto versions of things, especially since my mom went keto almost a year ago.
There are a lot of pre-made shirataki noodle brands out there that you can find at your local Asian grocery store or online.
However, once in a while I find it more fun to cut my own noodles from a block of Konjac Cake. I’ve written a step-by-step guide to doing this at the end of my article about pad see ew.
Start by slicing konjac brick into thin strips. Then, cut a slit down the middle of each strip, keeping the top and bottom still attached. Then, loop the bottom of the strip through the slit, creating a twisted spirally shape.
This shape seems to be really good at clinging to sauce. I’ve tried this for pad see ew so far, and I wonder if it would even work on some Italian dishes in the future.
