If you love spicy noodle dishes, then give this dish a whirl – it’s packed full of tasty pork, with tongue-tingling Sichuan peppercorns and a fiery sauce to really soak into those tender noodles. Definitely a must-try!
Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles
2 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200g (7 oz) pork mince
2 tbsp Tianjin pickled mustard greens ( ya chai ) or cabbage ( tong chai )*
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing cooking wine
200g (7 oz) thin dried Chinese wheat noodles
finely sliced spring onion (scallions) to serve
Spicy sauce:
¼ cup soy sauce
3 tbsp chilli oil (try my homemade version here )
1 tbsp white vinegar or use Chinese black vinegar if you can get your hands on it
2 tsp sweet dark soy sauce
¼ tsp sugar
- Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Use a mortar and pestle to grind to a fine powder. Set aside for later.
- To make the spicy sauce, in a large bowl mix the soy sauce, chilli oil vinegar, sweet dark soy sauce and sugar. Set aside for later.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the pork and spread it out in the pan. Leave to cook for 4-5 minutes or until you get some nice golden brown colour. Then stir-fry and break up the mince. Sprinkle over the ground Sichuan pepper and toss to combine. Add the Tianjin pickled vegetables, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. Stir-fry for another minute to allow the pork to soak up all the sauce. Set aside and keep warm while you cook your noodles.
- Heat a large pot of water until boiling. Add the noodles and cook according to packet instructions. While the noodles are cooking, scoop out 1 cup of the noodle cooking water and mix it into the spicy sauce. Divide the spicy sauce among serving bowls.
- Drain the cooked noodles and divide among the serving bowls. Top the noodles with the pork mixture and sprinkle with spring onions.
- Notes: – Tianjin pickled vegetables are a type of preserved vegetable from Sichuan province in China. They’re usually sold in little earthenware jars in Asian supermarkets.
