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Sichuan · Chinese

Dan dan noodles

Non-vegetarian

担担面 · dàndàn miàn

Wheat noodles in a punchy sauce of sesame paste, chilli oil and black vinegar, topped with crisp fried pork and numbing Sichuan pepper.

Dan dan noodles is a Sichuan noodle dish from China, ready in about 25 minutes and made with ground pork, chinese sesame paste and chilli oil. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Dandan noodles
Photo: Steven G. Johnson / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
25 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
709

Ingredients

4 servings

Pork topping

Sauce

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oil in a wok (opens in a new tab) and fry the pork over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until well browned and a little crisp. Add the ya cai (opens in a new tab) and stir-fry for a minute until fragrant, then add the wine and soy sauce (opens in a new tab) and cook until dry.

    Food safety: Cook minced pork until no pink remains.

    Ingredients tossed in a hot wok
    How it looks · Photo: Aesthos AR. Photography on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Divide the sauce ingredients between four bowls and stir each into a loose paste.

    • 3 min

  3. Step 3

    Boil the noodles according to the packet, adding the bok choy (opens in a new tab) for the last minute. Reserve a cup of the cooking water.

    Pasta boiling in a pot of water
    How it looks · Photo: Gianpiero Ferraro on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Add 2–3 tbsp hot noodle water to each bowl to loosen the sauce, then add the drained noodles and greens. Top with pork, peanuts and spring onion (opens in a new tab) and toss at the table.

    • 2 min

About this dish

Origin
Chengdu, Sichuan, China · Well documentedNamed for the carrying pole (dan) used by street vendors.Also popular in Taiwan, Japan, United StatesMore food from China
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Snack · Noodles · Street food
Cooking method
Boiled, Stir-fried
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), nutty, umami, peppery
Diet
Dairy-free · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · Beef-free · High-protein
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Pescatarian, Pork-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Everyday
Cook more with
Ground pork · Chinese sesame paste · Chilli oil · Shaoxing wine · Soy sauce · Ya cai (Sichuan preserved mustard greens)
Techniques
Stir-frying · Boiling

Allergens

  • May contain: Eggsfrom ramen noodles
  • Contains, can be adapted: Peanutsfrom chilli oil, roasted peanuts
  • Contains: Wheatfrom shaoxing wine, soy sauce, chinese black vinegar, ramen noodles
  • Contains: Glutenfrom shaoxing wine, soy sauce, chinese black vinegar, ramen noodles
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce, chilli oil, ramen noodles
  • Contains: Sesamefrom chinese sesame paste, chilli oil

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

709 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 309 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 34%
  • Fat 54%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy709 kcal230 kcal
Protein22.3 g7.2 g
Carbohydrate61.2 g19.8 g
Net carbohydrate53.5 g17.3 g
Sugars——
Added sugars2.1 g0.7 g
Fibre7.7 g2.5 g
Fat43.8 g14.2 g
Saturated fat10.9 g3.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol36 mg12 mg
Sodium1388 mg450 mg
Salt equivalent3.5 g1.1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
702 mg
Calcium
262 mg
Iron
9.1 mg
Magnesium
101 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
284 µg
Vitamin C
62 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
250 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: roasted peanuts.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): sichuan peppercorns.
  • Shaoxing wine: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in for Chinese rice cooking wine.
  • Ya cai (Sichuan preserved mustard greens): Raw mustard greens used as a stand-in; ya cai is the stems salted and preserved with brown sugar, so sugar and sodium are understated.
  • Chinese black vinegar: Balsamic vinegar (FDC 172241) used as a stand-in for Chinkiang/Zhenjiang black rice vinegar; both are dark, aged and slightly sweet.
  • Chilli oil: Neutral vegetable oil (FDC 172336) used as a stand-in; the chilli solids add little energy.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The sauce should be thick but pourable — loosen with noodle water until it coats the back of a spoon.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the pork soft and wet — it should fry until dry, browned and almost crumbly.
  • Draining the noodles bone-dry: a few spoonfuls of the starchy cooking water are what loosen the sesame sauce into a coating.

Serve with

  • Serve with smashed cucumber salad to cool the heat.

Storage

  • Keep pork topping and sauce separately in the fridge for up to 3 days; cook noodles fresh.

Variations

  • Soupy dan dan noodles: A version common outside Sichuan with the sauce thinned with hot stock into a broth.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

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Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 3, 4

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