Order the dan dan noodles, my husband urged. So I did. He’s got good taste, and noodles almost always taste good. Besides, I didn’t want to admit I’d never heard of dan dan.
The noodles, scattered with pork bits and sesame seeds, lolled in a mysterious red-brown sauce. I stabbed in my chopsticks, swirled and slurped up a silky, spicy extravagance. Way beyond good.
The next time I faced a Sichuan menu, I lunged straight for the dan dan. This version came under a heap of wilted greens. It was even spicier – and even better. I started scouting spots for carryout. Nightly. I was developing a dan dan problem.
The solution, I thought, was knowledge. Dan dan, I learned, means pole. Once, the street vendor shouldered a bamboo pole, each end dangling one basket of slim noodles and another of pepper-spiked red-brown sauce.
This knowledge did nothing to curb my dan dan cravings. What I really needed — short of a vendor stationed at the kitchen door – was the recipe. Now there’s a dangerous thing.
Dan dan noodles
2 bunches baby bok choy
Salt
Sesame oil
1/2 pound fresh or dried Chinese noodles
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sunflower seed butter
2 tablespoons sambal
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine (or other) vinegar
1/2 teaspoon each: ground star anise, ground coriander, ground Sichuan (or black) pepper
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pound boneless pork sirloin, cubed
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Chili oil
1/4 cup each: toasted sesame seeds, finely chopped green onions
Blanch: Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Add bok choy; cook until leaves wilt bright green and stems turn tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, pull out bok choy; rinse under cool water. Sprinkle with a little salt; drizzle with a little sesame oil.
Boil: Add noodles to the hot water; cook until tender but firm. Scoop out 1 cup of the cooking water. Drain noodles; rinse under cool water. Toss with a little salt and sesame oil.
Swirl: Blend together 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water, soy sauce, sunflower seed butter, sambal, sugar, vinegar, anise, coriander, pepper and cinnamon.
Chop: Toss pork cubes in the food processor. Pulse several times.
Brown: Heat canola oil in a wide heavy skillet. Add pork; cook until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Pour in sauce; cook, 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup reserved water (or more) to achieve a thin sauce that isn’t sticky. Pull pan off heat.
Build: Pour 1 tablespoon chili oil into each of 4 shallow bowls. (Use less for those who are spice averse.) Add pork sauce to each bowl. Scatter on sesame seeds. Heap noodles on top of sauce. Settle a few bok choy stems alongside. Sprinkle on green onions. Let each guest swirl and dig in.
Sunflower seed butter is shelved near the peanut butter (which works as a substitution, in a pinch). Sambal, a paste made from red chilies, is available in the Asian-food section of the grocery store.
Prep: 1 hour. Cook: 10 minutes
Makes 4 servings.
Provenance: Inspired by Dooby’s restaurant, Baltimore.
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