Vegan dan dan noodles with all of the authentic flavor. A boldly seasoned sauce ladled atop slick noodles, swirled with chili oil, Sichuan preserved greens, sesame paste, black vinegar, and a delicious mince topping. This easy weeknight recipe only takes 25 minutes!
Ingredients in Vegan Dan Dan Noodles:
For the vegan mince topping, I decided to go with a combination of shiitake mushrooms for flavor and soy curls for texture. You can substitute extra-firm tofu (crumble it up and brown in a pan), but I found the soy curls to have a chewy meatiness that best resembles traditional ground pork.
- Soy curls— these are made with one ingredient (whole soy beans) and minimally processed, unlike TVP. They provide a wonderful texture that’s similar to ground pork. You can find them in the dry bulk goods section, or packaged under the Butler brand.
- Shiitake mushrooms— for umami and added depth of flavor
- Sichuan preserved greens (sui mi ya cai)— essential for the authentic flavor, this can be found sold in packs in most Asian grocery stores. The greens are dried and fermented, with an earthy, tangy umami. If you can’t find this specific item, you can also substitute pickled mustard stems (zha cai), chopped finely. Or even sauerkraut!
How to make vegan dan dan noodles:
Step one: make the topping.
Soak soy curls in warm water for 10 minutes, then squeeze out excess water. Place mushrooms and re-hydrated soy curls in a food processor and pulse a few times until finely chopped (or mince with a knife).
Heat oil in a wok or pan over medium heat until shimmering, then stir-fry minced soy curls and mushroom until browned. Add preserved greens, shaoxing wine, and dark soy sauce, and stir-fry until the liquid is completely evaporated. Remove from pan and set aside.
Next, make the sauce:
- 2 tablespoon sesame paste– this is a dark, thick paste made from toasted sesame seeds. You can substitute tahini.
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoon roasted chili oil with some chili sediment*
Combine sesame paste, sugar, and roasted chili oil with sediment in a small bowl (to make your own chili oil, see instructions in notes below).
Third step: prepare the noodles and bok choy.
- 8 oz Chinese wheat noodles
- 1 small bunch leafy greens (bok choy, choy sum, spinach)
Cook the noodles according to package directions and remove to drain. Blanch the greens in the noodle water. Reserve ¼ cup of the hot cooking liquid and add it to the chili oil/sesame sauce mixture, whisking to combine.
Last step: assemble the bowls!
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Chinkiang black vinegar
- for garnish: chopped cilantro, toasted peanuts, thinly sliced scallion
To serve, divide the sauce mixture into two bowls. Add one tablespoon soy sauce and one teaspoon black vinegar to each bowl. Divide the noodles into two portions and put them in the bowls, then top with half of the mince topping and garnish with cilantro and scallion. Enjoy!
Notes and variations:
- For the noodles, you can use any kind of wheat noodle– Shanghai style wheat noodles, udon, flat, etc. Spaghetti could work as well.
- An optional variation: add 1 tbsp fermented chili broad bean paste to the sesame sauce mixture, and decrease amount of soy sauce to 1 teaspoon per bowl.
- For a soupier noodle variation, add more of the hot cooking liquid to the bowls.
More noodle recipes to try:
- Stir-Fried Vermicelli Noodles
- Easy Sesame Noodles
- Sichuan Buckwheat Noodles
- Shanghai Scallion Oil Noodles
If you made this recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and a rating below. Or tag me on Instagram @hannah__chia, I love seeing your re-creations!
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Print📖 Recipe
Vegan Dan Dan Noodles
Vegan dan dan noodles with authentic flavor. A boldly seasoned sauce ladled atop slick noodles, swirled with chili oil, Sichuan preserved greens, sesame paste, black vinegar, and a delicious mince topping.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
- 8 oz Chinese wheat noodles
- 1 small bunch leafy greens (bok choy, choy sum, spinach)
Mince Topping:
- ½ tbsp cooking oil
- 1.5 oz (¾ cup) dry soy curls, soaked in warm water
- 3–4 fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 3 tbsp Sichuan preserved greens (sui mi ya cai) or pickled mustard stems (zha cai), finely chopped
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce (for color)
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine (sub dry sherry)
Chili Oil & Sesame Sauce:
- 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (sub tahini)
- ½ tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp roasted chili oil with some chili sediment*
To serve:
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp Chinkiang black vinegar
- for garnish: chopped cilantro, toasted peanuts, thinly sliced scallion
Instructions
- Mince topping: soak soy curls in warm water for 10 minutes, then squeeze out excess water. Place mushrooms and re-hydrated soy curls in a food processor and pulse a few times until finely chopped (or mince with a knife). Heat oil in a wok or pan over medium heat until shimmering, then stir-fry minced soy curls and mushroom until browned. Add preserved greens, shaoxing wine, and dark soy sauce, and stir-fry until the liquid is completely evaporated. Remove from pan.
- Chili oil and sesame sauce: combine sesame paste, sugar, and chili oil with sediment in a small bowl. To make your own chili oil, see instructions in notes below.
- Noodles and veggies: Cook the noodles according to package directions and remove to drain. Blanch the greens in the noodle water. Reserve ¼ cup of the hot cooking liquid and add it to the chili oil/sesame sauce mixture, whisking to combine.
- To serve, divide the sauce mixture into two bowls. Add one tablespoon soy sauce and one teaspoon black vinegar to each bowl. Divide the noodles into two portions and put them in the bowls, then top with half of the mince topping and garnish with cilantro and scallion. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- *In place of the soy curls, you may substitute ½ a block crumbled extra-firm tofu, or use all shiitake mushrooms (8 oz total).
- *I used store-bought chili oil, but you can also make your own:
- In a small pot, heat 1 cup cooking oil, 2 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, and 2 star anise over medium low heat. Once the temperature has reached 325F, turn off heat and remove spices. Add in ¼ cup crushed red pepper flakes, and allow oil to sizzle and then cool. Use 3 tablespoon for this recipe, and store the rest in a jar in the refrigerator.
- For the noodles, you can use any kind of wheat noodle– fine, udon, flat, etc. Spaghetti could work as well.
- An optional variation: add 1 tablespoon fermented chili broad bean paste to the sesame sauce mixture, and decrease amount of soy sauce to 1 teaspoon per bowl.
- For a soupier noodle variation, add more of the hot cooking liquid to the bowls.
Mary says
I made this and it was great but so spicy. I’m gonna remake it with less spice next time. I couldn’t find soy curls. So I substituted with tofu. For cooking the tofu a smaller pan works best, or a wok.
★★★★
Terry says
This was outrageously good ! I made it with only shiitakes and it was fine. I could see substituting tahini if needed. Not a hard recipe. I hope to make it frequently. T was like having China right in my home kitchen! I was able to get fresh Dan Dan noodles at the Chinese grocery store which was nice. Thank you so much for making this available!!
JD says
There seems to be a dearth of comments here, which is unfortunate because this is the superior vegan Dan Dan Noodle recipe, in my opinion.