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
Scale
- 8 oz Chinese wheat noodles
- 1 small bunch leafy greens (bok choy, choy sum, spinach)
Mince Topping:
- 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1.5 oz (3/4 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
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (for color)
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine (sub dry sherry)
Chili Oil & Sesame Sauce:
- 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (sub tahini)
- 1/2 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 1/4 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 1/2 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 tbsp 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 1/4 cup crushed red pepper flakes, and allow oil to sizzle and then cool. Use 3 tbsp 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 tbsp fermented chili broad bean paste to the sesame sauce mixture, and decrease amount of soy sauce to 1 tsp per bowl.
- For a soupier noodle variation, add more of the hot cooking liquid to the bowls.
Find it online: https://theplantbasedwok.com/the-best-vegan-dan-dan-noodles/
