Dan Dan Mian

Dan dan mian are Sichuan noodles served with a chilli-seasoned sauce, minced pork and preserved vegetables. Judy Leung’s home recipe separates the preparation into chilli oil, a pork topping, sauce, and noodles with greens. The pork is browned with sweet bean sauce, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce and five-spice seasoning. Sui mi ya cai, a finely chopped preserved vegetable, is cooked separately before joining the topping.^[1]

Her sauce combines sesame paste, soy sauce, sugar, Sichuan pepper, chilli oil and garlic, loosened with hot noodle-cooking water. Fresh or dried white noodles are boiled, and leafy greens are briefly cooked in the same water. Sauce goes into the serving bowl first, followed by noodles, greens, pork and preserved vegetables. Chopped peanuts and optional spring onions finish the bowl before everything is mixed together.^[1]