One of my favorite restaurants in Cleveland is Han Chinese Kabob & Grill. Their specialty is Szechuan food and if you like spicy you’re in for a treat.
One of my favorites is their dan dan noodles. To me, the flavors are perfect. The thick broth is paired with perfectly chewy noodles. This is definitely on the shortlist of foods I would eat for the rest of my life if I could only pick one.
This year for Chinese New Year (before coronavirus hit the U.S.), our friend James drove up to cook with us. I did the shopping earlier that day and placed every single ingredient needed in front of him. This was his face.
I have noooo idea how but James did all of the chopping and sauce mixing, Terence did all of the cooking, and I just supervised. But to be fair, I did make a chocolate matcha cake.
Pro tip: have all of the recipes written on sticky notes. When finished with the sauce or bowl of chopped goods, stick the note to the bowl. Then take the bowl with the note with you to the stove. You’ll have everything you need to cook.
On the menu we had Szechuan (Kung Pao) chicken, dan dan noodles, mushroom and shitake stir fry, and scallion pancakes. Happy Chinese New Year!
Dan Dan Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of noodles, I like Lanzhou noodles
- chopped scallions, for garnish
- blanched vegetables, like bok choy or Chinese spinach
- chicken or pork stock
Pork topping
- 1 cup (about 1/4 lb) minced pork, with some fat
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tbs light soy sauce
- 2 tbs cooking oil, divided
- 1/2 tbs minced ginger
- 1/2 tbs minced garlic
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 cup ya-cai*
- 1/2 tbs chili powder
Mixed Seasonings
- 1 tbs sesame paste
- 1 tbs light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbs chili oil
- 1 tsp black vinegar
- tiny pinch of kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbs minced garlic
Instructions
Pork Topping
- Heat 1 tbs of oil in a wok on medium heat. Cook the garlic and ginger for 1-2 minutes, or until aromatic. Add the pork. Fry until nice and brown, separating it into small pieces. Add dark soy sauce. Move the pork from the middle of the wok (form a ring around the middle). Add the ya cai, quickly separating it (I like to use a wooden spoon). Add chili powder. Cook for about 1 minute. Mix the pork topping back in. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Mixed Seasonings and Assembly
- Mix all of the mixed seasonings in a bowl. Prepare noodles according to package instructions. Separate noodles into two bowls and mix in seasonings.
- In a sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup of the hot chicken or pork stock. Pour the hot stock over both portions of noodles. Add the vegetables and green onions and top with pork topping. Heat up and pour more pork stock if you prefer.