MUZIChinese Matrix
Rolled and Cut Noodles · FFET10114
Dan dan noodles of Sichuan: thin noodles in a spicy sesame sauce with minced pork, pickled greens and crushed peanuts, traditionally served dry.
A shallow white porcelain bowl holds thin wheat noodles topped with fried brown minced pork, crushed peanuts and scallion, with one baby bok choy lying beside them and a little red chili oil pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Noodles made by rolling a dough into a thin sheet and cutting it into strips.
Dan dan noodles are a Sichuan dish of thin noodles in a spicy sesame sauce with minced pork, pickled greens and crushed peanuts, traditionally served dry. The dan in the name means a shoulder pole, from street vendors who carried their noodles on one. A Zigong specialty, it later spread to Chengdu and Chongqing; accounts of its origin differ, with another placing it in Chengdu. Wing Lai Yuen in Hong Kong, which opened in 1947, serves a soup version.
Dan dan noodles are a Sichuan dish of thin wheat noodles in a spicy sesame sauce, topped with minced pork, pickled mustard greens, peanuts and scallion, traditionally served dry rather than in soup.1,2,4,5
Neither origin tale has dated documentary support: one places it in 1841, with a Zigong vendor nicknamed Chen Baobao selling noodles from a shoulder pole; the other places it in Chengdu during the Qianlong reign. The cited dated reports go back no further than a 1990 Washington Post article.1,2,3
Dan dan noodles are a specialty of Zigong, Sichuan, that later spread to Chengdu and Chongqing; the Chengdu version added minced pork. The origin is disputed, with another account placing it in Chengdu. Wing Lai Yuen, which opened in Hong Kong in 1947, serves a soup version.1,2,3
The main points of the method: the cooked noodles are dressed with a sauce of chili oil, sesame paste, soy sauce and vinegar, topped with dry-fried minced pork and pickled mustard greens, then finished with crushed peanuts and greens.4,5
The dan in the name is the shoulder pole: street vendors carried noodles and sauce on one and called out their wares, hence dan dan noodles.1,2,3
Wing Lai Yuen, which opened in Hong Kong in 1947, serves a soup version of dan dan noodles. Japan also has a noodle soup developed from the dish.2,3
Legend has it that in 1841 a vendor in Zigong nicknamed Chen Baobao sold plain noodles with pickled mustard greens from a shoulder pole, and later opened a shop in a busy quarter. It is folk tradition with no document behind it.
Told in: Told in Zigong, Sichuan, and repeated in a MICHELIN Guide article and on Chinese Wikipedia.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Traditional dan dan noodles come without soup, and I make them dry at home too. This is my simplified way, for 2 people: I use bought chili oil instead of making my own, dry-fry the pork, and mix the sauce right in the bowls. The ingredients and method follow two English-language recipes, and the amounts and timings below are my own choices at home.
Allergens: peanut, sesame, wheat, soy
