Taiwanese Cuisine · FFET10284
Danzai noodles
Danzai noodles are a small bowl of oily noodles from Tainan topped with minced pork sauce, shrimp and cilantro in a shrimp-based broth.
A deep white porcelain bowl holds yellow noodles in amber shrimp broth, topped with brown minced pork sauce, shallots, garlic, pink shell-on shrimp and green cilantro, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the bowl.
The regional cooking of Taiwan, drawing on many food traditions, with rich night-market snacks.
Danzai noodles are a small bowl from Tainan: oily noodles topped with a spoonful of sweet and savory minced pork sauce, a shrimp, cilantro and garlic, in shrimp broth. The origin story tells of a fisherman named Hong selling noodles from a shoulder pole in the slack season and later naming his stall Du Xiao Yue, or "passing the small months"; its 1895 date is family lore, also described as shop lore in a 2011 review, and is not treated here as a confirmed starting year. The Hong family's descendants split into 2 shops in 1972. By 2016, the old Hong Yutou shop had closed.
What
Danzai noodles are a small bowl of oily yellow noodles in a light shrimp-based soup, topped with sweet and savory minced pork sauce, 1 shrimp, cilantro and garlic. The bowl is small, and 1 serving is 1 small bowl.1,2,4,5,6
When
The year 1895 is given as the year a fisherman named Hong began selling noodles, but it is family lore: a 2011 review calls it shop lore, and a 2016 article repeats a report. No dated text was found, so this entry does not treat 1895 as a confirmed starting year.3,4
How
Start with a broth of shrimp heads and shells or pork bones and shrimp, depending on the recipe. Slowly cook minced pork with shallots and soy sauce into a sauce. Briefly blanch the noodles, place them in small bowls, and top each with the sauce, a shrimp and a garlic-vinegar condiment.5,6
Why
The origin story tells of a Tainan fisherman named Hong, of Zhangzhou descent, who sold noodles from a shoulder pole in the slack months when he could not go to sea. He called his stall by the Shuixian temple Du Xiao Yue, or "passing the small months." This remains a retelling, not a settled account.1,2
Impact and influence
The Hong family's 3rd generation split in 1972, with 1 member founding Du Xiao Yue and another renaming the old shop. By 2016, the old Hong Yutou shop had closed. In 2011, Du Xiao Yue had 5 outlets, 2 in Tainan and 3 in Taipei.3,4
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
At home I make a small-bowl Tainan-style danzai noodles from two signed recipes, one by a recipe writer and the other by a writer working with a chef. The 250 g of minced pork and 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce follow the former recipe, making the broth with shrimp appears in both (shrimp heads and shells in the former, pork bones and shrimp in the latter), and the condiment of garlic with vinegar and white pepper comes from the latter. The two recipes differ widely on the time for the pork sauce, about 70 minutes in all against about 2 hours, so I simmer it for about 1 hour, until the pork is cooked through and the sauce thickens, which is my own choice. The noodle weight, the number of shrimp and the amount of water are my home amounts, and the grams and milliliters are my conversions from pounds, cups and spoons.
Ingredients
- Fresh yellow oil noodles 400 g
- Shell-on shrimp 12, medium, about 300 g
- Water 1 liter
- Minced pork (with some fat) 250 g
- Shallots 4, minced
- Dark soy sauce 3 tablespoons, about 45 ml
- Sugar 1 teaspoon
- Rice wine 2 tablespoons
- Cooking oil 2 tablespoons
- Garlic 4 cloves, minced
- Black vinegar 2 tablespoons
- White pepper a pinch
- Cilantro a small handful, chopped
- Salt to taste
Steps
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pot, fry the minced shallots until golden, then add the pork and break it up, frying until no pink is left.
- Add the dark soy sauce, sugar, rice wine and 200 ml of water and simmer slowly until the sauce thickens and the pork is soft and glossy. I simmer it for about 1 hour.
- In another pot bring 1 liter of water to a boil, add the shell-on shrimp and cook about 2 minutes until pink and opaque. Lift them out, cool them, peel them and halve the shrimp.
- Return the shrimp heads and shells to the water, simmer gently for about 30 minutes, strain, season with salt and keep the broth hot.
- Stir the garlic, black vinegar and white pepper together for the garlic-vinegar condiment.
- Bring water to a boil and blanch the noodles one portion at a time for about 30 seconds, drain and put them in small bowls.
- Ladle 2 to 3 tablespoons of hot shrimp broth into each bowl and add 1 heaped tablespoon of the pork sauce, 3 pieces of shrimp and cilantro, then drizzle on a little garlic vinegar.
Tips
- Keep the shrimp heads and shells, since the broth is made from them. I cook the shrimp whole before peeling so the meat does not turn tough, which is my own way.
- When I buy the noodles I read the ingredient list on the packet for anything I need to avoid, such as egg.
Allergens: shellfish, wheat, soy