Dan Dan Noodles

Ingredients

• 400 g fresh wheat noodles
• 300 g pork mince
• 3 tbsp sesame paste or tahini
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp chilli flakes
• 4 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, ground
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 4 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 200 g pak choi, halved
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 50 g roasted peanuts, crushed

Method

1. Make chilli oil

   Heat the oil until shimmering and pour it over the chilli flakes and ground Sichuan pepper in a heatproof bowl. It should sizzle hard and settle to a deep red.

   3 min

2. Fry the pork

   Brown the mince hard in a dry wok until crisp and dark in places, then splash in the Shaoxing wine. Crisp, not merely cooked — the texture is the point.

   8 min

3. Build the sauce

   Whisk the sesame paste, soy, garlic, vinegar and half the chilli oil, loosening with a few spoons of hot water until it pours.

4. Divide the sauce

   Spoon the sauce into the bottom of each bowl. Dan dan is assembled, not tossed — the diner stirs it up at the table.

5. Cook the noodles

   Boil the noodles until just tender, adding the pak choi for the last minute, then lift into the bowls.

   4 min

6. Top and serve

   Pile on the crisp pork, spring onions and peanuts, and trickle over more chilli oil.