street, cleaner

a version of the many-versioned dan dan mian, or sichuan spicy noodles. wiki says this about it. fuchsia dunlop has lots to say about sichuan cuisine, including the dan dan mian in the city chengdu. i have nothing but this blog entry.

i honestly don't know what the traditional recipe is. the only versions i have eaten have all used wheat noodles with some sort of ground meat (pork or beef), bathed in an oily red broth that includes sesame oil, red chili peppers, and if i'm lucky, sichuan peppers. most are soupy and/or oily, for which i confess, i have no predilection as it seems to simultaneously dilute and muddy the spice in the dish. i have tried both of ms. dunlop's recipes and i prefer one to the other, but still felt the need to tweak it by incorporating chubby hubby's japanese version. there's still some of the funk you expect, yet it's brightened up with the addition of fresh chilis, which also adds a lot of heat. (you can dial that down if you want.)

dan dan mian, or something like it adapted from fuchsia dunlop's recipe and chubby hubby's as well

1 glug cooking oil
1-2 dried chili peppers (w or w/o seeds)
1 teaspoonful sichuan pepper, lightly cracked/roughly chopped
1-2 tablespoonfuls preserved mustard greens, chopped finely (optional, but it actually provides most of the saltiness in this version. if you omit it, add soy sauce or tamari)
1/2 lb ground turkey or ground chicken or finely minced shiitake mushrooms or any combination you want

1-2 tablespoonfuls sesame paste or tahini

1 tablespoonful mirin

1 tablespoonful toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoonful of black vinegar

1-2 green onions, chopped

1 red jalapeño, sliced

heat cooking oil in medium hot pan. when oil is hot but not smoking, add dried chili peppers and sichuan pepper, sautée until fragrant but be careful to not burn. add preserved mustard greens, then protein of choice. sautée until lightly browned. add sesame paste, mirin, sesame oil, black vinegar. the mixture should be wet; keep soupy or cook down to desired dryness. add half the green onions and jalapeño to mixture, leave until just wilted. serve over noodles of choice and garnish with rest of green onions and jalapeño.