Dan Dan Noodles

Wow, oh Wow!!! I made a modified version of Half-Baked Harvest’s Dan Dan Noodles last night.  I am so excited about them I have allowed this recipe to skip the line of all the other delicious recipes I have patiently waiting for you to push this one out as soon as possible! I fell in love with Dan Dan Noodles at PF Chang’s and once they took them off the menu, I stopped going there. But I believe this recipe is actually BETTER than PF Chang’s version. If you’re not familiar with Dan Dan noodles, they are spicy Chinese noodles with a dark sauce that usually contains preserved vegetables, chili oil, minced pork (I’m using chicken), and green onions. From everything I’ve read, the meat is caramelized and made crispy, then served over noodles. You can serve the noodles either dry or in a spicy broth…and this is a delicious spicy broth! As per usual, I doubled the recipe and the leftovers were fantastic too. So, today’s the day for you to get out of your comfort zone, try something new and be prepared to fall in love with this wonderful, warm, spicy, comfort food. And as usual, if you are not a fan of spice, just dial back on the red pepper flakes and you will still end up with a flavorful, dynamite dish! And there is no need to tell me that these are not authentic Chinese Dan Dan noodles; I know. But authentic or not, they are seriously tasty!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or smashed
• 1-2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (I prefer Kikkoman’s)
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce (make sure to use GF, if needed)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (or tahini)
• 8 ounces Chinese style egg noodles or rice noodles
• 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth or chicken bone broth
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/2 pound ground chicken or pork
• 2 cups mixed mushrooms, chopped
• black pepper
• 1 medium shallot, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 can sliced water chesnuts, drained and roughly chopped

Ingredients

Start by making the chili oil.  Simmer sesame oil with garlic and red pepper flakes until the garlic is fragrant. Cook, stirring occasionally, in a frying pan on medium high heat for about five minutes. Pour it out into a glass bowl and set aside.

While the oil is simmering, make the sauce. Mix hoisin sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and peanut butter (or tahini). Whisk until well combined. Set aside.

Next, boil the egg noodles. You can really use any kind of noodle, but a good egg noodle is probably best. If you are gluten-free, use your favorite rice noodles.

Drain the noodles, and set aside. Then add the broth and half of the sauce mix to that same pot you cooked the noodles in. Add the chopped spinach to the broth. Simmer. This is your “spicy broth” to mix the noodles with. Keep this on low while you brown the chicken.

Brown the chicken in a skillet with the remaining sauce and mushrooms. Finely chop the mushrooms, as they add not only a vegetable, but also flavor. You don’t even realize the mushrooms are there in the final dish, but they add SO MUCH FLAVOR. Add water chesnuts. Toss thoroughly in sauce.  Once the sauce coats the chicken, let the chicken get a little crisp in the skillet and begin to caramelize around the edges.

To assemble, ladle the spicy broth into bowls, add the noodles, and toss with the broth. Then top with that crispy caramelized meat, spoon over additional chili sauce if desired, and add fresh green onions. Get ready to be blown away!!!