These noodles are: Unctuous. Soulful. Bloody delicious.
Dan Dan noodles come from the street markets of Sichuan. Before the coming of food trucks and meals on wheels, the Sichuanese food hawkers would be spotted balancing a giant bamboo pole with baskets dangling from both sides – one side filled with boiled noodles, garnishes, peanuts, leafy greens, hot sauces, sweet sauces and briny sauces, and the other side would have the functional stuff: stoves, serve ware and chopsticks. Now because the pole had a presence of its own, Dan Dan noodles takes its name not from texture, emperor or kingdom but from the pole itself – Dan Dan, as it would be called in Mandarin Chinese. Though just dan would mean ‘pole’ too, so then why dan dan?
It’s called Reduplication. However, like in the case of dan dan, the same word need not be morphed as is, sometimes the succeeding word is a rhyming word or it may have one vowel replaced by another. Itsy-bitsy, mumbo-jumbo, super-duper, chit-chat? Yep.
Though the same rules don’t apply to all languages. Reduplication is linguistically tied. Its productivity changes with language and culture.
In English, it is used as a diminutive, for when you wish to signify smallness, like teenie-tiny or in some cases it is used colloquially, like fancy-schmancy – you know to keep things playful. Or sometimes to contrast one’s actions, like when I say “I haven’t EXERCISED-exercised in a long time”. There’s no way that these would find themselves in formal correspondence.
But, different rules for different languages.
In Mandarin Chinese, reduplication is quite normal; it’s a part of the grammatical structure – used to signify a stretch of things from superlatives to tonal intensity to emphasis to multiples. For example, if I wanted you to take a quick look at something, I’d say Nǐ kànkan. The repetition of kan here conveys that just a glance is needed. Now back to dan dan noodles, dan dan conveys emphasis on the bamboo pole which was the apparent-bang in your face identifier in a bustling market, so people began associating the noodles with the pole because their first reaction was an exclamatory "Dan Dan".
Vegan Dan Dan Mian
Makes a good four bowls
For the chilli oil:
Group 1:
1/3 cup chilli flakes
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
Group 2:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
3 star anise
A cinnamon bark
1 tbsp peppercorn
½ tsp whole cumin seed
½ tsp whole fennel seed
2 stalks of scallion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A thumb’s worth of ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsp sichuan peppercorns
2 tbsp chilli flakes
For the stir fry:
4 tbsp chilli oil
400 gm mushrooms, finely chopped
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
A thumbs worth of ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
For the noodles:
1 Kg rice noodles
A pinch of salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the Dan Dan sauce:
6 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp tahini sauce
1 tbsp peanut butter
2 tsp sugar
½ cup chilli oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A thumb’s worth of ginger, finely chopped
A cup of noodle water
For the garnish:
7-8 Bok choy/Pak choi leaves
7-8 spinach leaves
4 whole scallions, chopped
Toasted peanuts, crushed
To make the chilli oil:
1. In a glass jar, add the chilli flakes and white sesame seeds from group 1. We will be pouring hot oil into this jar later so choose a jar which can withstand heat.
2. In a pot on low heat, add all ingredients from group 2. Let the aromats infuse with the oil for 10 minutes before you turn the heat off. Give it a stir and remove the bay leaf, star anise and cloves. Don’t throw them, we will use them again.
3. Pour the infused oil into the glass jar. Stir, close the jar and let rest.
To make the stir fry:
1. In a pot on medium heat, add some chilli oil, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and soya sauce along with the bay leaves, star anise and cloves from the chilli oil.
2. Saute until the mushrooms have reduced to half their size. Set aside.
To make the noodles:
1. Bring water seasoned with salt and oil to a boil. Drop in the noodles, reduce heat to medium and take them out after 5-6 minutes. Rice noodles cook easily so keep a watch on them. To test if the noodles are cooked, use a fork and see if a single noodle passes through the fork with ease.
2. Set aside a cup of noodle water and drain the excess water.
To make the Dan Dan sauce:
1. In a bowl, add soy sauce, tahini, peanut butter, sugar, ginger, garlic, chilli oil and noodle water. Mix well and taste. Feel free to add a little more of these ingredients.
For the assembly:
Layer the elements in a bowl, starting with a ladle of Dan Dan sauce, a handful of noodles, some leafy greens, the stir fry mixture, a generous drizzle of chilli oil and a sprinkle of crushed peanuts.
Grab your chopsticks, make the figure 8 and just dive into it.
so much love
yum yum