1/2 teaspoon ground pork????
Dan Dan Noodles
SERVES 4
Of all Sichuanese street snacks, this one is the best known.
1" piece fresh ginger
1 tsp. Chinese dark soy sauce
2 tbsp. Chinese light soy sauce
3 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. hong you (chile oil)
1 tsp. Chinese black vinegar
1/2 tsp. hua jiao mian (ground roasted
sichuan peppercorns)
3 tbsp. peanut oil
4 tbsp. Tianjin dong cai (Tianjin preserved
vegetable), rinsed
1/2 tsp. finely ground pork
2 tsp. shaoxing jiu (Chinese rice wine)
12 oz. mian tiao (fresh thick wheat noodles)
4-8 leaves spinach, blanched
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, smash ginger with the flat side of a cleaver or a large kitchen knife, then put into a small bowl. Add dark soy sauce and 2 tsp. of the light soy sauce to bowl and let ginger infuse sauce for 5-10 minutes. Divide sauce between 4 warm bowls, discarding ginger. Add one-quarter of the scallions, chile oil, vinegar, and ground roasted peppercorns to each bowl.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. of the peanut oil in a wok over high heat. Add preserved vegetable and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then divide between bowls with sauce. Heat remaining peanut oil in wok and stir-fry pork, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, for 1 minute. Add rice wine and remaining light soy sauce and stir-fry for 3 minutes more.
3. Boil noodles in pot of boiling water unti lsoft, 4-5 minutes. Drain and divide evenly between bowls. Top noodles with some of the pork and garnish each with spinach.
