Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons green Sichuan peppers
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 1 cup rice bran oil
- ½ cup Chinese hot dried chillies
- 300g plant-based mince (I use Meet brand because its texture is already quite ‘granular’)
- 2 teaspoons ABC kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoons Chinese cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (for the “meat” mixture)
- 100g Yibin Suimiyacai (Chinese preserved mustard green)
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (for the Dan Dan sauce)
- ½ teaspoon Sichuan pepper powder
- 2 cloves finely minced garlic
- 500g Shanghai-style fresh noodles
- ½ bunch bok choy or pak choy, chopped
- 1 stem brocollini, chopped
- 50g peanuts, chopped
- 1 spring onion, chopped
Method
- First, make the chilli oil. Add the whole Sichuan peppers, cinnamon stick and star anise to the oil in a small saucepan. Slowly heat to 160°C (use a meat thermometer!), then turn off the heat. Allow the oil to cool for around 7 minutes, then remove the solids with a slotted spoon. While waiting for the oil to cool, blitz the chillies in a food processor to make chilli flakes – only a pulse or two is needed, we’re not making chilli powder! Once the oil is slightly cooler, add in the chilli flakes to the oil to complete your chilli oil.
- Next, prepare the “meat”. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a wok or frypan over medium heat and warm up the plant-based mince until it no longer sticks together. Add the kecap manis, Chinese cooking wine, dark soy sauce, and ½ teaspoon of Chinese Five Spice powder. Add the Suimiyacai and heat up alongside the “meat” mixture.
- Boil a pot of water and cook the noodles according to the package directions. Transfer the noodles to a colander to drain and leave the boiling noodle water available to quickly blanch the vegetables. Reserve a ¼ cup of the starchy noodle water.
- Prepare the magical Dan Dan sauce by mixing the tahini, soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon of Chinese Five Spice, Sichuan pepper powder (grind whole peppercorns in a mortar and pestle, or food processor), garlic, ½ cup of your chilli oil and the reserved noodle water. The resulting mixture should be a lovely shade of orange.
- It’s time to assemble! Divide the warm sauce between four bowls, then apply the noodles then the vegetables. Top each bowl of noodles with a generous helping of the “meat” mixture, followed by chopped peanuts, spring onion, and of course more chilli oil – if you’re game!
Product used in recipe
- ABC - Sweet Soy Sauce
