What are dan dan noodles “擔擔麵”? Imagine to yourself, chewy noodles submerged in sauce and topped with delicious ground pork and fragrant sesame paste and spicy sauce. This intense flavor of nutty and spicy is a combination that makes the noodles unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. Every bite is deliciously slurp-worthy. Trust me when I say, you can’t stop eating this dish!

The Best Dan Dan Noodles Ever

Before we dive in, a quick story. Once when I was a kid, I was shamed by a food vendor in Hong Kong. Looking back on it, I can’t help but laugh, but at the moment, I was really sad. Whenever we used to travel back to Hong Kong, my parents always made it their mission to take us to the best and most delicious places to eat, so that we’d always remember and be proud to be from Hong Kong. One day, we took a taxi to a district called Hung Hom, which is about 30 minutes away (considerably far) but it was worth it because it supposedly had the best dan dan noodles in Hong Kong, at that time. Now mind you, in America a 30-minute drive doesn’t seem that bad, but in Hong Kong, people think it’s ridiculous to go that far out of your way just for food. But that was how important it was, we had to have the BEST dan dan noodles in all of Hong Kong.

Anyway, we finally got there and we all got our noodles and it was heavenly. To this day, it was and still is the best dan dan noodles I have ever tasted. The noodles were soft and chewy, the sauce was a perfect balance of peanut, spicy, and savory sauce. I just had to have more. Since we came from the US and we don’t come to Hong Kong often, my dad made sure to let us indulge as much as we could. When we tried to order a few more bowls, the server, without missing a beat, said no. Puzzled, we thought it was some sort of mistake and so my dad pressed on. “Can we order one more bowl then? Are you guys sold out?” he said. The server rudely and nearly yelled, “no, you can only get one bowl per person, no more.” We were stunned and absolutely shocked that he was so blatantly rude in telling us we couldn’t order anymore.

My whole family still remembers this story to this day, because we didn’t yell or scream. In Hong Kong culture, eating at a restaurant doesn’t require an ambience, customer service, or manners from your server. They have a “hustle and bustle” mindset where you’d eat and you’d leave. If you arrived in a group and they didn’t have an empty table, they’d sit you down with strangers. It was just the way it was and still is. That day, my dad complained, but we knew that this was just a part of the culture. They’d just tell us, “if you don’t like it, keep walking, and go somewhere else!”. It’s a funny story because it is such a stark contrast to American culture where an experience like that would earn a 1-star review. As much as I didn’t appreciate the server’s rudeness, it was and still is the best dan dan noodles I have ever had and I will undoubtedly go back again and face the rude waiter once more to eat it!

Ever since then, my goal has been to achieve the PERFECT sauce to make the dan dan noodles, and it was surprisingly easy to make! I hope you enjoy this dish and let me know in the comments below if you’ve made it!

Vegetarian Option

This dish is also perfectly delicious as a vegetarian meal. You can omit the meat, add the seasonings to make the sauce and use vegetable broth to make this delicious sauce over noodles.

Ingredients

1/2 lb- 1 lb of fresh flour noodles
1 lb ground pork
1 tsp oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp sesame paste
2 tbsp spicy black bean chili sauce
1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp black vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Smashed peanuts (optional)
Green onions (garnish)

Instructions

Boil a pot of water and boil noodles until cooked. Drain noodles and rinse with water.
In a pan, heat the wok up on medium heat. Once the pan is warm, add in oil. When oil is translucent, add in ground pork and brown. Use a fork to separate the pork. Add in garlic and ginger and saute for a minute.
When garlic is fragrant, pour in chicken broth and add in sesame paste, chili sauce, soy sauce, dark sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil.
Taste sauce and make adjustments to spiciness. Once the sauce is boiling, pour sauce over noodles.
Garnish with smashed peanuts or green onions and serve! Enjoy!