I get that there are different versions of noodles with pork sauce, but am having a difficult time finding a recipe I like.
I have all the ingredients I could possibly need, but can’t find a recipe that includes preserved vegetables. I was under the impression that this was a key ingredient.
Anyone have any experience with cooking these dishes? Or at least eating them enough that you could point me in the right direction (regions in China, must-have ingredients, etc.).
One thing I’ve noticed, having tried a few places and gotten a couple of different versions, is I tend to like ones with sesame and/or peanut in them, similar to Noodle 101 in the SGV.
I don’t know if that’s a regional variation or if it’s just a preference thing. If you come up with a good version, spread the wealth!
I don’t like peanut butter, and it’s only very rarely that I crave sesame paste noodles. That’s one of the reasons it’s so hard to sift through all the recipes.
How do you do that?! I’ve been searching obscure Chinese food blogs, and you find a recipe on Saveur that sounds like what I want. I’ll give it a try and report back.
At our house, the Northern Chinese (not Korean) ragu: Ground pork (or 1/2 beef 1/2 pork), sesame oil, dried/soy tofu cubes, diced slightly boiled carrots, diced slightly boiled white turnip, black bean sauce, soy sauce, a hint of ground fresh garlic, touch of salt, touch of pepper, small shot of corn starch in solution, a dash of MSG (yes, MSG - deal with it). Note I did not mention suan cai or gan cai (preserved or dried vegetables).
You can use sweet bean sauce with actual black beans also.
Northern China in my house means the general provincial areas of Shaanxi, Beijing, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Lianoning & Shandong. The legend is that my great-grandfather got this recipe from his time in Harbin (minus MSG).
At your consternation, I will stop typing stereos as well. Onegashimasu.
Zha Jian (either Korean or Chinese versions) are pretty different from Dan Dan sauce.
Just because both (or all three) have pork doesn’t mean they’re either similar in prep, taste, or ingredients. Sort of like saying both pizzas and lahmacuns are bread products topped with tomatoes does not mean that the two are prepped similarly, or even comparably.
For what it’s worth, only dan dan sauce traditionally uses preserved vegetables (yai cai), never zha jian (either Korean or Chinese versions).
Thank you, that is why I am asking here. I knew I would get some clarification. The internet does not always know that of which it speaks.
Okay, the best dan dan noodles I ever had had ya cai, but not sesame paste or peanut butter (which I don’t really like). Is it actually traditional to add peanut butter? It seems odd to me.
foodnetwork.com has some great recipes. Depends on who they came from. Alton Brown, Ina Garten, Mario Batali, Jamie Oliver, several others are pretty good.
Americanized and sometimes Taiwanese versions of Dan Dan sauce will use peanut butter (or sesame paste). In the case of Taiwanese dan dan sauce made with peanut butter it is more properly called “ma jian” (or 麻醬) and not “dan dan” (or 擔擔).
Traditional Sichuan dan dan sauce never has peanut butter (or sesame paste).
None of these sauces – zha jian or dan dan – are soupy. Paste-y? Yes. Soupy? No.
I made this recipe last night. The pork sauce was salty, and not very spicy. Th flavors were a bit muddied. It may be my chili oil.
I’m going to make another batch today, using a different recipe… I think this is one of those dishes where you can vary the proportions of ingredients until you find a version you like.