Kimchi Dan Dan Noodles
An untraditional, but delicious take on the Chinese dan dan noodles, with Korean ingredients like fermented kimchi and gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes).
Ingredients
- 8 oz thin wheat noodles ideally fresh, but dried will work
- yu choy, gailan, spinach, or other dark leafy greens
- neutral oil for cooking (avocado, canola, vegetable, etc.)
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch knob of ginger
- 1 shallot or 1/4 onion
- 1-2 stalks scallions whites and greens separated
ground pork mixture
- 5 oz ground pork
- 1/4 cup fermented kimchi chopped
- 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- tiny pinch sugar
- tiny pinch salt
sauce
- cooked aromatics (garlic, ginger, shallots, scallion whites)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter or sesame paste (I like chunky peanut butter for the crunchy bits)
- 1 tbsp fermented kimchi brine or 1/2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, or rice vinegar)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 2 tbsp chili crisp + oil (use more if preferred!)
- 1/8 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 4-6 tbsp hot water (depending on how thick of a sauce you prefer)
garnish
- chopped roasted peanuts
- chopped fermented kimchi
- scallion greens
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients
- Mince all the aromatics (or use a food processor and pulse until finely chopped). Chop the fermented kimchi into small pieces.4-5 cloves garlic, 1 inch knob of ginger, 1 shallot, 1-2 stalks scallions, 1/4 cup fermented kimchi
Cook the ground pork and noodles
- Heat up a pot of water to cook the noodles. While you wait for the pot of water to boil, you can start on the ground pork.
- Heat up a separate pan on medium heat, then add 1-2 tbsp of neutral oil and half of the aromatics. Once fragrant (2-3 min), add the ground pork. Break up the ground pork into small chunks, and cook until there’s no more pink left.neutral oil for cooking, 5 oz ground pork
- Add the seasonings for the ground pork and continue cooking until lightly caramelized.2 tsp Shaoxing wine, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, tiny pinch sugar, tiny pinch salt
- Add the kimchi, and continue stir-frying for 2-3 min. Remove the ground pork and kimchi from the pan, leaving any oil in the pan.1/4 cup fermented kimchi
- Add the rest of the chopped aromatics into the pan, and additional oil if necessary. Cook for 3-4 min, or until aromatics are fragrant and lightly caramelized. Set aside.
- In the pot of boiling water, add the thin wheat noodles, and cook according to the package directions. For the ones I’m using (in the video), it only requires 3-4 minutes in boiling water. In the last minute of cooking, add the leafy greens.8 oz thin wheat noodles, yu choy, gailan, spinach, or other dark leafy greens
- Save 1/2 cup of the boiling water for the sauce. Drain the noodles and greens, then rinse in cold water to prevent overcooking.
Mix the sauce together and assemble
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Taste and adjust to your preferences.cooked aromatics (garlic, ginger, shallots, scallion whites) , 1/4 cup peanut butter or sesame paste, 1 tbsp fermented kimchi brine, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp gochugaru, 2 tbsp chili crisp + oil, 1/8 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 4-6 tbsp hot water
- To assemble, ladle a few spoonfuls of the sauce at the bottom, a serving of the cooked noodles, the ground pork + kimchi, leafy greens, and any extra garnishes. I like to add chopped roasted peanuts, more kimchi, and scallions. Mix it all together and enjoy!chopped roasted peanuts, chopped fermented kimchi, scallion greens
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!