Dan Dan Noodles

By tulawdog

Ingredients

• For the Roasted Chili Oil Vinaigrette
• 1/2 cup roasted chili oil (see note)
• 3 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar (see note)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated on a microplane grater
• To Serve
• 12 ounces fresh chinese noodles (or 6 ounces dried noodles)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 ounces ground pork
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped preserve Sichuan Vegetable (zha cai, see note)
• 2 ounces roasted peanuts, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn, finely ground in a mortar and pestle
• 2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
• 2 tablespoons finely sliced scallion greens

Preparation

Step 1

For the Roasted Chili Vinaigrette: Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and stir vigorously to mix.

To Finish: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain. While noodles are cooking, heat oil in a wok or a small skillet over high heat until smoking. Add pork and preserved vegetable and cook, stirring and shaking constantly, using spatule or spoon to break up pork until cooked through, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Transfer noodles to serving bowl and top with pork mixture. Stir vinaigrette and spoon over and around the noodles (you may not want to use all of it). Sprinkle with roasted peanuts, sichuan peppercorn, grated garlic, and scallion greens. Serve immediately.