Vegan dan dan noodles: A 15-minute Sichuan-inspired bowl with a kick

A comforting, nutty, spicy noodle dish made meat-free with mushrooms – Emma Chung’s version of this Chengdu street food favourite couldn’t be easier

Nutty, spicy and slurp-worthy – this vegan twist on Sichuan’s classic noodles hits every note (Ola O Smit)

“If you’re walking through the streets of Chengdu, you’ll see countless noodle shops selling dan dan noodles – a mixed noodle served at room temperature, topped with minced pork and a spicy nutty sauce,” says Emma Chung.

“My version is vegan and I use mushrooms instead. I’ve given you an option to use fresh mushrooms or rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms. The two give slightly different results. You can also use a mixture of both, if you prefer.”

Dan dan noodles

Serves: 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tsp neutral cooking oil

200g fresh mushrooms (any variety), finely chopped (or 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated)

2 spring onions, finely chopped (white and green parts separated)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

1 tsp light soy sauce

Pinch of ground white pepper

2 tbsp water (or mushroom soaking liquid)

Pinch of salt

2 servings of thin wheat noodles

½ tsp crushed or ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional but recommended)

For the sauce:

2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste or peanut butter

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp black rice vinegar

2-3 tsp chilli oil, or more to taste

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp sugar

Method:

Chung’s book is full of shortcut-packed, flavour-first recipes like this one – no meat or specialist kit required (Ebury)

1. Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and fry for 4-6 minutes until cooked. Add the spring onion whites, garlic, rice wine, light soy sauce, white pepper, water and a pinch of salt. Mix and taste to adjust the seasonings. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the sauce.

3. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook according to the packet instructions. Towards the end of cooking, add around 80ml of the noodle cooking water to the sauce and mix. For a thinner sauce, add more noodle cooking water. Drain the noodles, then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.

4. Divide the noodles between serving bowls. Evenly pour over the sauce and top with the mushrooms, spring onion greens and the crushed Sichuan peppercorns.

5. Drizzle with more chilli oil, to taste, and serve. Make sure to give the noodles a good mix in the sauce before digging in.

‘Easy Chinese Food Anyone Can Make’ by Emma Chung (Ebury Press, £22).