Name: Dan dan (ish) noodles
Total time: 25 min
Yield: Serves 4-6
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 400g pork mince; 4 large cloves garlic thinly sliced; 1 heaped tbsp Chinese five-spice; 1 tbsp sichuan peppercorns finely grated; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 4 tbsp toban jiang chilli bean paste (see notes below); 2 tbsp chiu chow chilli oil (see notes below); 200g fine green beans each cut into 3; 300g dried egg noodles; 2 tbsp tahini; 4 spring onions thinly sliced; a handful toasted sesame seeds

400g pork mince
4 large cloves garlic
thinly sliced
1 heaped tbsp Chinese five-spice
1 tbsp sichuan peppercorns
finely grated
1 tbsp sesame oil
4 tbsp toban jiang chilli bean paste
(see notes below)
2 tbsp chiu chow chilli oil
(see notes below)
200g fine green beans
each cut into 3
300g dried egg noodles
2 tbsp tahini
4 spring onions
thinly sliced
a handful toasted sesame seeds

Method

step 1
Dry-fry the pork mince in a wok or deep frying pan over a high heat for 5 minutes, breaking it down with the side of a spoon. Before it’s fully cooked, add the garlic, five-spice, sichuan pepper and sesame oil, and stir well. Keep moving the mince around for 5 minutes so it begins to crisp up but doesn’t stick. Add the chilli bean paste and chilli oil, and mix well, before adding the green beans and stir-frying for a few minutes to soften.
step 2
Cook the noodles following pack instructions, then drain, reserving the water, and set aside.
step 3
Add 300ml of the noodle water to the pork mixture, stir well, add the tahini and stir well again. Simmer until the mixture forms a saucy consistency (add a splash of lukewarm water to loosen, if needed).
step 4
To serve, plate the noodles and pour the pork mixture over them. Garnish with spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.