Dan Dan Noodles

Before we start, let me clarify something. I don’t pretend to know how to make every dish China has to offer. It’s a big country! But when I make up my mind to learn how to make a dish (usually one I personally love), I’m big on research. I study the origins of the dish, compare recipes, look at Chinese cooking websites, and test recipes several times before the final result is approved by our critics (i.e. Bill, Sarah, and Kaitlin). We must have tried no fewer than a dozen versions of this Dan Dan Noodles recipe. It’s one of those dishes that’s so widespread among Chinese noodle recipes, there are a lot of variations out there. Right off the bat, I knew Dan Dan Noodles was going to be a tough recipe to nail down. Last weekend, we did three tries. An arduous process that sounded something like this: