Servings: 2
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
for the pickled celery:
2 ribs celery, diced
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
½ cup|125 ml rice wine vinegar
Videos by VICE
for the pickled mustard seeds:
½ cup|90 grams yellow mustard seeds
⅓ cup|65 ml champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
for the spicy peanuts:
1 cup|128 grams toasted peanuts
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
for the dan dan noodles:
¼ cup|60 ml canola oil
1 pound|450 grams ground pork butt
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 ½ tablespoons pixian doubanjiang (fermented fava beans)
⅓ cup|60 grams lao gan ma chili crisps
1 ½ teaspoons ground Sichuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon chili powder
¾ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 ½ teaspoons Shaoxing cooking wine
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
⅓ cup|50 grams yacai
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 (10.6-ounce|300-gram) package rice noodles
to serve:
chili oil, to finish
Sichuan peppercorn oil, to finish
pea tendrils, to garnish
Directions
- Pickle the celery: Toss the celery with the salt and sugar in a small bowl and let sit for 30 minutes, then cover with the rice wine vinegar.
- Pickle the mustard seeds: In a small saucepan, mix the mustard seeds, vinegar, sugar, and salt with ⅔ cup|158 ml water. Cook over medium until the mixture is thick and the mustard seeds are plump and hydrated, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Make the spicy peanuts: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- Make the dan dan noodles: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium. Add the pork and cook, stirring and breaking it up into smaller pieces, until the fat has rendered and the pork is cooked, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pixian doubanjang and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chile crisp, ground Sichaun peppercorns, chile powder, white pepper, and sugar and stir to combine. Cook 1 minute more, then stir in the oyster sauce, Shaoxing, dark soy sauce. Stir to combine, then stir in the yacai and scallions. Stir to combine, then keep warm.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Drain, then divide between two serving bowls. Top half of each bowl with the sauce, then scoop on some mustard seeds and celery to the other half (about a tablespoon of each). Sprinkle that half with the peanuts and garnish with the pea tendrils.
Get recipes like this and more in the Munchies Recipes newsletter. Sign up here .
