Niu Rou Dan Dan Mian 牛肉擔擔麵 Beef Dan Dan Noodles

Too soon for another noodle dish with mince? Well certainly not here at the Tummies'!

Spring is here and the weather has been brilliant. Spending hours in the kitchen (after a 9 hour shift in a commercial kitchen) is out of the question, so a simple, quick and delicious one dish meal such as this Sichuan classic is a godsend.

The dish is named after the shoulder poles (dan dan, 擔擔) that once transported street vendors' stoves and everything else needed for business around the neighbourhood.

Unlike its equally popular cousin zha jiang mian (炸醬麵), this dish doesn't require slow simmering of the meat sauce, leaving one plenty of time to enjoy the wonderful spring days. But be warned, it is just as addictive!

There are numerous versions of this popular dish around but this is one I adapted from my favourite food writer and Sichuan cookery expert Fuchsia Dunlop's latest book, Every Grain Of Rice.

recipe adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain Of Rice
serve 10 as an one dish meal
you'll need;
3 tbs of cooking oil
15 dried chillies, snipped and seeds removed
5 tsp of Sichuan pepper
250 g of Sichuanese ya cai (see next photo and notes)
3 tbs of light soy
pinch of salt
Dried Chinese wheat flour noodles (allow 100g per serve)
chopped spring onions to serve
blanched bok choy or Asian greens of your choice to serve

for the sauce (individual serve) ;
1/4 tsp of ground roasted Sichuan pepper
2 tbs of sesame paste
3 tbs of light soy
2 tsp of dark soy
4 tbs of chilli oil with itd sediment

This is what Sichuanese ya cai looks like. A must have ingredient in another popular Sichuan dish - dry fried green beans. If unavailable, substitute with more commonly available Tianjin preserved vegetable instead.

Add cooking oil to a hot wok or pan and saute the dried chillies and Sichuan pepper for around 10 seconds over medium heat. Add ya cai and continue to saute until the oil is hot and fragrant.

Add mince to the pan and stir fry on high heat, breaking up large lumps as you go.

When the meat is lightly brown and a little crisp, splash in the soy. Mix well and season with a pinch of salt.

To prepare the sauce, simply place all sauce ingredients in individual bowl and mix well.

Cook noodles till al dente, drain, rinse and drain well.

Place noodles in the bowls with the sauce , top with some of the fried mince, (I also added some chopped spring onions and blanched bok choy for a bit of extra vibrancy), mix well and enjoy.

Knife Cut Noodles With Spicy Preserved Vegetable And Mince Sauce 麻辣雪菜肉碎刀削麵

It has been a while since I last posted a noodle dish and this is another variation of "noodles with mince sauce" that will feed the whole family happily without breaking a sweat or the bank.

I found this knife cut noodles 刀削麵 from an Asian grocer a while back and I must say we are now completely hooked, needless to say my pantry is now very well stocked with this new favourite of ours. Together with my other kitchen staples such as hot bean paste and various kinds of preserved vegetables, such a simple but delicious meal can be prepared without too much of a fuss.

Feel free to serve the mince sauce with your favourite noodles if you are unable to find the knife cut noodles used here.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 8 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 cm knob of ginger, chopped
5 bird chillies, chopped (optional)
4 tbs of hot bean paste
1 kg of mince of your choice
1 packet of preserved xue cai (see bellow)
1 l of stock
2 tbs of light soy
2 tbs of dack soy
1 tbs of sichuan pepper, roasted and crushed
corn flour solution for thickening
1 continental cucumber, julienned
1 bunch of spinach, picked, blanched and refreshed, drained well
2 spring onions, chopped
1 packet of dried knife cut noodles, cooked until al dente just before serving

This is what fresh xue cai (雪菜，Brassica juncea var. crispifolia), also known as curly mustard greens looks like. Preserved xue cai is available at most Asian grocers, sometimes with added bamboo shoots which is what I used in this recipe. If preserved xue cai is not available, simply replace it with other type of preserved vegetables.

Chop onion, garlic and ginger. On the right is what preserved xue cai looks like.

Saute chopped ingredients with 4 tbs of cooking oil, when the onion is slightly brown add in the hot bean paste. Continue to saute for a minute or two.

Add mince to the pot and mix well, breaking up lumps as you go. 

When the mince is no longer pink, add in the preserved xue cai, stock and the rest of the seasonings, mix well, cover and allow to simmer for 35 to 40 minutes. Thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution and check for seasonings.

While the sauce is cooking away, prepare the cucumber and spinach. They help to cut through the fairly intense sauce, also will brighten up the final dish.

Cook noodles just before serving.

Divide noodles into individual serving bowls, ladle some of the mince sauce over, top with julienned cucumber, blanched spinach and some chopped spring onions.

Mix well and enjoy!

Silky Eggplant With Spicy Mince Sauce 香辣肉碎茄子

Working up to 9 hours a day 6 days a week in a commercial kitchen without adequate support means I rarely cook at home these days. And when I do, simple no fuss dishes such as this soul warming eggplant dish from my childhood days are the preferred choice.

What's not to like about a bowl of silky pieces of eggplants swimming in a spicy mince sauce? It reminds me of home and even after I discovered the exotic fish flavoured eggplant (魚香茄子) from Sichuan, it continues to be my most favourite eggplant dish of all time. 

P.S It's good to be back knowing there are still readers who continue to read and cook using recipes from my once abandoned blog. Also a big thank you for all your encouraging comments since my return!

serves 4 to 6 as part of a Chinese meal

you'll need;

1 kg of oriental eggplants or continental eggplants, cut into chunks

oil for deep frying

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

5 bird chillies, chopped

3 cm knob of ginger, chopped

2 tbs of yellow bean paste

1 tbs of fermented black beans, chopped

2 tbs of oyster sauce

2 tbs of dark soy

3 tbs of sugar

a good splash of Chinese cooking wine

2/3 cup of water

corn flour solution

2 spring onions, chopped

for the mince;

250 g of mince of your choice

1 tbs of light soy

1 tbs of Chinese cooking wine

1 tsp of sesame oil

a pinch of white pepper

1 tbs of corn flour

Chop garlic, chillies and ginger and set aside. Chop spring onions and set aside.

Cut eggplants into large chunks, soak in water for for 15 minutes and drain well. This prevents the eggplant from soaking excessive amount of oil during the frying process.

Soak off excess water from the eggplants with a tea towel and fry eggplants in hot oil in batches until golden and tender. Drain well and set aside.

Saute chopped garlic, chillies and ginger with a little oil until fragrant then add in the mince and continue to cook on high heat, breaking up large lumps until the mince is no longer pink.

Add yellow bean paste, chopped fermented black beans and the rest of the seasonings and mix well, cook for a minute on high heat, stirring constantly.

Add water to the pot and bring it to a simmer, check for seasonings.

Return fried eggplant to the pot and mix well, when it returns to a simmer, slowly add in the corn flour solution to thicken the sauce. Add chopped spring onions and mix well.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice and enjoy! :)