Dandan noodles
| Dandan noodles | |||||||||||
Dandan noodles served in a Sichuan restaurant in Shanghai with the traditional red chili-oil sauce, pork, and scallions
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 擔擔麵 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 担担面 | ||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 擔仔麵 | ||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||
| Kanji | 担々麺 | ||||||||||
| Kana | タンタンメン | ||||||||||
Dandan noodles or dandanmian (traditional Chinese: 擔擔麵, simplified Chinese: 担担面) is a noodle dish originating from Chinese Sichuan cuisine. It consists of a spicy sauce containing preserved vegetables (often including zha cai (榨菜), lower enlarged mustard stems, or ya cai (芽菜), upper mustard stems), chili oil, Sichuan pepper, minced pork, and scallions served over noodles.
Sesame paste and/or peanut butter is sometimes added, and occasionally replaces the spicy sauce, usually in the Taiwanese and American Chinese style of the dish.[1] In this case, dandanmian is considered as a variation of ma jiang mian (麻醬麵), sesame sauce noodles. In American Chinese cuisine, dandanmian is often sweeter, less spicy, and less soupy than its Sichuan counterpart.
Origin and name
The name refers to a type of carrying pole (dan dan) that was used by walking street vendors who sold the dish to passers-by. The pole was carried over the shoulder, with two baskets containing noodles and sauce attached at either end. As the noodles were affordable due to their low cost, the local people gradually came to call them dandan noodles, referencing the street vendors. Literally, the name translates as "noodles carried on a pole", but may be better translated as "peddler's noodles".
A variety of English spellings are used. The first word may be either dandan, dundun or tantan, and the last word may also be spelled mein.
Related dishes
The same sauce is frequently served over poached chicken (called bonbon or bangbang chicken (棒棒鸡)), and on steamed, meat-filled dumplings in another Sichuan dish called suanla chaoshou. The corresponding Japanese dish is tantan-men, a form of ramen (formally 担担麺, as in Chinese, but often written with 々, or with 坦 instead of 担).
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan dan mian. |
- Authentic Dan Dan Mian recipe at KitchenChick.com
- Dan-Dan Noodles at FoodNetwork.com
- Chinese Dan Dan noodles at ChineseFoodFans.com
