This Cook's Country recipe was inspired by Dan Dan Mien; their goal was to make something based on dan dan noodles that could be easily cooked on a weeknight and relied on ingredients that could be easily found in a north american supermarket. For the most part, I think they succeeded, and the result is very tasty indeed.

As written, the recipe calls for ground pork. We swapped that out for mushrooms and tofu, and I have no complaints, although I think it might have been even better with seitan or tempeh; the tempeh, in particular, would more closely match the texture of the ground pork.

A few other adjustments have been made: the original uses tapwater instead of reserved pasta water for the sauce, and sherry instead of shaoxing wine. They also recommend making (or buying) sichuan chili oil as an optional topping.

Spicy Sesame Noodles with Tofu & Mushrooms

Cook's Country

Ingredients

• 15mL butter
• 200g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 200g extra firm smoked tofu, sliced and chopped into ~1cm squares
• 500g whole wheat spaghetti
• 30mL toasted sesame oil
• 45+15mL soy sauce (I used a 1:1 light:dark soy mix)
• 15+10mL hoisin sauce
• 15mL shaoxing wine or white wine
• 60mL tahini
• 30mL rice vinegar
• 15mL sambal oleck
• 10mL sugar
• 60mL oil
• 6 green onions, sliced thin, green and white parts separated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced, or 30mL garlic paste
• 5mL red pepper flakes
• 2mL ground Sichuan peppercorns

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Sautée mushrooms and tofu until mushrooms have released their liquid and softened and tofu has started to brown, ~10? minutes. Remove from skillet and buffer.
3. Meanwhile, boil water. Add pasta and 15mL salt and cook until just past al dente. Drain, reserving 250mL of the pasta water, and return noodles to the pot. Toss with sesame oil and cover to keep warm.
4. Whisk together tahini, vinegar, sambal oleck, sugar, salt, 45mL soy sauce, 10mL hoisin sauce, and the reserved pasta water in a medium bowl.
5. Add oil, the white parts of the green onions, garlic, pepper flakes, and Sichuan pepper to the skillet. Cook over medium heat until fragrant, ~2 minutes.
6. Pour contents of skillet into pasta pot. Add tahini sauce, green onions, mushrooms, and tofu. Toss to combine.