Vegan Dandan Style Noodles

Today I have another pasta recipe because most people like pasta and can find it at their grocery stores. This recipe is very rich and spicy! It is an Americanized, veganized version of a Chinese noodle dish. There are 3 components to this recipe: noodles, “meat,” and sauce. For the meat you can choose to do it several ways: TVP, frozen vegan ground beef such as the one by Boca or Gardein, fresh vegan ground beef such as beyond or impossible meat, or you can use cooked lentils. I will give instructions on each one.

The history of Dan Dan Noodles is interesting to me. Dan dan noodles trace their origins back to the Sichuan province of China. This spicy and flavorful dish is believed to have been created by street vendors and has evolved over centuries to become a staple in Chinese cuisine. The name "dan dan" comes from the pole (dan) that the vendors used to carry the noodles and sauce to sell in the streets. Traditional toppings include minced pork, preserved vegetables, and chili oil, although there are now vegan variations available to suit different dietary preferences. As the dish has gained popularity worldwide, variations can be found in many Chinese restaurants, both traditional and modern.

Recipe for TVP use:

• 1 cup of TVP [the kind that is small pieces]

• 1/2 cup of imitation beef broth or vegetable broth

• 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon of ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

  Put everything together in a medium size bowl and mix it together gently until well combined. I use my clean hands to do this. Set this aside for later.

  Ingredients for frozen vegan ground meat, fresh vegan ground meat or cooked lentils:

• 1/2 package of vegan ground meat, 1/2 lb of fresh vegan ground meat or 1 1/2 cups of cooked lentils

• 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon of garlic

• 1 teaspoon of ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

  Recipe for vegan meat use:

  Thaw the frozen vegan ground meat. If you are using fresh vegan meat or lentils thawing is not necessary. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix it together until well combined and set it aside.

  Ingredients for the sauce:

• 3 tablespoons of tahini or other nut butter you have on hand

• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons of sugar

• 2 Tablespoons of Chinese chili oil or 2 tablespoons of any oil you have mixed with hot sauce to your taste level.

• 2 tablespoons of neutral flavored oil [because if you just used chili oil for all of the oil it would be too spicy for most people]

  Whisk all of this together in a medium size bowl. Taste it to see if you want to add more of something. If it’s too salty add sugar etc.

  Other ingredients:

• 1/2 of a 16 oz package of spaghetti, cooked according to the package directions

• A handful of greens, chopped

  Prepare everything separately and set them aside. Put your choice of meat mixture into a large frying pan and cook it over medium heat until the TVP begins to brown in some places, the fresh vegan ground meat is fully cooked, or the frozen vegan ground meat or cooked lentil mixture is heated through. Add the chopped greens to the pan and cook everything together stirring gently until the greens become tender and wilt.

  Put the sauce in the bottom of a large bowl and put the cooked noodles on top. Top the noodles with the meat mixture and stir it up using chop sticks or two forks. Bring the sauce up from the bottom by picking the noodles from the bottom and pulling them up the top. Repeat until all is well combined.

  You can distribute this into individual serving size bowls and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

  Remember you can always adjust recipes to your taste. If it’s too oily, use less oil etc.