Dan Dan Inspired Noodles

Bouncy, soft noodles served in a savory, creamy sauce with vegan ground beef. This dish is spicy, savory and extremely delicious.

 

I don’t know why but Dan Dan noodles have been popping up all over my Pinterest and Instagram feeds. So, naturally I took it as a sign to make some. Authentic Dan Dan noodles are made with a lot of chili oil and other ingredients I did not have. So this is my abridged, inspired Dan Dan noodle recipe. It comes together in 15 minutes and is very easy to make.

I don’t know why but Dan Dan noodles have been popping up all over my Pinterest and Instagram feeds. So, naturally I took it as a sign to make some. Authentic Dan Dan noodles are made with a lot of chili oil and other ingredients I did not have. So this is my abridged, inspired Dan Dan noodle recipe. It comes together in 15 minutes and is very easy to make.

 

Because I know a lot of us are stuck home with what we have in the pantry and it is hard to get groceries I am going to make some suggestions for replacements in this recipe. So hopefully this helps!
Vegan ground beef: textured vegetable protein, crumbled tofu, crumbled tempeh, lentils
Ramen noodles: spaghetti, linguine or angel hair pasta boiled with 1 tsp of baking soda to make it bouncy and ramen-like, any other long noodle you like or have (ex: udon)
Bok Choy: spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli or any leafy green
Soy Sauce: tamari, coconut aminos
Tahini: nut butter
Brown Sugar: maple syrup, regular sugar, coconut nectar, brown rice syrup

I kid you not when I say these noodles may become your new favorite quarantine meal. I know I fell in love pretty quickly. This recipe is completely nut free it does contain gluten and soy. If you need to avoid that use gluten free noodles and swap the soy sauce out. Also, be sure to check that your vegan ground beef substitute doesn’t contain soy or gluten either.

Sharing direct links to recipes and pictures is highly encouraged, please do not copy and paste my recipes or share my pictures without permission. I work very hard on my blog and don’t want to see my recipes popping up anywhere. Thank you so much.

INGREDIENTS

Sauce
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes, or more to taste
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons organic brown sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tahini

6 ounces (170g) vegan ground beef
½ teaspoon oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 nest of ramen (around 5 ounces [42g])
4 large leaves bok choy, chopped (about 75g)
1 green onion, chopped

METHOD

1. Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in the bottom of the serving bowl. Use a whisk to make sure it is well incorporated.
2. In a nonstick frypan pour the oil and let the garlic and red pepper flakes sauté for 2 minutes until crackly over medium heat. Add the vegan ground beef and sauté for about 5 minutes. Break the vegan ground beef up with a spatula.
3. In a separate pot boil the ramen noodles until soft. Reserve ¼ cup (60ml) of the ramen water.
4. Once the ground beef has begun to slightly brown and crisp up, add in the bok choy, 1 tablespoon of the sauce from earlier and 2 tablespoons of water. Toss to mix around and then put a lid on the pan. Cook covered for 3 to 5 minutes until bok choy has wilted.
5. Add the reserved ¼ cup of ramen water to the bowl with the sauce and whisk. This will become very thin and liquid like don’t worry.
6. Place the ramen in and the vegan ground beef bok choy mixture. Toss the noodles around to coat them in the sauce and absorb it.
7. Garnish with green onion and enjoy!

Makes 2 Servings

If you enjoyed this recipe please be sure to leave a comment or review, it is so helpful for the blog. Thank you!