Asian. The week is winding down and we decided to stay in. For those of you that saw my original menu plan for the week, I had planned on going out to dinner on Thursday night. That never happened and we finished the night off with a re-run of the pulled chicken sandwiches from Tuesday. Tonight, I made Dan Dan Noodles. I've never heard of a dish with that name before. However, I've had the flavor combination before. Salty, nutty, with a little heat. This somewhat spicy dish gets cooled down with some soothing cucumber chunks on the top. I highly recommend the dish. See my "on the fly" variation to the actual recipe below. Planning didn't make me think of everything this week! 
Cooking Light Magazine, November 2009 Issue
- 1 pound frozen fresh Chinese egg noodles, thawed
- 2 T canola oil
- 1/2 c dry roasted peanuts
- 3 T low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 T sambal oelek
- 1 t sugar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 (1/2-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
- 8 oz lean ground pork
- 1/8 t salt
- 3 T fresh lime juice
- 3/4 c thinly diagonally sliced green onions
- 1 1/4 c chopped seeded peeled cucumber
- 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
- Cook noodles in 6 quarts boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and reserve 3/4 c cooking liquid.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add peanuts to pan; saute 2 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Combine the peanut mixture and the above ingredients (soy sauce through ginger) in a mini chopper and process until finely ground.
- Cook the pork with salt in skillet over medium-high for 8 minutes or until browned. Add peanut mixture and reserved pasta liquid. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute stirring frequently. Add pork mixture, juice, and onions to the noodles tossing well.
- Serve topped with cucumbers
Now for my variations. First, I forgot to buy peanuts. Thankfully, I had chunky peanut butter at home. I used this and cut down a bit on the oil. I still needed a bit of oil to let my mini chopper get through everything. Second, I didn't buy Chinese egg noodles. I had some udon noodles from World Market at home. I chose to use them and it turned out wonderful. A great dish and I highly recommend it. Good leftovers too!
