Dan Dan Noodles
By :The Instant Pot Bible by Bruce Weinstein
Hot, spicy, and satisfying, this streamlined version of the classic Sichuan dish will take the chill off any evening. It’s traditionally made with fresh noodles; but by cooking dried spaghetti right in the sauce, the flavors meld into some cross between a pasta casserole and a Chinese classic. Have lots of beer on hand!
Votes: 21
Rating: 4.9
Rate this recipe!
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Course Main Course
Cuisine Modern
Difficulty Easy
Browse Category Rice & Pastas
Duration 15-30 min
Cooking Technique Max Pressure Cook, Pressure Cook
Main Ingredient Chicken Broth, Ground Pork
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable, corn, or canola oil)
  • 1 lb lean ground pork
  • 6 medium scallions trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp sambal oelek or a hot red pepper sauce such as Sriracha or less
  • 3 medium garlic cloves peeled and minced (1 tablespoon)
  • 1 tbsp peeled fresh ginger minced
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp dry sherry, dry vermouth, or water
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 8 ounces dried spaghetti broken in half
Course Main Course
Cuisine Modern
Difficulty Easy
Browse Category Rice & Pastas
Duration 15-30 min
Cooking Technique Max Pressure Cook, Pressure Cook
Main Ingredient Chicken Broth, Ground Pork
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable, corn, or canola oil)
  • 1 lb lean ground pork
  • 6 medium scallions trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp sambal oelek or a hot red pepper sauce such as Sriracha or less
  • 3 medium garlic cloves peeled and minced (1 tablespoon)
  • 1 tbsp peeled fresh ginger minced
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp dry sherry, dry vermouth, or water
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 8 ounces dried spaghetti broken in half
Votes: 21
Rating: 4.9
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Instructions
  1. Press Saute, set time for 10 minutes.
  2. Heat the oil in the cooker for a minute or two. Crumble in the pork and cook, stirring often and breaking up any clumps, until gray but not browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in the scallions, sambal oelek or hot sauce, garlic, and ginger. Cook until aromatic, just a few seconds.
  3. Add the tahini, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sherry (or its substitutes), and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well until the tahini is uniform in the mixture, then stir in the broth. Turn off the SAUTE function, add the spaghetti, and submerge the noodles in the sauce without their touching the bottom of the insert. Lock the lid onto the pot.
  4. Optional 1 Max Pressure Cooker
    Press Pressure cook on Max pressure for 4 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
  5. Optional 2 All Pressure Cookers
    Press Pressure cook (Manual) on High pressure for 6 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
  6. Use the quick-release method to bring the pot’s pressure back to normal. Unlatch the lid and open the cooker. Stir well before serving.
Recipe Notes

Beyond
• You must halve the recipe for a 3-quart cooker.
• To make the flavor more authentic and less like sesame noodles, substitute sunflower seed butter for the tahini. Or skip the fancy stuff and use natural-style creamy peanut butter.
• To be more authentic, you can also substitute ¼ cup Chinese black vinegar for the balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
• And substitute Shaoxing (a Chinese rice wine) for the sherry, vermouth, or water.
• Finally, use roasted Chinese chiles in oil, particularly Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp Sauce, instead of the sambal oelek or hot sauce.

18 replies
  1. Panda Norwood
    Panda Norwood says:

    Awesome recipe!!! Only modify i did was reducing the hot spice to 1/2 tps and did 1/4 both smooth peanutbutter and tahini

  2. MB48
    MB48 says:

    I am so glad I tried this, because its delicious! I lessened the siracha to only a tablespoon and that was enough spice for me. If you like lots of heat go to the full 2 tbsp recommendation. Easy to make, quick to cook. Keeping this on my rotation for weeknight menu options.

  3. ltjones
    ltjones says:

    I’ve made this recipe about 7 or 8 times and I love it more each time! I like the heat from 2T of the Sriracha chili sauce, but if your sensitive to spicy foods I recommend you start with half that amount to see how it works best. To make the recipe ❤️ healthy, I use ground turkey also.

  4. Heatherstephanie
    Heatherstephanie says:

    Wow! Such an easy recipe love Dan Dan noodles I added green onion and freshly ground peanuts at the end for garnish and crunch will definitely make again

  5. Jeff Quade
    Jeff Quade says:

    Awesome recipe! It turned into a crowd favorite. First of all I doubled the recipe. The only change I made was I used diced pork sirloin instead of ground because I was out. We are going to add this into the weekly rotation. Next I will try it with chicken, then maybe beef, and who knows, maybe even tofu. Great flavor.

  6. Carriedavis
    Carriedavis says:

    Great and easy to make. The ingredients were easy to find in the grocery store. Very spicy and delicious. I will make it again, but I’m interested in trying some of the variations.
    Thanks!

  7. Reneekphillips
    Reneekphillips says:

    Really good recipe!!! I used all the substutions for the more authentic flavour, and it was delish! I used 100g of udon noodles instead of spaghetti which also made it more authentic.

  8. Hannahscottty
    Hannahscottty says:

    I never write reviews but i had to for this meal! 10/10!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Substitutions: morning star crumbles ,veggie broth, crunchy peanut butter, whole wheat noodles, balsamic, 1/2 white onion sliced, sriacha plus red pepper flakes , sub water for sherry

    8 mins instead of 6

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