Dan dan noodles with cucumber salad

You could call this dish a Sichuanese spaghetti bolognese. Fatty, sour, spicy and the ultimate comfort food. The recipe comes from the (wonderful!) cookbook Carbs, carbs, carbs by Meike Krüger. You can buy the special dan dan noodles at the Asian grocery store. Meike herself likes to buy dried Taiwanese sao tau noodles.

Meike: ‘I make this dish quite sour and use less sesame paste than is usually used, which makes the dish lighter in flavour. I also use Sichuan peppercorns in this recipe. These are spicy, dried berries from a citrus plant. A much-used ingredient in Sichuan cuisine. They have a slightly lemony, tingling flavour and can temporarily numb your tongue. They are usually roasted first and then crushed in a mortar, and are available at any Asian grocery store. Would you prefer to make this recipe vegetarian? Replace the minced meat with vegetarian mince or finely chopped shiitake mushrooms.’

• First, make the cucumber salad. In a large bowl, mix the cucumber with the remaining ingredients. Set aside.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil in advance to cook the noodles in later.
• In a dry frying pan, roast the Sichuan peppercorns until they begin to release their aroma. Remove the pan from the heat and crush the peppercorns in a mortar. Set aside.
• Also roast the fennel seeds and star anise in a dry frying pan until they begin to release their aroma. Then add the minced meat, chillies and ginger. Fry until the meat is crumbly. Then add the soy sauce and vinegar.

• In a large bowl, mix the ingredients for the sauce. Make sure the sesame paste is thoroughly combined with the other ingredients. Set aside.
• Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package until al dente. Drain and mix with the sauce. Also add the minced meat, crushed peppercorns and mustard greens, and mix again. Finally, sprinkle with the spring onion.
• Serve the noodles with the cucumber salad.