Dan Dan Noodles

The Dan Dan Noodles from 1.5 weeks ago were so good that we had to try them again. As previously mentioned, we added some extra vegetables to give the dish some more color, texture, and flavor.

So, this time we chopped up some red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and carrots and sauteed them for a few minutes at the beginning. I then removed the veggies from the pan and half cooked the ground turkey before throwing in the ginger and garlic. Once the turkey was fully cooked I added back in the veggies and stirred in the ingredients for the sauce.



I only used 4-5 tbsp of tahini instead of the 8 tbsp that I had used last time. I think the full amount was necessary and I'll be sure to go overboard with the tahini next time.

Previously I had just ground extra black pepper into the dish instead of whole peppercorns. I decided to try whole peppercorns this time and I don't think it was necessary. I squirted in a bit of Sriracha hot sauce to compensate for the lack of the Sichuan peppercorns and I think this was a great addition to the dish.

Also, instead of fully simmering and reducing the sauce, we were too hungry to wait so we just mixed it right away with the pasta. I believe this was a technical mistake. Be sure to let the sauce fully simmer and don't mix with the pasta in the pot. Be sure to distribute the pasta first so that the meat and sauce can be properly spooned over the noodles and all of the flavors of the dish can be enjoyed.

Despite some of the variations ultimately leading to the dish not being as good as the first experience, this was still a delicious meal and I'm sure we'll be making it again in the future.