Umbrian Dan Dan Udon

Umbrian Dan Dan Udon noodles with crispy sausages, fennel, a spicy sesame and homemade chilli oil sauce and topped with pak choi for freshness. Its the udon recipe you’ve been waiting for!

Done in 30 minutes

Dish by Tom Jackson

Ingredients

Chilli oil:

200mlgroundnut oil

6 tbspchilli flakes

1cinnamon stick

2star anise

70gsichuan peppercorns

1 tspMSG

Sauce:

6pork sausages

1 tspfennel seeds

1 tspfreshly ground black pepper

3cm pieceginger, diced

3garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tspfive spice powder

2 tbspdark soy sauce

1 tbspshaoxing rice wine

1 tbsphoisin sauce

Dan dan sauce:

2 tbspchinese sesame paste or tahini

2 tbsplight soy sauce

1 tbspcaster sugar

½ tsp five spice powder

50mlchilli oil

2garlic cloves, grated

200gdried udon noodles

300gpak choi

Fresh coriander, spring onions and peanuts, to serve

This twist on the classic Dan Dan noodles replaces traditional hand pulled noodles with bouncing Udon noodles! I've also added sausage and a touch of fennel to throw reference to those Umbrian flavours. This one is a banger!

Method

Make your chilli oil, by heating your oil, then add your star anise, sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon. Bring to 160 degrees then turn the heat off.

Then add your chilli flakes and remove the cinnamon and star anise. Set to one side.

Make your sausage mix by removing the sausages from their cases and fry in a wok. Add fennel seeds, black pepper, garlic, ginger, 5 spice, dark soy, chinese wine and hoisin. Cook until sticky and dark brown.

Then make your dan dan sauce, add all the ingredients for the sauce to the bowl and whisk together.

Cook your udon in a large pot of water until bouncing and delicious. Then blanch your pak choi.

Assemble your dish with the dan dan sauce, followed by the noodles, sausage meat, pak choi, coriander, peanuts and spring onions!

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Tom Jackson

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Originally hailing from Birmingham, England and with a culinary heritage sprawling around Britain, Tom, the host of Shelf Life and Alphabetti, is a cook from nowhere that takes inspiration from everywhere. Passionate about the shared food experience and the commonalities between supposedly separate cuisines, Tom showcases broad and thorough references in his cooking and has a particular love for spices. He is also obsessed with pasta salads and is currently waiting for Mr. Naga to get in touch regarding his Ambassadorship.