Ben Ben Noodles

Name: Ben Ben Noodles
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Ingredients: 250g fresh shiitake mushrooms; 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns; 1 tbsp rapeseed oil; 40g pickled gherkins, finely chopped; 2 spring onions, sliced diagonally; 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine; 2 tsp light soy sauce; 200g wholewheat noodles; 200g choi sum or baby pak choi, quartered; 3 tbsp tahini; 3 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp chilli oil, with sediment to taste; 1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar

8 steps

Prep:20minCook:20min

It burst my bubble when I found out that dan dan noodles, the infamous Sichuanese dish, was not named after two men called Dan but the type of pole used by street-sellers to carry baskets of noodles and sauce. But in this instance, the name ‘ben ben’ refers to my friend, the great cook Ben Benton, on whose recipe this dish is based. Here, shiitake mushrooms rub alongside tahini and chilli oil to make an astoundingly good sauce that is hot enough to put hairs on your chest.

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 21:08:03 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Great

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories723.8 kcal (36%)

Total Fat27.3 g (39%)

Carbs97.6 g (38%)

Sugars13.5 g (15%)

Protein22.3 g (45%)

Sodium1684.4 mg (84%)

Fiber11.9 g (42%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

2 servings

250gfresh shiitake mushrooms

1 tspsichuan peppercorns

1 Tbsprapeseed oil

40gpickled gherkins

finely chopped

2spring onions

sliced diagonally

1 Tbspshaoxing rice wine

2 tsplight soy sauce

200gwholewheat noodles

200gchoi sum

or baby pak choi, quartered

Sauce

3 Tbsptahini

3 Tbsplight soy sauce

1 Tbspchilli oil

with sediment to taste

1 Tbspchinkiang vinegar

Instructions

Step 1

Place the mushrooms in a food processor and blitz to lentil-sized pieces (but be careful they don’t turn to soup).

Step 2

Put the peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a low flame and toast for around 4 minutes until fragrant, then grind with a pestle and mortar and set aside.

Step 3

In the same pan, heat the oil over a high flame. Add the mushrooms and fry for 8 to 10 minutes until dark brown and beginning to crisp, pressing into a single layer with the back of a spoon to maximize crisping potential.

Step 4

Add the gherkins, the spring onions and the ground Sichuan pepper, and fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice wine and soy sauce, and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes until dry and crunchy.

Step 5

To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. The sauce will look a little split at first, but just keep mixing until it comes together.

Step 6

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, stirring to separate the noodles and adding the greens for the final 2 minutes. Just before the noodles have finished cooking, fill a mug with the noodle cooking water.

Step 7

Drain the noodles and greens, place the greens to one side and the noodles in a bowl. Mix in the sauce and add the cooking water, tablespoon by tablespoon (I needed 6) until the noodles are nice and saucy.

Step 8

Divide between two plates, put the mushroom mixture on top and the greens to the side of each bowl.