Dan Dan Noodles

Chengdu's iconic street noodles — wheat noodles in a spicy, numbing sauce of sesame paste, chilli oil, Sichuan pepper and minced pork.

Dan dan noodles take their name from the carrying pole (dan) used by street vendors in Chengdu who carried the ingredients in baskets suspended from the pole. They walked through the streets making noodles to order for workers and passersby. The sauce is built from Chinese sesame paste (not tahini — the flavour is different), Sichuan chilli oil, black vinegar and ground Sichuan peppercorn. Ya cai — preserved Yibin vegetables — are the traditional topping. Food writer Fuchsia Dunlop, who studied at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu, called dan dan noodles the dish that made her understand Sichuan food.

Use Chinese sesame paste not tahini — they are different. The sauce should have visible pools of chilli oil. Sichuan peppercorn is essential for the ma (numbing) sensation.