A well balanced vegan dan dan noodles using healthy shiitake mushrooms and red bell pepper.
Summer has just gone but the whether is dropping tempestuously. I have see goodbye to easy summer salads and start my new journey into hot noodles soups.  I received lots of comment seeking for vegan friendly or vegetarian friendly recipes, so I will test and present a series of vegan friendly Sichuan dishes. There are lots of great cooking ideas from Sichuan dishes fitting vegan dishes.Â
I use ya-cai and finely chopped shiitake mushrooms.
Shiitake Mushroom & Ya-cai Topping
- 10 shiitake mushrooms (finely chopped)
- 1 cup finely chopped bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 inch ginger peel and minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup ya-cai
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
Heat oil in wok and fry ya-cai until aroma over slow fire.
Then add shallots, chopped red pepper and garlic fry for another 1 minute.
Add finely chopped shiitake mushrooms. Add cooking wine and light soy sauce.
Fry over slowest fire until all the water in the mushrooms and pepper is evaporated and the sauce becomes slightly dry. Ya-cai itself is salty, so you can taste it and see whether a pinch of salt is needed.
Seasonings for serving serving
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- a small pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame paste
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon chili oil or as needed (refer here for homemade recipe)
- 1/3 cup hot chicken stock (if not available, use water )
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped scallion and coriander
Add all the seasonings to serving bowls.
Cook fresh noodles (asian yellow alkaline noodle) or vegan ramen according to the package instructions.
Tune the seasonings with water for boiling the soup.
Transfer the noodles to serving bowls and topping with mushroom toping.
Mix well quickly and enjoy immediately.
Vegan Dan Dan Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 serving noodles , asian yellow alkaline noodle or vegan ramen
Mushrooms Topping
- 10 shiitake mushrooms , finely chopped
- 1 cup finely chopped bell pepper
- 2 tbsp. cooking oil
- 1 inch ginger peel and minced
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 cup ya-cai
- 1 tbsp. cooking wine
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
Seasonings for each serving
- 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
- a small pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp. sesame paste
- 1/8 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tbsp. chili oil or as needed , refer here for homemade recipe
- 1/3 cup hot chicken stock , if not available, use water
- 1/4 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. chopped scallion and coriander
Instructions
- Heat oil in wok and fry ya-cai until aroma over slow fire.
- Then add shallots, chopped red pepper,ginger and garlic fry for another 1 minute.
- Add finely chopped shiitake mushrooms. Add cooking wine and light soy sauce. Fry over slowest fire until all the water in the mushrooms and pepper is evaporated and the sauce becomes slightly dry. Ya-cai itself is salty, so you can taste it and see whether a pinch of salt is needed.
- Add all the seasonings to serving bowls.
- Cook fresh yellow alkaline noodles or egg noodles according to the package instructions. Add around 2 cups of water for boiling the noodles to tune the seasonings.
- Transfer noodles in serving bowl and top with fried shiitake mushroom Ya-cai. Mix well and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks. Your Dan Dan noodles sounds great. This recipe is easily veganized if made without chicken stock and egg noodles. I will try it.
Usually we use Yellow alkaline noodle or vegan Ramen，vegan version tastes great too!
Thank you for the recipe! I’m a vegan who loves real Chinese food, so I’m excited to try making this!
Happy cooking kathryn. It appeals to me really. I hope you will like it too.
I’m not vegetarian…but I can eat this everyday! Your Vegan Dan Dan noodle looks scrumptious! Can’t wait to try your recipe.
Hi, Amy Tong
Thanks for the kind comment. Hope you have a nice cooking experience.
I’m so glad I found your web site! I was wondering, do I add the broth and the two cups of water to each bowl?? Thanks!!
Sure! But do not add too much as water dilutes the flavors.
What type of cooking wine do you recommend? Is there a brand you use?
I use lots of brands but the best outside China is this one.
I want to make this, but in the local asian stores they dont know what you mean with ya-cai. Could you please explain what ya-cai is and what can I use instead?
Ya-cai is a specialty from Sichuan. It is a preserved chopped mustard green, providing a very unique flavor. The best solution is to find the real packaged ya-cai in Asian markets. Otherwise, you can use freshly pickled mustard green as a substitute， though they taste slightly different.
Chop fresh mustard green into finely and add salt. Set aside overnight, squeeze the water out and use the left pickled mustard green as ya-cai.
Thank you! This is a delicious recipe. I used fresh sauerkraut instead of ya-cai and it worked well to bring the preserved vegetable tatse. Someday I will try making my own ya-cai.
Thanks Ellen! Wow, making homemade ya-cai should be a new adventure. I believe that I should try one day too. Good idea, really.
The color of the mushroom and soy sauce makes it look so tempting and delicious. I like the presentation and the pics clicked. Feels like eating it all 🙂