There are all kinds of variations on the dish that you’ll find in Chinese restaurants in the U.S. Some go the ultra-authentic, hardcore traditional route, while others remove some or even all of the heat from the dish, instead replacing it with a creamy sesame (or even peanut butter!) based sauce. To me, picking one version of dan dan noodles as the best is kinda like choosing my favorite Beatles album: It’s a constantly shifting debate, even with myself. Best plan is to just pick a path and run with it. This time I’m going for the more traditional approach. Obviously, modifying it for my vegan needs is going to alter that approach in practice (though not in spirit).
General Tso’s isn’t technically a stir-fry, but with cashew chicken and kung pao chicken already on the list, it somehow felt wrong to leave it out. We keep the dish from getting cloying (as it sometimes can be) by balancing the sweetness of the sauce with dried red chiles and acidic rice vinegar. Spiking the fry batter with vodka gives the chicken a shatteringly crisp crust.
“Ma po tofu is a lot of fun with a demi-sec wine from Alsace, like Sylvaner, or a bigger Pinot Gris. These wines have a mellow sweetness and bright acidity. For mushu pork, I think pairing with Riesling or a dry Tokay goes well; Furmint has a lot to offer to all the ingredients from this dish and we don’t play a lot with Hungarian wines, but there is a lot of great potential here. For the Pièce de résistance, peking duck? Well, you must break this down to white, red, or what the person in front of you likes better. If your dining companion likes white better, go with Loire Chenin Blanc. For red, I would go with Languedoc—a medium to bigger body, jam-plummy wine. Corbieres any one?”— Gerardo Acevedo-Vanni, Bocanova (Oakland CA)
Chinkiang vinegar is a black vinegar that can be found in most Chinese grocers or online. When shopping for chili oil, look for a brand global noodle recipes|https://noodleinsight.com/ that contains chile sediment in the bottle, such as the Chiu Chow Chili Oil from Lee Kum Kee, or make your own. Fermented chili broad bean paste can be found in most Chinese grocers or online. Either preserved Sichuan mustard root (zhacai) or stems (yacai) can be used for this recipe. They are available in many Asian grocers in either bulk sections or canned, or online. Shaoxing wine can be found in most supermarkets. If unavailable, use dry sherry in its place.
“General rule is that if the dish is hot and/or salty then find something with a little sweetness to extinguish the burn and flow with the dish. Riesling and off-dry Chenin Blanc are your wingmen. Wines with serious tannins, on the other hand, are your worst nightmare. For me this would be angry chimpanzees and big reds like Cabernet Sauvignon with spicy dishes. The spiciness of the dish is amplified to the nth degree and your mouth will be en fuego. For Peking duck, think Pinot Noir form the New world or riper-vintage old world. California Pinot Noirs with finesse like Eric/Kent, Ghostwriter and Littorai. And if you want something from Burgundy then look for the 2009 vintage. This was a warmer vintage and the wines show a bit more voluptuousness. Baby got back! For cumin lamb? I like Zinfandel with lamb or of you want to get all fancy pants then Greek reds work as well. For a Zinfandel find one that has a bit of elegance to it—my favorites would be Scholium Project “Arrows of Apollo” Zinfandel. For the Greek wine try Skouras St. George.”— Josiah Baldivino, Michael Mina (San Francisco)
“In the wine world we say, what grows together goes together. When it comes to pairing Chinese food with wine that theory goes out of the window. As the general rule I would pick wines with lower tannins, light to medium body and focus on preparation and cooking technique rather than ingredients. For example, if you serving spicy and complex dishes of Sichuanese cuisine, I would go with wines from Alsace (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris…etc) or German Riesling. If we are enjoying delicate seafood dishes of Cantonese cuisine my choice would be Chablis, Gruner Veltliner and any lean, crisp white wine. With fried food, the best choice would be any refreshing, palate cleansing sparkling wine(Cava, Prosecco, Sekt,…) or Champagne. Sweeter dishes like mushu pork I would match with softer style Rose wines (Tavel, Muga Rose).”— Oz Podnar, BLT Fish (NYC)
Dry-frying is a technique in which vegetables or meat is fried in oil until much of its moisture has cooked off. Though you might imagine this would produce tough and dry beef, it actually provides a pleasingly chewy, crisp texture. Here, once the steak has finished cooking and most of the oil has been poured off, the meat is added back to the wok with garlic and spicy chiles as well as sliced carrot and celery. The dish is finished with a dusting of numbing Sichuan peppercorns.
Preserved mustard root like this (often labeled “Sichuan Preserved Vegetable”) can be found in cans or jars in your Chinese market. Once opened, they’ll last for months in a sealed container in the fridge. You don’t need much to add big flavor to dishes.
