Vegan Dan Dan Noodles • easy authentic recipe! (2024)

Vegan dan dan noodles is a plant based version of our favorite weeknight meal ~ this easy Chinese noodle bowl has got all the flavor without the meat!

vegan dan dan noodles

My regular dan dan noodles recipe which is made with ground pork, is one of my favorites on the site, we make it at least once a month and everybody in the family loves it. Since I’m always looking for delicious plant based meals to help us cut back on meat, vegan dan dan noodles just makes sense. Grant, who loves his meat, raved about this one and has already requested it again. For me, the tofu was every bit as good as the pork, so this meal goes on our regular meal rotation.

what are dan dan noodles?

Dan dan noodles (dandanmian, translation: noodles carried on a pole) are Sichuan Chinese in origin ~ they were actually a street food that vendors would sell hanging from poles balanced across their shoulders. That street food origin speaks to the ease of prep for this meal!

how to veganize dan dan noodles

Dan dan noodles is an ideal candidate for veganizing because there is so much flavor going on in the sauce ~ this goes a long way toward making our dish taste taste just right, even without the meat. We’re keeping everything exactly the same in this recipe, except we’ll substitute extra firm tofu for the ground pork.

The challenge? How to turn a block of tofu into something that comes close to that crispy delicious twice cooked pork in regular dan dan noodles. Here’s how I do it:

1. start with extra firm tofu

We’re not going to press, drain, or deep fry our tofu. This is a weeknight meal, after all, and there’s no time for extra steps. We’ll treat the tofu just like we would ground pork, so to approximate the crumbled texture of ground meat we’re going to very finely mince the tofu.

2. pan fry the tofu

Stir fry the tofu in a little vegetable oil just as you do when browning ground meat. This will remove extra moisture. Break up the bits even smaller with the back of your spatula as you cook.

3. twice cook the tofu, this time with seasonings

This is where the magic happens ~ the crumbled tofu takes on flavor and texture during this second stir fry.

putting it all together

1. Whisk together the sauce.
2. Cook the noodles ~ they take just minutes.
3. Throw the greens in with the noodles for the last few seconds of cooking.
4. Serve up the sauce topped with the noodles and veggies.
5. Garnish with the tofu and chopped nuts.

are dan dan noodles spicy?

As written, this dish is not particularly hot. That is, there are plenty of warm complex flavors built in, but the level of heat is mild to moderate. This will depend on your choice of chili oil, though, they do vary. You want to use Chinese chili oil, which is made with lots of Sichuan pepper bits in the oil. I love Fly by Jing chili crisp ~ this one is so good you’ll want to put it on everything. I also have a recipe for homemade chili oil which is amazing.

more Chinese inspired recipes to try

• Chinese Scallion Oil Recipe
• Easy Chinese Scallion Pancakes (Congyoubing)
• Quick Chili Oil Noodles
• Spicy Tangerine Chicken with Black Rice
• Easy Vegetable Chow Mein
• Weeknight Egg Roll Bowls
• Weeknight Mapo Tofu
• Baked Orange Tofu