dandan mian (Sichuan noodles)

This three minute YouTube video (ripped from a Chinese cooking dvd), which I stumbled upon, tells you how to prepare dandan mian, the famous Sichuan spicy noodles which I make very often at home - and which my friends and family keep begging me to make for them when they come to dinner. (The other often-begged-for dish, by the way, is jiaozi. Noodles are easier.)

Although my version is slightly different, this recipe looks absolutely delicious and very easy to do. Here is how : (don't forget watch the action on the video now!) On a moderate fire, heat a chunk of lard until 60% hot (you can substitue this for oil), add 200 grams of minced (pork) meat, a slug of rice wine, 15 grams of sweet bean paste (tianmianjiang, a dark thick paste), a pinch of salt, and some soy sauce. Fry until the water has evaporated - and as soon as the oil comes floating on top of the meat and it starts smelling delicious, take it out of the pan [1:07]. Take two bowls and put in each one: two or three spoonfuls of soy sauce, 3 grams of MSG, 2 grams of chicken stock powder, 15 grams of shredded xuecai (preserved vegetable, you buy this in tins in the Chinese supermarket), 1 clove of pressed garlic, 3 or 4 spoons of sesame paste, and now watch the cook ladling this huge amount of chili oil in each bowl [1:54] - if you weren't hungry by now, you will be!

Add 25 grams of finely chopped spring onions and stir everything together with a ladle of chicken stock. Take 500 grams of noodles and boil until done (the fresher the noodles, the nicer the end result will be). Drain and lower slowly in the spicy sauce. Add a blanched vegetable leaf, then add a large scoop of meat sauce, and EAT!