Ground Chicken Dan Dan Noodles {Easy Recipe}

Get ready for slurping deliciousness taken to the next level! These are my Easy Ground Chicken Dan Dan Noodles and they are heavenly. We are not talking about a one-note stir fry dish. Nope, this is a symphony of flavors with sesame, soy sauce, chili paste, garlic, ginger, and more. The sauce is savory, tangy, nutty, spicy, and slightly sweet. It pairs perfectly with the hearty ground chicken and egg noodles.

While traditional dan dan noodles have a rather complex sauce, I have taken some shortcuts on ingredients, but definitely not on flavor. The result is a super easy 30 minute family dinner you will love!

What are Dan Dan Noodles?

To be very honest, I looked through all of the local Chinese take out menus (there are at least 20 Chinese restaurants in my city of Hoboken, NJ!) and only came across Dan Dan noodles in a couple. However, you will more often see other similar noodle dishes with Sichuan in the name. Sichuan is a southwestern province in China, which is known for its bold and spicy flavors. Sichuan cuisine typically uses lots of garlic and chili peppers, namely Sichuan peppers.

Dan Dan Noodles originate from Chinese Sichuan cuisine. They typically include chili oil, Sichuan pepper, ground pork, preserved vegetables, and scallions served over noodles. However, for this recipe, I made a few changes to make it less spicy, leaner and easier for busy families.

For the spice, as mentioned, Dan Dan recipes typically have chili oil and sichuan peppers. You can buy chili oil in some grocery stores and specialty asian markets, but I opted for a more widely-found Sambal Oelek Chili paste.

Sambal Oelek is an Indonesian, ground raw chili paste with red chili peppers, vinegar and salt. It’s easy to find and easy to use in a great many recipes where you want to add a kick, so it will not go to waste. For the oil, I added Sesame Oil in this recipe.

To make this recipe leaner, I used ground chicken rather than pork. However, you can use ground pork, chicken, turkey, or even beef.

Finally, rather than preserved vegetables, I added fresh baby spinach leaves. The spinach melts into the dish perfectly so that it brings vitamins and nutrients and helps to thicken and round out the dish.

Simple Ingredients for Ground Chicken Dan Dan Noodles

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – The oil is for cooking the ground chicken in the skillet or pan. You can substitute any neutral oil that you have.
• Ground Chicken – I used 99% lean white meat ground chicken. You can use any ground chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, or ground pork that you want. Instructions will be the same for all.
• Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best when it comes to garlic, but you can buy pre-minced garlic to save time or mince it in bulk and freeze it for use when you need it! If you don’t have fresh, you can use garlic powder or flakes.
• Ginger – I love to buy the fresh root and then mince it in bulk in the food processor, so that I can freeze and always have it on.
• Scallions or green onions – I love scallions for the green color and mild onion-flavor. You can swap with finely minced yellow or red onion or even shallots.
• Peanut butter, creamy – Peanuts are a key ingredient in dan dan noodles and using peanut butter is a great short cut. You can substitute with any nut butter you have, such as cashew butter, almond butter, or even sunflower seed butter if there are nut allergies.
• Sambal Oelek Chili Paste – This is what gives the spice and heat to the dan dan noodles. Two teaspoons of the chili paste will give a very light heat; however, if you are concerned, then start with 1 teaspoon and taste it to see if you want more heat. Substitutes for Sambal Oelek Chili Paste are sriracha, gochujang, red pepper flakes, or harissa.
• Sesame Oil – Sesame oil is truly a unique and amazing flavor that is difficult to replicate or substitute with other ingredients. The closest that you can come to it is to use toasted sesame seeds. You can leave them whole or blend them in a spice grinder or even in a blender with a couple tablespoons of olive oil to make your own sesame oil. You can also just eliminate this ingredient from the dish.
• Honey – Honey brings natural sweetness. You can substitute the same quantity of white granulated sugar or even brown sugar.
• Rice vinegar or white wine vinegar – Most vinegars will work in this recipe. So if you don’t have tangy rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, you can use red wine vinegar white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. You can also use lime juice or lemon juice.
• Soy Sauce – I used regular Soy Sauce, but you can also use light soy sauce, low sodium, or Gluten Free. If you don’t have Soy sauce, you can add beef, chicken, vegetable, or fish stock or broth.
• Cinnamon – A little goes a long way in this recipe. If you don’t have cinnamon, you can substitute with allspice or just eliminate it all together.
• Chicken broth or chicken stock – You can substitute vegetable broth or stock or beef stock or broth.
• Fresh Linguine Egg Noodles or Rice Noodles, uncooked – Rice Vermicelli Noodles come in a few different thicknesses. For this recipe, you want to use thin Rice noodles.
• Spinach – Dan dan noodles typically have preserved vegetables. To make this recipe easier, I added fresh baby spinach leaves. You can substitute kale or just leave out.

No Special Equipment Needed!

You will need a large skillet/frying pan for cooking the ground chicken and making the sauce, then mixing in the noodles. I use my absolute favorite 12″ Ceramic Pan, which is great because food really does slide right off with minimal oil and I don’t have to worry about food sticking and burning.

You also need a medium-large pot for boiling the noodles.

You can buy already minced garlic and Garlic Press. Or you can peel the garlic and the ginger and mince together in a mini food processor.

Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps for Ground Chicken Dan Dan Noodles

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below)

Slice the scallions, separating the whites (for the chicken) from the greens (for garnish). If not already minced, peel and mince the garlic and the ginger (see notes on best ways to do this above in the Equipment section).

Make the Sauce. Mix together in a bowl: the Peanut Butter, Sesame Oil, Chili paste, Honey, Vinegar, and Cinnamon.

Once combined, whisk in the Soy sauce and water.

Cooking Steps for Ground Chicken Dan Dan Noodles

Cook the egg/rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

TIP: if you are using rice noodles, do not put them into the water to cook until you are a few minutes from adding them to the pan. Rice noodles are sticky once cooked, so the longer they sit cooked, the more likely they are to clump. If this happens, simply run them under warm water to loosen them up.

Preheat a large skillet/frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and then the ground chicken. Break up the chicken as it cooks and let it really get browned, cooking about 5 minutes.

To the chicken, stir in the minced garlic and ginger, plus the whites of the scallions and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Then add the Chicken Broth scraping up all of browned bits from the bottom. Finally, stir in the Sauce, HALF of the scallion greens, and the spinach leaves. Let cook for a final 4-5 minutes until the sauce is thickened and completely coating the chicken.

Add half of the noodles to the pan (or all of them if you can fit them) and slowly toss to combine.

To serve, add some of the plain noodles to the bottom of the bowls (this is if they didn’t all fit in the pan with the sauce), then top with the saucy noodles and more meaty sauce. Garnish with the remaining green scallion slices and Enjoy!

Ground Chicken Dan Dan Noodles FAQs

How can I make these Dan Dan Noodles more or less spicy?

The spice in this Dan Dan Noodle recipe is provided by the Sambal Oelek Chili Paste. It’s a subtle heat that coats your mouth and lips. Two teaspoons of the chili paste will give a very light heat; however, if you are concerned, then start with 1 teaspoon and once the sauce is mixed with the chicken (before adding the noodles) taste it to see if you want more heat. If so, add another teaspoon at a time until you achieve the level you want. Of course, you can also add red pepper flakes.

Can I substitute ground beef in this Dan Dan Noodles recipe?

These Dan Dan Noodles use one pound ground chicken, but you can substitute in ground beef or even ground pork.

What other veggies can I add to this Dan Dan Noodle Recipe?

So many vegetables would taste great in this Ground Chicken Dan Dan recipe. Red Bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, or broccoli are a few. Cook them in a frying pan with a touch of olive oil, salt, and pepper until tender, but not mushy. Once they are done, you can add a scoop of the Dan Dan sauce to their pan and cook for another minute to incorporate the flavors and then toss them into the complete dish.

Can I make this recipe for Ground Chicken Dan Dan Noodles in advance?

You can make the Dan Dan Sauce with Ground Chicken mixed and store in the fridge for up to 5 days in advance. I would wait to cook the noodles until you are ready to eat and then toss them into the sauce after it’s warmed up.

Can this Dan Dan Noodle Recipe be frozen?

You can make the Dan Dan Sauce with Ground Chicken mixed and freeze it WITHOUT THE NOODLES. To freeze it, simply place it in a freezer bag or freezer container and freeze for up to 5 months. I would wait to cook the noodles until you are ready to eat and then toss them into the sauce after it’s warmed up.

ENJOY! 😍 Carrie