Dan Dan Noodles

Mince the 2 garlic cloves, slice 15 g scallions and roughly crush 20 g peanuts. Set out 150 g ground pork, 30 g ya cai and 300 g fresh thin noodles. Start heating a large pot of water.

Stir 30 g sesame paste smooth. Gradually whisk in 60 ml warm water, then mix in all the garlic, 20 ml light soy, 15 ml black vinegar, 25 ml chili oil, ½ tsp ground Sichuan pepper and 4 g sugar. The sauce should flow without stiff lumps.

Heat 10 ml oil in a wok over medium heat. Add all the pork and break it into small crumbles. Stir-fry for about 4–6 minutes until fully cooked, loose and beginning to brown, with little visible moisture. Continue cooking off pooled liquid without burning the meat.

Add all 30 g ya cai and stir-fry over medium heat for about 2–3 minutes, until fragrant, evenly mixed with the pork and free of pooled liquid. Transfer to an ivory bowl, cover and keep warm.

Add all 300 g fresh noodles to the boiling water and loosen the strands. Cook by the packet until no raw center remains and the noodles are still springy. Lift out, drain well and move straight to the next step without rinsing or adding oil.

Put the hot noodles in a large ivory mixing bowl. Add all the sauce from Step 2 and toss with chopsticks until the strands separate and are evenly coated reddish-brown. Keep the pork-ya-cai topping, peanuts and scallions for plating.

Divide the dressed noodles between two textured black bowls. Split all the pork-ya-cai topping, 20 g crushed peanuts and 15 g scallions evenly over them. Finish one bowl, slide the remaining noodles into the second and add its toppings. Toss together and eat hot.