Dan dan noodles with ground beef
Springy noodles in a nutty, spicy sesame sauce, topped with crispy five-spice beef and tender bok choy.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.18 a serving
- 620 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 8 oz lo mein noodles
- 2 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp peanuts, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ cup soy sauce, divided
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 620 calories, 34 g protein, 49 g carbs and 33 g fat, and costs about $3.18 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a large pot of water over high for the noodles.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
the tahini, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and garlic in a bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: It will look thick and pasty. It loosens up with hot noodle water later.Heat the vegetable oil in a large over medium-high and cook the beef 8 to 10 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left and it has crispy .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Medium-high heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Let it get properly crispy. The crunchy bits are the best part.Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Spoon off the fat and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce and the five-spice for 1 minute.
Medium-high heat
Cook the noodles as the package says, adding the bok choy for the last minute. Scoop out ½ cup of the water, then .
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heat
¼ cup of the hot noodle water into the sauce until smooth and pourable.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Divide the sauce among bowls, add the noodles and bok choy, and pile the crispy beef on top with green onions and peanuts. at the table.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
