擔擔

To most of us, Dan-dan noodle has a thick spicy soup with minced peanut as the dressing.

This is, however, a modified version. The original preparation in Sichuan has no peanut; instead it uses sesame paste, together with Sichuan pepper (花椒) and a good spoonful of minced pork. Yes, the dressing is a close relative of the Little Dan noodle (擔仔麵) you now find in Taiwan - except there is not a small shrimp on the top and the serve is much bigger.

If you think further, it is quite easy to understand the change (alas, evolution) of this Sichuan version once it came to Guangzhou: the numbing effect of the Sichuan pepper does not suite the palate of most of us, and what else could be better than peanut to replace both the flavour and crunchy texture of sesame, as well as the oily richness of minced port ?

PS. Experienced gourmet would immediately note that the Little Dan noodle nowadays has its own tract of evolution from late 19th century - around the same time when Dan-dan noodle first appeared in Sichuan. Their resemblance probably represents a lively example of convergent evolution in the history of cookery.