Dan Dan Noodles

[Ferrari328]

Fuchsia Dunlop lists Sichuanese ya cai or Tianjin preserved vegetable or preserved mustard leaves in her recipe for Dan Dan Noodles. Could someone point out for this noob where to find either of these AND what they look like preferable North of Boston?

[KTinNYC]

Tianjin preserved vegetables can be found in just about any Chinese market. They come in squat round ceramic containers.

[ipsedixit]

The tianjin preserved vegetables usu. come in glass jars or tin cans. See image below.

[KTinNYC]

Isn't that the ceramic container?

[Rubee]

Yes, it's in a brown ceramic/stoneware crock. It's the Tianjin preserved vegetables I buy too.

(close-up pic)

[The Dairy Queen]

Mine looks like the one ipsedixit posted--here's a link to a photo; the tianjin preserved vegetable is in the foreground. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/4946...

Also, very important for the dan dan noodles--RINSE the tian jin preserved vegetables before using them in the recipe. In fact, I recommending, rinsing, then soaking, then squeezing, then rinsing, then chopping. Maybe even end with a rinse. The tian jin comes with a layer of salt on top and it can be REALLY salty if you don't rinse...

That's a great recipe. Have fun with it. If you want more posts about Dunlop's recipes you can refer to the threads from when Dunlop's books were COTM last year (March, I think.

)

~TDQ

[Gio]

I agree with TDQ's post - a terrific recipe.... and to tell you that you will probably find all you need at:

Supper 88 Asian Market
Malden...
188 Commercial St.

Here's a link to the market's web site:
http://www.super88market.com/index.htm

[buttertart]

The ya cai (zha cai) I've bought in NYC in a yellow and red old-fashioned soup-can looking tin with name in English "Szechuen (sic) preserved vegetable"and...in German??? "praeserviertes Gemuese" - why German, have no clue. This is preserved and spiced kohlrabi or similar veg, more authentic than Tianjin pres veg in dan dan mian, since Tianjin is a whole heck of a long way away from Sichuan in Shandong province in the northeast.

[The Dairy Queen]

When I get dan dan noodles at my fav Sichuan restaurant in the Twin Cities, they use ya cai. :). Thanks for this info, buttertart, I always wondered...

~TDQ

[todao]

Do you mean Don Don Noodles or Dandan Noodles?

[smtucker]

Gio is correct. The Super88 in Malden has it on the shelf. Aisle 1, all the way to the back on the right, two shelves up from the floor.

[Ferrari328]

smtucker, can't be more precise than that, excellent and I did pick it up today. Would never have found it on my own. There seems to be more and more empty shelves every time I go. Incidentally, the pork belly is pretty good there and they will custom cut the size as well.

[Gio]

I'm counting on you SMT... I'm going to Super 88 on Saturday and hope to find what I need for the first few recipes I'm going to cook for the May COTM. We shall see.....I haven't been there for a few months.

[IPcook]

Sichuanese ya cai is available in the NYC-NJ area at least at the Hong Kong supermarket in east brunswick. Its called sumi ya cai and comes from Yibin in sichuan province. The product is exactly the same as the one we saw in Chengdu.
The ya cai comes in soft plastic packaging abd is very inexpensive.