Cheeseburger Dan Dan Noodles

Dan dan noodles that taste like a cheeseburger? Sign me up! This is the exact combo of flavors that I love! That spicy savory goodness of dan dan noodles, combined with a good old cheeseburger! This is pure comfort for me on a plate!

The idea behind this recipe

David Chang has been on a tirade on social media lately making fun of bad Asian food mashups. It’s tough for me sometimes because he has been my favorite food celebrity for many years and I really love his point of view on most things. I even lined up to see him speak at MIT many years ago! I know he would mock the type of food I make and I would be really embarrassed if he ever singled out one of my dishes. But at the same time, I have a lot of fun doing what I do. I try not to take these things too seriously.

These cheeseburger dan dan noodles are exactly the type of thing that I love and he would probably hate. It’s fun and weird and tastes like dan dan noodles but also kinda tastes like a cheeseburger. I added mustard and mayo to the dan dan sauce and topped the dish with tomato, pickles, and lettuce. I could devour a big bowl of these any time of the week!

The noodles

Cook the noodles to the package instructions and then drain and rinse. I used thin wheat noodles for this because it is the closest I can usually get to true dan dan noodles

Making the sauce for the dan dan noodles

Caramelized onions are essential to creating the burger flavor for me. I cooked the onions first then mixed in the noodles.

Then add in the sauce. The sauce is mayo, mustard, soy sauce, 5 spice, chili oil, and sambal chili paste. A perfect combo of burger and dan dan noodles

Once everything is combined it is ready to serve with the meat and toppings!

Serving the cheeseburger dan dan noodles

The noodles go into a bowl and then get topped with the meat followed by the other toppings. The meat is cooked with Chinese preserved vegetables and bean paste to give it the traditional dan dan noodle flavor.

After the meat, cheese, lettuce, pickles, and tomato go on top! I also added some chili crisp.

So good! A nice combo of dan dan noodle flavor, and cheeseburger flavor.

Twists on this recipe

If you are looking for a true traditional dan dan noodle recipe, check this one out.

You could veer more towards that recipe, or just make it fully cheeseburgered. I wanted to fall right in the middle.

For more fun noodle ideas, check out my peach and pork belly glass noodles, spicy teriyaki noodles, or these bbq chicken drunken noodles.

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Cheeseburger Dan Dan Noodles

Combining cheeseburger flavors like pickles, lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onion into a traditional bowl of dan dan noodles.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Chinese

Keyword: Mash-Up, pasta, Spicy

Servings: 3 people

Calories: 1447kcal

Ingredients

beef

• 8 ounces ground beef
• 1 tablespoon sweet bean sauce
• 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
• 1/2 teaspoon 5 spice powder
• 1/4 cup sui mi ya cai chineese preserved vegetables

sauce

• 1/4 cup mayo
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon 5 spice powder
• 1/4 cup chili oil
• 1/4 cup sambol chili paste

white sauce

• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 lime juice

onions

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion sliced

finish it

• 1 pound fresh white noodles cooked to package instructions and rinsed with cold water
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tomato diced
• 2 large pickles diced
• 1 head romaine chopped
• chili crisp optional garnish

Instructions

• In one pot, cook the beef with a little oil until crumbled and cooked through. Add in the bean sauce, wine, 5 spice, and sui mi ya cai. Stir to combine and cook another 5 minutes on low. Remove from heat.
• Mix all the sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup. Stir to combine.
• Mix the sour cream, mayo, and lime juice to make the white sauce. Set aside until ready to use.
• Cook the onion in butter on medium heat for about 20 minutes to brown lightly.
• Put the rinsed noodles into the pan with the onions and add the sauce. Cook on medium/low until heated through, stirring to combine.
• Put the noodles in a bowl and top with the beef mixture. Top with the cheese, then tomato, pickled, and romaine. Drizzle on the white sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 1447kcal | Carbohydrates: 116g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 90g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g | Monounsaturated Fat: 32g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 3201mg | Potassium: 461mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 811IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 333mg | Iron: 3mg