Does it work? 13: Dan Dan Noodles

This cooking post is going to be different from the rest, because I went really far off-book with this meal. So far, in fact, that I'm going to post what I actually did in its entirety. All my cooking idiosyncrasies/preferences came to bear on this recipe adventure: my desire not to buy a bunch of new spices; my dislike of complicated procedures; and my health-mandated moratorium on meat.

Here's what I'm usually looking at when I cook:

I transcribe recipes into a short, easily scan-able form, leaving out all the faff. [1] This one is especially abbreviated, because it's essentially a stir-fry and a sauce, both of which I've made a bunch of times. 

Source recipes:

1 (link) is the most authentic, and therefore the most complicated. I used it to get an idea of what the real thing was supposed to taste like, and to guide my guessing/substituting.

2 (link) is a sort-of authentic looking vegetarian version; this is the one I relied most heavily on. Notably, I did not do her frozen-and-then-defrosted tofu thing because, well, I can't be bothered. I am curious about it, though, so maybe someday. 

3 (link) looked the least authentic, and the easiest. I used this in comparison to 1 to see how far afield I could go and still approximate something like the original dish. 

My recipe, interpreted:

Step 1: Combine listed sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Used the Sambal Olek chili paste I had from making hot & sour soup. 
- I didn't feel like buying a bunch of roasted Sichuan peppercorns when I needed less than a teaspoon. According to the internet, black pepper and a little coriander is the closest approximation. This is probably the biggest hit to flavor (aside from the lack of pork, of course). 
- Making it again, I'd probably use slightly less soy sauce, just because it was plenty flavorful and soy sauce isn't the most healthy thing. 
- Used a little canola oil to thin it out. 

Step 2: Stir-fry the veg and tofu on med-high heat.
- I pressed the block of tofu under a giant book [2] for a bit while I made the sauce - that makes it easier to stir-fry. 
- Used about 4 shiitake mushrooms and 2 heads of bok choy, but the sauce and noodles could definitely have handled more. Every opportunity to throw in more leafy greens should be taken.  
- Yacai is pickled mustard greens, which I got from my trusty Asian market [3].  It was like, a dollar, so I was willing to take a chance on it.
- I didn't end up using spinach, but it would have been a fine addition. I didn't add extra chili oil either. 

Step 3: Cook the noodles. 
- I used whatever kind of rice noodles we had [4], and cooked them in a separate pot while stir-frying. 

Step 4: Put it all together and top with green onion. Serve and eat immediately.

My Franken-version was delicious: fresh and fragrant, easy, and healthy. I'll definitely make it again. 

xo,
Devo

[1] I have a deep desire to one day write a cookbook in this style - though Eat Tweet may have beaten me to it. 

[2] The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., for the curious.

[3] Usually I wander around the store three or four times looking for a new ingredient. But this time I took the advice from An Economist Gets Lunch and just asked the cashier. I pointed to my shopping list, said, "I don't know how to say this, but do you sell it?" and she took me right to it. Delightful. 

[4] I'm not trying to be coy here; I really don't know what kind they are, since I took them out of their original packaging.