- Check it out guys, it's Trevor James. We are deep in Chengdu,
Sichuan, and I am so pumped, 'cause today we're goin' for
a huge Dan Dan noodle tour, and Sichuan noodle tour. We're going deep. (uptempo jazzy music) - [Voiceover] If you like
spicy Sichuan noodles, you've found the right
video, 'cause today, we're bringing you to eat
four different variations of Chengdu Dan Dan noodles,
deep in the backstreets of Chengdu, China. And if you watch all
the way until the end, we're bringing you into the
back of a Sichuan kitchen to watch how the best bowl of
noodles in Chengdu is made. Let's eat. We're in the little alleyway
here, and we're goin' to a place I've heard is really good. Dawanmian, literally
means Big Noodle Bowl. Right here, oh yeah. And you can see people are just eating, right outside, slurping. This's gonna be good. This looks awesome. Wow, look at all the action! Look at this guys, look at the cauldron of noodles in the back! All these fresh noodles in Sichuan, wow! There's nothing better, and they're just scooping on the cow peas, right on top! So you can see they, they put soy sauce salt, MSG, it's all in there. Chili oil, of course and then they load the noodles on top. Look at these noodles! It's all about, ooh! Look at all that chili oil! Oh wow, and jung-doe, so there's chili oil and cow peas. Lot's of that ground pork Shaozi, oh, this is just a wonderful day of eating Sichuan noodles. Mix up that chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar
combo with the cow peas, the ground pork, gotta get every noodle covered in it. Ah, and we just got
some vegetable soup too. They just look beautiful. Oh, look at that. Mmm, mmm! Ow wow, these ones are so thick. That chili oil and the pork sauce, mixed make it a thick, thick pastiness. There's actually a bit of a smokiness in there as well. I think it's, I think those chilies are a little smokey. That is amazing. - [Voiceover] Next up,
we found another amazing bowl of za-jung noodles deep in another old alleyway of Chengdu, and full of spice-packed chili oil. - We're goin' for noodles
all day today, guys, and right here is a little alleyway full of little noodle stalls and we're just gonna pick one and try it out. So this is just a local
little noodle joint in an alleyway and we're gonna get the Zajiang mian, more than the noodle style Sichuan noodles. Oh, look at all the sesame paste. Oh, garlic and a little Sichuan peppercorn. Oh, and then this is the real secret here: the Sichuan pong-yo. Oh wow, there's so many-- And star anise-- Wow, it's just full of-- Beautiful! And it's just all about the pure oil and chili on the bottom. The green onions, the chili oil, there's a bit of sesame butter in there. But really the chili oil
is different everywhere. Oh, beautiful. Boiling 'em in the cauldron. Look at that, and now
there gonna go and add ground pork on it. Oh, the cow peas. So we're a little early
but this place gets packed at lunchtime. Look at that, this one looks like they put a really, really generous portion of that sesame butter in the bottom. Oh, wow! Mixing those up: one of the most beautiful things you'll see in Sichuan. All of that beautiful chili oil. That really spice-packed flavor, aromatic spice-packed chili oil. Ah, it's one of the best
things about Sichuan is the variety of
different Zajiang noodles you can find here, and we are just eating so many bowls today. Mmm, oh yeah, mmm. Oh, this one is just so-- It really has that rich
sesame butter flavor. So it's a little nutty, but spicy. And also the pork, the
shaozi they put on there. Oh it's, it has a rich, rich pork aroma. Definitely strong and spicy and silky. And a bit of a crunch from the cow peas. Mmm. - [Voiceover] Next up:
before going to my home base noodle joint and getting a
lesson in the back kitchen with a huge wok full of spicy ground beef, we're trying out one more
variation of Dan Dan noodles and hot chili oil
dumplings at a joint that's always busy for lunch
in the back streets of Chengdu. - Right up here, there's
a little noodle stall and we're gonna go see what they got, and order up a bowl. So it's chili oil, soy sauce. Pickled mustard greens. Theses are our noodles. And they're gonna top
it with the shaozi here. Oh, that's the ground pork
and adding a little oil. Doesn't that look insane? That's beautiful. Oh, that just looks so beautiful. Look at these, awesome! These are jong-shwei-jow. So they've got soy, chili oil, ah and garlic. That just looks insanely delicious. And then we've got mixed noodles: Dan Dan noodles, Zajiang noodles. She mixed these up for me. Isn't that incredibly beautiful. Mm. Ohm. They're so friendly. - [Voiceover] For our final meal we went for the ultimate bowl of Sichuan noodles, right in my favorite neighborhood noodle joint
that makes a mean bowl of red grazed beef noodles, dry style. With pickled chilis and
their super-fragrant ground beef. And we got super lucky and got invited right into the back kitchen to watch them being made. - Alright guys, we are now in my local neighborhood. All of these shops have every variety of Sichuan food you can dream of. But, there's one, my local noodle joint, my go-to noodle joint, that we're gonna go into, say hi to our friends and have a bowl. Here it is. Oh, and they're making
the shaozi right now. So these are the green Sichuan peppercorns and they put those into the noodles and it gives it a slight
numbing florally kick. So these are all the chow-lea-ow. And that's the one they're making with fresh green Sichuan peppercorns. Oh, it really it really has a rich, rich, florally-- A rich florally aroma. These are the shao-mey-la,
spicy Sichuan chilies. These are fresh, not dried. And they just top those
right on top of the noodles. And we are just starting
to make the shaozi-- So we're making the ground
beef shaozi which they add on top of the noodles. Oh wow! So this is the-- Jung: ginger. Oh, wow, ton's of ginger. Oh yeah, and then that little bit of-- Oh, look at all that dried chili flake! We're gonna put all of that, or at least, a lot of
that in to the shaozi. Look at all of that! Wow! Beautiful. Oh that is gonna make
it even more aromatic! There we go, oh yeah, wow! Oh, and we're adding another batch. Wow. Isn't that beautiful,
just such a dark red. Rich. Ground beef. Oh, that is so rich. All the chili, all the shi-ang-li-ow. So we're gonna make our bowl now. Little bit of MSG on the base. Oh, little chicken, chicken,
chicken stock, chicken powder. Soy sauce. Oh and that's the real beauty. The Sichuan peppercorn oil,
we watched them make that. Little bit o' Thai? Look at that? Right on top. Pickled chili. Little bit o' tong. And then cilantro. And we're gonna add fresh, incredibly fresh shaozi. What we just made full of oil as well. Spicy, fragrant oil. Oh wow! That is absolutely overflowing. That's too much, so we're just gonna put it all in and mix it that way. Look at that, awesome! Shien-jow Niurou, oh yeah. And there's cabbage on the bottom. That is just pure Sichuan, oh yes. Oh, yeah, here we go. (laughing) mm! That is incredibly smooth. Oh, it's just so shi-ang. A little spicy, gingery, garlicy. Mm, it's a bit of spice
in the pickled chili but it's really just smooth, and happy, and aromatic, and makes you feel content. Noodles are chewy. Mmm. (laughing) That is so tasty. If you guys believe this
world is a beautiful place, full of friendly people
and delicious food, you can check out our Travel Eat Repeat and our Tai Hao Le merch
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