I love spicy noodles!

Your dan dan noodle recipe version is something I’d love to try, though I’d probably load it up too with plenty of shichimi togarashi for added heat. I also love how you used fresh tomato as a cooling component. Great job!

best wishes,

Jacklyn 🙂

Hi Jacklyn,

Thank you for the comment the other day. Dan dan noodles with soup was one of my regular lunch-out repertoire years ago in Tokyo, and this no-soup version is my first step to recreate the soup version I used to enjoy. Tomatoes are to help increase umami content; I feel I depend on tomatoes for that effect too much, but it does work! Very interesting about adding shichimi. I would reach for rayu spicy chili oil for heat and aroma, but I know some use shichimi to make rayu at home, I suppose it is possible.

Shichimi varies its taste and aroma by region and maker. Below is a short list of shichimi shops in Japan (all are widely available at grocery or department stores, souvenir shops in the region and across Japan as well as online; they also offer other spices). The first two from Kyoto are my favorites.

Kyoto
Shichimiya (http://www.shichimiya.co.jp/): Website in Japanese, English and Chinese
Ikkyuudo (http://www.kyo-yakumi-ikkyudo.co.jp/): Website in Japanese only; products widely available at shops in Kyoto/Osaka area as well as online

Nagano
Yawataya (https://www.yawataya.co.jp/): Website Japanese, English and Chinese

Tokyo
Yagenbori (http://yagenbori.jp/): Website Japanese,