Dan Dan Noodles | Kenji's Cooking Show

[@BrickBreakFTW]

Hi, my name is Eric and I’m a nurse north of Boston. I may be on the complete opposite side of the country but I wanted to say thank you for delivering meals to hospitals. It’s been literal hell for us right now and it really makes me happy to see people like you helping. Seeing all these people protesting and saying it’s no big deal has really been upsetting me but seeing this shows me that people actually care. I’m not sure if you’ll read this or not but thank you for caring. I hope those meals go to somebody struggling during this time and it inspires them to keep on working. Thank you.

[@switchblad333]

The part that i admire is the only reason he showed us this was because he was going downstairs anyway to get garlic, humble people are the best

[@furqan98427]

SOUS CHEF ERIC!

[@emerald6597]

we found him

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

TopHatCobra you’re the inspiration here. Thank you so much for everything, it’s truly appreciated.

[@AntonyJohn98]

WE FOUND HIS BROTHER, it is NURSE ERICCCC! Btw Thank you.

[@prodsej]

what a great episode 1. a peak at his new bar 2. a bunch of sous chef erik's pancettas 3. top tier camera work 4. *“One does not simply guac in the mortar”*

[@Mahasahara]

I think kenji was careful to not show the spot where he tied up Sous chef Eric and stuffed him there for later use to prepare some more pancetta & picked chilli 😁

[@prodsej]

@@Mahasahara 😂😂

[@Sean_Nielsen]

These videos have been my favorite for the last few weeks. So great.

[@moorganLOVEliverpool]

peek*

[@yertelt5570]

@@jsun1993 Seriously hoping you missed the part where she is only three??? Regardless of her age it's the man's daughter, show some class.

[@andrewbryant4259]

I like to imagine this is a Fight Club scenario where sous chef Eric doesn't actually exist. Its just insomniac Kenji with a pancetta obsession.

[@sminstudios]

Andrew Bryant SEASON TWO

[@cadin014]

LOLOL best comment ive read

[@yertelt5570]

Mind. Blown.

[@marcusduck]

i think his family is made up too. you never see or hear them but he talks to them

[@supervoid5749]

hahahahaha

[@CardiacDemon1]

"Hey everyone this is Kenji..." *sigh* he has such a way with words

[@Dashtea]

He talks to us like he is talking to his kid or his dogs. And that’s a beautiful thing. "Boop"

[@syedahmad4027]

I wonder why Mr and Mrs Eric named their child Souschef.

[@tgjorna]

That's hilarious! Wow

[@webster7906]

Lol

[@orionorama]

They knew his true calling at birth

[@charliemlo5468]

“One does not simply guac in the mortar”

[@Underdogbassist]

HI Im a turtle and now I will never forget which one is the pestle and which one the mortar

[@LimitedWard]

I haven't had my morning coffee yet, so that took me a solid minute before I audibly shouted "DID HE JUST"

[@ramherrump]

I can only imagine the delight when he thought up the pun, and how much self-control it took not to blurt it out as soon as the mortar came into view

[@MrJoshLo]

can someone explain the joke/pun to me? im from germany so i have quite a hard time with understanding jokes (due to my english, not cause im german! :D)

[@TemjinZero]

@@MrJoshLo there's a line from the Lord of the Rings, 'One does not simply walk into Mordor.'

[@stirlingco8806]

Love how everything is executed in real-time. These are the most useful and concise cooking video formats I’ve seen

[@ytreece]

I love how substitutions are made of he happens not to have something. Let’s new cooks know it’s not an exact science and it’s okay to do things slightly different if you need.

[@DesiDude84]

I stumbled upon these videos during quarantine and thus far I’ve attempted three of your recipes for my family (tomato soup, sauerkraut quesadillas, eggs Benedict) and all three were a massive hit! I’ll be trying this one next. Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to record your work, explain the science in real-time, and editing/posting your recipes. Our family has really enjoyed spending time together over these recipes!

[@DesiDude84]

P.s. I especially appreciate the puns...and the groans from my kids when I share them!

[@donelleschultz7207]

His cookbook is amazing and serious eats has a bunch of Kenji videos that are almost as good as these.

[@thegingebot]

I vote for Kenji t-shirts.... "One does not simply guac in the mortar" "Sous Chef Eric's"

[@hoder4857]

"Sous chef Eric's" and a caricature of a pancetta

[@theeself]

@@hoder4857 classic 😂😂😂

[@geoffreychadwick9229]

YES.

[@sminstudios]

“Salty, Fermented Profile” - I need a dozen of each size, k thx

[@tillwood]

"You can do it this way or that way. Anyway, I do it my way and I like it." Proud to support Kenji on Patreon!

[@ollycarr4350]

why at the start of every video does Kenji looks like grandparents on FaceTime

[@dandeliondew]

his true nature revealed, in that split second

[@ytreece]

😂 He kinda does. And I say that with love and kindness as I am older than Kenji and likely look the same 😂😂

[@sammost7095]

I think Kenji understates how awesome it is what he's doing in response to the crisis. Not only has he made an effort to keep on staff he's also providing free meals for key workers no idea how he's financially coping with that but kudos!!!

[@Andersonbohar]

Someone commented on the last video about sous chef Eric being locked up in the basement of the restaurant, and in this episode Kenji goes around showing off entire hidden bars in the basement of wursthall... interesting.

[@dandeliondew]

don't mind that noise behind the closed door by that pile of pancetta

[@flora7.7]

pasta poodle it’s just my Pancetta Machine working away.

[@bigdrippy4104]

i feel flexed on every time kenji says he has his own restaurant like damn

[@javalin597]

*Academy award for best cinematography:* exists. Wok cam: "hey howareya"

[@ytreece]

I appreciate the constant organizing of the workspace and removing dirty utensils and tools. Makes it so much easier to cook without the mess.

[@cameronhalffman1140]

The perfect video to watch while I am starving

[@e8ghtmileshigh1]

That stuff right there, ya cai, is dried and fermented mustard leaves. Zha cai is pickled mustard root.

[@veggie62a]

And just like that, Kenji told me what I'd been doing wrong with my Dan Dan noodles - I made the sauce the thickness I wanted it to end at, rather than soupy enough that the cooling noodles would thicken it. And he did it all in the same video with the best dad joke I've heard in a year. What a hero.

[@johndcoffee632]

Kenji's "A little extra chili oil" is like 10% of Gordon Ramsay's "A little extra olive oil" and it's still loads. Looks great, thanks Kenji

[@bensmith7536]

Gotta love this guy Dan, whoever he is.... noodles so good he named them twice.

[@alexcrocco5734]

"A ~little~ extra chili oil" he says, adding five spoonfuls

[@2phonebabykeem913]

Alex Crocco *licks spoon clean*

[@NadikaNadja]

That really isn't much. I do about 6-7 spoonfuls and my chili oils are made with Naga ghost chillies

[@piledykstra]

George likes his chicken spicy

[@Joghurt2499]

Restaurants making food for all the essential workers just makes me soooooo happy. thank you and your co-workers

[@andrewfoster1788]

Kenji: "I'm gonna add a liiiittle more chili oil" Also Kenji: *Spoons a ton on and then eats a whole spoon full*

[@Mythilt]

We put our ginger scraps and a couple of cloves of garlic in a jar with some sherry and use it to flavor our stirfry's.

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

Mythilt your stirfry’s what?!? Seriously though, the plural of stir-fry is “stirs-fried.”

[@Mythilt]

@@JKenjiLopezAlt Egads! the dastardly apostrophe strikes again. :) Ok, that makes sense, along the same lines as a courts-martial. thought there was a time I think our stirs-fried might have been able to stir-fry something itself, too much of a friends experiment with turning ghost and reaper peppers into flakes.

[@jasonfitzpatrick2197]

Hawksmoor in the UK have a cocktail called ‘Shakey Pete’s Ginger Brew’ which is essentially alcoholic ginger beer, and it’s excellent. It requires ginger syrup, which you can make with these scraps.

[@MrWalksindarkness]

when he was talking about oil in the wok i really wanted him to say, "first, longyau"

[@useazebra]

Fresh mustard greens are available at most grocery stores. I chop them up nice and fine, then lactoferment them like I'm making fresh kraut. A+ ingredient for dan dan noodles. Also surprisingly good way to convert a 50 cent pack of spicy instant noodles into something really good.

[@davidd1930]

Hi Kenji, I just wanted to add my thanks to you for these videos which are so enjoyable to watch. They are also extremely educational, often especially so in the informative and oft-amusing asides and tangents. You are a wonderful, gifted teacher and I hope that you keep educating for as long as it’s fun for you.

[@juliafj]

"What Kenji Cooked Every Day For A Year" would be my favourite cookbook

[@switchblad333]

What's your name? First name : sous Last name : chefferic

[@ramherrump]

Hook us up dawg there’s clearly enough of sous-chef Eric’s pancetta to go around

[@FernandoTakai]

i thought sous chef erick was doing just a bit of pancetta. the dude has a whole industrial production there.

[@dandeliondew]

seriously, there is no end in sight for sous-chef-eric's-pancetta

[@emerald6597]

sous chef eric is an eldritch god who only produces pancetta

[@Joghurt2499]

@@emerald6597 I, for one, welcome our eldritch panchetta overlords

[@olsfsodgnb]

Sous-chef Eric is the pancetta.

[@user-bv5xn4bh7r]

😂

[@gokulharikumar3095]

The only thing bad about these restaurant videos is that we don't see the dog being fed ☹️

[@judyt5542]

I love that Kenji drops his videos early in the morning. Every day is now Koffee with Kenji.

[@emperornortoni2871]

Kenji is all like "I have this, but you can use...yeah, well, whatever." I love this man.

[@Ghonosyphlaids]

Some fermented funk from sauerkraut is on point, but there's a really pleasant herbal character you won't get from olives or even capers added to the mustard green approximation mix

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

Truth.

[@scrambled_greg]

Kenji you are the best, sir. The fact that you have all these great recipes and tricks and techniques is so rad, but then you just give them to us for free. Just wanted to say I appreciate you.

[@un5een83]

You are killing me... you are throwing out all the receipts I ever wanted to get but couldn`t really find them or thought they are not even close to the real dish. Good job well done and thank you very much

[@jeremyreed7210]

You're so lucky to have a seemingly endless supply of Blind Pig and Pliny! Life is good on the coast! Cheers!

[@felixliu5461]

I am so proud that you made the very well-known noodles dish on your channel. dan dan noodles that represent Sichuan cuisine.

[@icanwatchthevideos]

18:14 for a second I thought he was going for a swig of Chinkiang vinegar

[@Tommmmas]

Definitely coming to San Mateo once everything opens back up.

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

Tommy we’ll see you here!

[@saichung6246]

@@JKenjiLopezAlt It looks like an open kitchen concept? Will we see you in the kitchen?

[@Fr3nChFrYy]

@@saichung6246 I think he's mentioned before that he normally doesn't work the line when they're open. Maybe he'd be around in the kitchen tho idk

[@Taison77]

Would love it if you could make a video talking about different seasonings, their flavor profiles, best way to bring out their flavours (to toast or not to toast, to grind or not to grind) and what kind of dishes to use them in.

[@David-if2hj]

"the pancetta that souschef Eric made" has become "the pick that Bosnian bill and I made" of this channel

[@johnbrady6276]

Too many cooking shows, you hear the cook say: "You CAN'T do it that way. You MUST do it this way, or [heaven forbid' it's not 'authentic.' " For example, there's a whole series of videos about Italian cooking where one Italian cook criticizes another cook's way of doing things ... even when the other chef is Italian or an Italian-American making their grandparent's recipe from the old country. I know from my grandparents who were from San Bartolomeo and Pozzoli and who made their living in America running an Italian restaurant, that wasn't the way they did it. They had their preferences about how to do things and what indgredients they wanted to use. But when they couldn't get that one thing, they used another. The two "authentic" things about their Italian cooking were that you used what you had, and you never wasted anything. One thing I like about Kenji is that his attitude about cooking reminds me of that: "If you don't have this, you can use that." "If you can't find this ingredient, the next best things you can use is that ... or a combination of this, that, and the other." "If you want, at this point you can add that." "I do it this way, but you also do it this other way and get the same effect or something close. to it" "I like this, but that other way is good too." "I didn't have this in the kitchen today, but I had that, and that works too." "It you want, at this point, you can add this green, or that green, and that other green is good too." Reminds me of Grandma Rosa and Grandpa Salvatore.

[@jamesgrodzicki6310]

youre literally the best cooking channel

[@jamiegnosis4876]

I have a little marble mortar and pestle almost the same as your daughters for my herbal tinctures, found it for a dollar years ago in a 2nd hand store. I upgraded a few years ago to a large marble one for guac and hummus. Kept my small one of course but the big one is awesome and I swear guac tastes better when served from it!

[@Hindude733]

Got so excited to see that Kenji uses the same mortar and pestle that I use... turns out it’s his 3 yr old daughters lol.

[@christachrista7203]

Thanks a lot for always mentioning alternatives for hard to find ingredients! Where I live one does not simply walk into an Asian grocery store 😁 (because they're hard to find around here)

[@tanyatherrell]

I’m making the Dan Dan noodle recipe from “The Wok” cookbook this week and this video got me extra pumped!! Curious of the timing between you writing the cookbook and this video as the commentary between both are similar. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips with us, Kenji!

[@peaceyteavo]

These videos are always bursting to the seams with tips and info. And it’s info that you know is reliable rather than old wives tales (not that old wives tales are necessarily untrustworthy!)

[@kekbar_8]

Another thing i like to do with my leftover ginger is blend it into things like smoothies for a kick.

[@ksadez]

I've only discovered your channel recently and instantly able to connect with it. I really like your nuggets of wisdom and philosophies throughout. "Sometimes I use a spoon, too, you know. Depending on what mood you are in" or "Not traditional but I like it that way". Totally onboard.

[@MrChrissofer]

just about died at "one does not simply guac in the mortar" I love you so much Kenji

[@nothing11558]

"A little extra chilli oil" - Proceeds to add 5 spoonfuls and lick the spoon.

[@michaelmerrill7510]

I am beginning to enjoy these videos more than bon appetit's high production videos. Kenji you are a wizard!

[@TheAnnoyingnerds]

Legend has it the reason why he didn't cook in his house anymore is that the cupboard spoon is still being renovated

[@DrGaellon]

You can also use the ginger scraps to make a ginger bug for ginger beer and other naturally-carbonated sodas.

[@pwoblem]

getting high production value with all these new angles. love it

[@carpii]

loving the wok-cam

[@bimby584]

okay that speakeasy bar behind the bookshelf got me sold. i need to go there after all this is over.

[@hellohangfire]

One of my favorite videos, chef. Looks amazing and I look forward to cooking these noodles. Thank you!

[@otomotopia1]

"One does not simply guac in the mortar" A+ wordplay there, Kenji.

[@tib0980]

Anyone here because of Bon Apetit?

[@damobyrne]

This dish feels so familiar to me even though I’ve never had an authentic version ..

[@a_pet_rock]

9:47 So my understanding is that a lot of Sichuan cooking wants this flavor. Chefs like Wang Gang save all the smoking oil and most translations specifically call for "heated oil." Of course, they're also using a different kind of oil. Chinese Cooking Demystified on Cai Zi You.

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

a pet rock yeah, virgin rapeseed oil I believe. Very different flavor to olive oil.

[@wonhome2711]

Another great lesson on techniques. So nice to see you have shoes on.

[@joshmore7175]

The increase in production quality in these videos is quite entertaining.

[@theentremetier7267]

This looks incredible Kenji. Also the camera view into the pan is awesome.

[@bingingwithbabishisamazing4034]

so, we've met sous chef Eric's pancheta, but when are we going to meet him?

[@SandraudigaVali]

maybe you've seen it already but in kenji's community posts he uploaded a picture of him recently

[@bingingwithbabishisamazing4034]

@@SandraudigaVali i don't know what the community post is, but thanks a lot

[@Exypno]

i hope that as kenji blows up he keeps his go pro on head format for these videos

[@TheJensPeeters]

I love how casually he blows out the fire on his wooden handle 12:19

[@incidentlyaniguana2193]

That was just the grease catching briefly. Treated wood doesn't catch fire that easily.

[@teosoderholm96]

When I was in Tokyo 3 years ago at an izakaya that had dan dan as a special they added kewpie mayo to the base, made it even creamier and carbonara like on the noodles.

[@jdt617]

Saved to recipe playlist. Definitely making this one! Thanks, Kenji.

[@lorrie2878]

I can't grind my stuff well with the marble or wood mortar and pestle. The granite one is great.

[@MrAlmostPerfect]

I really enjoy watching your videos, you have such a nice way of explaining what you are doing and always also are giving great tips on what other ingredients you can use if you dont have all the ingredients at hand. keep up the good work. I'm a big fan.

[@harrisonroman8264]

I like that you called this your cooking show. Very cool, to just name it, and that yes you have a "television" show. Great content and fun channel. Thanks for sharing.

[@AntonyJohn98]

Everyone : thinking sous chef eric is some imaginary sous chef... Sous chef Eric : am i a joke to you.

[@michaelle5944]

My favorite noodle dish! Your late night Dan Dan noodles video was what made me Subscribed.

[@inisus]

I think at night Kenji dons a special cape and becomes... Souschef Eric!

[@thatsleepyguy136]

thanks for diving into chinese foods! sadly, a lot of restaurants seem to take it too far on the soupy side with a lot of noodle dishes. It's been tough finding a place that won't serve something like this or zha jiang mian absolutely swimming in sauce.

[@ytreece]

It’s hard to find ANY Chinese American food not swimming in sauce. Better to make it if you like Chinese food.

[@fusionor]

What my mom likes to do with the leftover ginger scraps is to add them with Chinliang vinegar so that we can use the vinegar for dumpling sauce.

[@K80420]

cute bracelet :) your daughter did a great job

[@Hoeskiesvideos]

I love the contrast between you cooking at home and your restaurant. At home you usually scrape every last piece into the dish but here you leave some noticeable size chunks in the mortar and pestle. Not saying your going to waste it but it's interesting to see the restaurant chef mind vs the home chef mind.

[@maximyampolskiy2296]

Thank you Kenji for the amazing food I used your recipe and am glad to say it is peak tastiness me and my brother want to start a restaurant and this will definitely be on the menu

[@josiethompson5739]

6:13 the amount of time it took you to remember what you went into the walk-in for is extremely impressive - you have a high level walk-in door magic resistance (if you know, you know)

[@knifefest]

Adam Ragusea recently released a video documenting his findings that EVOO is the safest oil for use in high heat applications (regarding carcinogens) despite its low smoke point.

[@JKenjiLopezAlt]

Yes, I think that is pretty well known. But the reason you don’t use it is because of flavor, and because it’s not great at getting things crispy. If you want to avoid carcinogens, You shouldn’t be hard searing stuff at all.

[@charlesa99]

Love the bottle chug of Russian River Blind Pig IPA. What a legend!

[@davidgoeller5843]

I had to pause the video and take a lap around the house to soak in that mortar pun, we don't deserve you kenji

[@liondixon1156]

The entrance to the speakeasy should be a book shelf!!!

[@matthewsteck7799]

One does not simply guac in the mortar 😏

[@andrew_designs]

just made these for lunch - awesome. thanks!

[@steliosmaris]

You even did the Sean bean fingers. You’re spectacular

[@TouchePV]

High quality content, as always. Thanks a lot, Kenji.

[@Boozamooz]

You give me hope for compassionate cooking. You are one of the few chefs I see on this website who really understands the emotional, historical importance of cooking. Great stuff

[@RoivonPC]

I know this is from 6 months ago, but you're very generous for doing the free meals.

[@johndowney8575]

Hope when this is all over you do a food travel show ,any producers out there get this guy a tv show ,breath of fresh air.❤❤❤❤❤👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🥂

[@bigwoo]

Solid beer choice. Blind Pig is one of my favorites.

[@evanpyne4729]

0:05 POV: you are the bowl of Dan Dan noodles kenji is about to demolish :')

[@larrycot]

Was wondering if you could work in your take on knife-honing at some point. Frequency...technique... Thanks! Love your stuff.

[@jaspervanheycop9722]

What could you use to replace Sechuan pepper? I cannot for the life of me find it here in the Netherlands and with quarantine it's not the right time to trawl through tiny Asian supermarkets...

[@JohnHausser]

I live in Germany and I can find Sechuan pepper in “normal” grocery stores