How to Make Dan Dan Mian and Shizi Tou (Lion’s Head Meatballs)

Test cook Lan Lam and host Bridget Lancaster teach viewers how to prepare Dan Dan Mian (Sichuan Noodles with Chilli Sauce and Pork). Equipment expert Adam Ried shares with host Julia Collin Davison his top picks for mortars and pestles. Test cook Dan Souza and Julia unlock the secrets to making perfect Shizi Tou (Lion’s Head Meatballs).
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[@EricHunt]

Both of those recipes look amazing. I'm so excited/thrilled to see ATK highlighting regional authentic Chinese cuisine.

[@paulsmith9341]

Ms Lam literally makes this dish.

[@geezermann7865]

Glad to see the new episodes being posted. I have not seen this one on TV yet.

[@Scott_Atlanta]

Lan is always💯💯💯

[@chrisandersen5635]

Anytime I see Lan I click. Oh yeah, and the food. Already love all this yumminess. Thanks!!

[@DawnalynForrest]

Wow! That looks great! Thank you for introducing us to interesting ingredients! I’m going to ferret them out and try this!

[@gratesmil]

What a beautiful recipe for the lions head meatballs. Gosh I really enjoyed that. Also, I thank you for giving the measurements for the ingredients. It’s appreciated. 😊

[@kelleyforeman]

I’ve made this meatball recipe and it’s delicious! Easy and comforting!

[@billbouldin2969]

Yay Lan Lam! Happy Holidays.

[@jwilliston7203]

I wish Lan was featured in more videos!!!

[@thedivide3688]

I would recommend always letting the rice noodles sit for about 15 minutes in a colander after cooking. They’ll dry up and soak sauces up better.

[@sublimegirl1]

So no rinsing?

[@thedivide3688]

@@sublimegirl1 You still rinse. You need to stop the cooking process as you don’t want rice noodles to overcook. They’ll break otherwise.

[@tomsparks6099]

The baking soda trick is key when tenderizing meat whether Asian or not. But careful adding beyond that small amount or your result will taste over-salted. (I screwed up Dan's basic roast turkey by accidentally adding it to the under-skin rub)

[@stevef.8708]

Wow, Lan, what an absolutely gorgeous dish. Looks positively yummy.

[@frankromero5581]

Another yuuuummmy dish 🙃

[@goody71]

I want Dan Dan now now!

[@esiegmund]

This looks really good. I would have loved to try it, but since the ingredients were unknown to me I went on Amazon and collected them in my cart. It would have cost me over $76 to get the incredients. Totally out of my price range!

[@EricHunt]

Go to your local Chinese grocery store. I live in Little Rock, way less than a million people, and found everything at my Chinese grocer. Hopefully you live close to one, too!

[@esiegmund]

@@EricHunt Thank you for your comment. I will try to find something like that here.

[@esiegmund]

@@sandrah7512 Thank you for your comment. I am always afraid that the more you substitute products the less the recipe will taste like the original.

[@cbass2755]

I have none of the spices for Dan Dan, so I’ll just order that when out. It looks delicious!

[@asmraylin5932]

Nice video ♥️💜🎉

[@michaelmiller1109]

Lan is reaching national treasure status.

[@sheilamooney7049]

Can one use a hand mixer or food processor for the meatballs?

[@lindaevans6461]

Yum

[@elainebower8776]

I use Weee! for finding Chinese, Korean and Mexican ingredients. Was able to find everything except the sweet wheat paste. I could not find the sweet wheat paste ANYWHERE. I am wondering if I mis-heard and that it should be sweet bean paste. Any suggestions?

[@MitchDussault]

Look for Tian mian jiang. I would actually omit it and add a tsp of honey or plain sugar. I know they said it was an umami bomb but these noodles usually just use a bit of chicken essence powder which is what I would use. Basically bouillon powder. So instead of wheat paste, a bit of sugar or honey and bouillon powder for sweetness and umami. It's actually more authentic that way. Just watch any Chinese street food guides and see how they make it.

[@adedow1333]

@@MitchDussault oh that's much more accessible! Thanks for the advice!

[@Lampshadx]

@@MitchDussault +1 for this. A bit of sugar and a little better than bouillon or bouillon cube/powder or maggi seasoning

[@batkat0]

@@MitchDussault could you sub in marmite?

[@MitchDussault]

@@batkat0 Marmite is a great vegetarian option for umami and salt. It's basically super thick soy sauce.

[@flybyairplane3528]

ATK,HelloLAN LIM,THIS LOOKS LOVELY,ILL TRY TO FIND NOODLES SO I CAN EAT THIS,,THANKS,🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@christianhansen3292]

yum to both dishes~

[@jalundblad]

Can you make Thai Basil Noodles please? We try to make Beef Basil Noodles similar to our local Vietnamese restaurant (Papaya in Sammamish), but we can't get it even close. Please help.

[@roccospicoli]

I'm not able to find a placeto buy the sweet wheat paste. Can someone point me in the right direction please?

[@Lampshadx]

Glad to see Sichuan recipes without a bunch of weird substitutions to accommodate your typical non adventurous eaters.

[@janner2006]

That is such a bad take. If someone wasn’t “adventurous” why would they even bother making these dishes in the first place and use substitutions to approximate the taste? Some ingredients are simply too difficult if not impossible to source locally but that doesn’t mean you have to write off an entire recipe forever just because you can’t get hold of a select few ingredients with perfectly suitables substitutions.

[@v4714v]

Damn, imagine being elitist and gate-keeping about food. Authenticity is a great quality, but not at the expense of excluding those who cannot or do not prefer to consume certain ingredients, or those who cannot find a vendor to buy these ingredients.

[@AshA-su5uo]

@@v4714v "elitist and gatekeping about food." Loved it! 🤣

[@wordsculpt]

@@janner2006 Absolutely! Sounds like a bored adolescent talking. I live in a large city with an international ,multi cultural population, but there are many, many things that I cannot buy locally. I won't special order online for a single recipe, so I absolutely depend upon substitutions.

[@MannyFontes1968]

There she is, my future wife...😍

[@protopigeon]

It's like Lady and the Tramp but much better

[@astatine0085]

I found a teeny one at an estate sale, and tried crushing cloves for my pumpkin pie. They crushed, but not nearly enough, so we ended up with mouthful clumps of softened cloves in random bites. LOL

[@sew_gal7340]

Make lam make vietnamese dishes plz

[@coolnewpants]

She makes Bò Lúc Lắc in this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGbbgnawrMp_m9k

[@sew_gal7340]

@@coolnewpants thank you!

[@Anikanoteven]

Now to find a way to make it gluten free, anyone suggest a sub for the wheat paste? Also I don’t eat pork so I’ll see how ground chicken or turkey work.

[@iluvearth99]

I don’t know about making it gluten free (they may have substitutions on their recipe page), but for chicken or turkey id maybe advise getting dark meat/with more fat. I think it’ll help the meat not dry out while you’re getting it crispy :)

[@Marss13z]

Pickled mustard greens. Where are the cowpeas?

[@KJ_nyc]

You can find more authentic versions of Dan Dan on KZbin. I have never seen a recipe that called for so little toasted sesame paste. In other recipes, this is the key ingredient. Also, they mention ya cai mustard greens, but they don't say a word about brands or their salt content. Many versions of ya cai are overloaded with salt. You have to be VERY careful when shopping for this product. It is very easy for your ya cai to ruin the dish. There are other KZbinrs who will direct you to a specific brand.

[@bobby_greene]

Dan turned down presenting the first recipe because he didn't want to be known as dan dan Dan

[@sandybarnes887]

Why is this not split into 3 videos?

[@Night_from_GT_asia_2]

This is not fair, there are no Chinese restaurants near me

[@Night_from_GT_asia_2]

Like wtf man, i’m breathing heavily, and getting those pleasure goosebumps looking at this my heart is beating fast, I can feel the blood in my ears boil, my eyes are dilating I think

[@iblessyou.forextrablessing7597]

My friend doctor told bak Chou is good vegetable for health

[@michaelmiller1109]

I miss the series "what is eating Dan?"

[@4mmorrisfamily]

The Dan Dan Noodles requires chopped peanuts. Leaving them out is like making pizza without cheese.

[@iAmTheWagon]

I broke an OXO rubber spatula pressing with it like that.

[@hermananilda3835]

Hello😂

[@lovewillwinnn]

pes T les? Really? I always thought the T was silent. 🤔. Do you pronounce the “T” in “listen” also?

[@Anikanoteven]

Wow I learned something today…I never knew the t was silent. Thx!

[@ctwest3601]

Love you guys, super down for more of Lan, the one things though is that I don't really think that's Lionshead. I question the texture, honestly. Love you guys, but I really question the texture. I've had great results with varying amounts of tofu, water chestnuts, and added gelatin, but you went none of the above with full emulsification? Also no initial searing. I hesitate to question the development process I've watched for other recipes and respect, but seeing the end result cross section it really isn't the product I'm expecting from that name. I might give it a try, I talked a lot of smack for not giving it a try.

[@natpop4910]

Are you guys still using inflammatory oils so bad for us