Ready to spice up your squash?
Let’s get right to these dan dan noodles then.
If you’re not familiar with this Asian street food fave, dan dan noodles are a spicy Chinese noodle dish with ground pork, a dark, garlicky sauce with lots of chili spice. This dish is RICH.
Traditional recipes call for spaghetti-shaped egg noodles (which by all means are DELISH) but I wanted to recreate a low-carb, F-Factor approved version that was just as satisfying. By golly I think we did it!!!!!
MORE ON SPAGHETTI SQUASH: So here’s the skinny on squash! It’s suuuuuuuper low carb, has a pleasant, light flavor and delicate texture closest to angel hair pasta. You can use them interchangeably with regular pasta noodles in almost any recipe (I say almost because they don’t do well in soups because of their fragility)! Learn how to cook spaghetti squash here:
Like so many Asian recipes, the star of this dish is the sauce. I used this recipe as my base and altered slightly based on what was (or really, what wasn’t) in my pantry! I would have loved to have szchewan peppercorns to grind but that just wasn’t in the cards for me last night!
Here’s how you’ll make Spaghetti Squash Low Carb Dan Dan Noodles:
- Roast your spaghetti squash
- Marinate + fry the ground pork
- Mix your sauce
- Serve everything up!
PRO TIP:
No time for spaghetti squash? Try using pre-spiraled zucchini noodles or hearts of palm linguini by Palmini as your substitute! Both require little to no cooking.
Happy chowing!
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Low Carb Dan Dan Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 small-medium spaghetti squash
ground pork
- ½ lb. ground pork
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp. ginger paste
- 1 tbs. white wine vinegar
- 1 tbs. liquid or coconut aminos
- 1 tbs. avocado oil
dan dan sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbs. tahini paste or peanut butter use tahini for Whole30
- 2 tbs. liquid or coconut aminos
- 3 tbs. chili garlic paste
- 3 tbs. sesame oil
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. brown sugar omit for Whole30
for serving
- 1 handful of greens, chopped green onions, crushed roasted peanuts omit peanuts for Whole30
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice spaghetti squash lengthwise (end to end) and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper and place face down on a sheet pan lined with foil. Roast for 40 minutes, then let cool.
- Mix together all of the ingredients for the pork marinade in a bowl, then add ground pork. Use fork to combine and set aside.
- Mix together all of the ingredients for the dan dan sauce, adjusting flavorings if needed (if too hot, add sugar).
- In a wok or large skillet, warm 1 tbs. avocado oil over medium heat. Add in ground pork and cook until brown and crisped, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In 2 serving bowls, divide the sauce. Divide the handful of mixed greens between the two bowls (if using). When squash has cooked, use fork to create "noodles" and divide between two bowls. Top each bowl with green onions and crushed peanuts, then toss before eating!