Squash and Mushroom Dan Dan with Dangmyeon Noodles

A few days ago, I made some incredible Dan Dan Mian respecting the authenticity of the dish and adjusting the chili oil heat by plate.  I had a small bit of that dan dan sauce leftover that I just couldn't throw away, so I saved it in a jar in the fridge.  Since that day, it's been calling out at me.. but I've been doing so many other types of dishes that I wasn't quite ready to to a remake.  Now that I understand the concept of the dish, I allowed myself some room for freestyle.  Why not add a bit of squash?  It is Halloween, after all.  Since I'm not out disguised and partying like any normal American should be doing, I'll at least have my pumpkin in costume...
I had a piece of sucrine squash I needed to finish and taste-wise, it would worked out just perfect.  Why not transform it into fight food?  I decided to go half noodle and half strip mushroom, which are the same shape as noodles and are not very pungent, so would sub in just perfectly.  Since I didn't have time to grind, I just cubed some chicken filets and just let it flow out of memory.
The real star of the dish is the sauce, though.. so make sure you have the sauce.. otherwise you cannot call this dan dan anything.

Serves 3

Ingredients

700g (1.5lb) sucrine du berry or butternut squash, peeled and cubed

3 chicken cutlets, cubed

1 handful preserved radish greens

1 handful chopped leek greens

150g (5 oz) dangmyeon (sweet potato starch) noodles

100g (3.5 oz) dried strip mushrooms

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 clove garlic, grated

1 tsp five spice

1 tsp light soy sauce or tamari

Dressing:

1/2 cup heated Dan Dan sauce
2 Tbsp red chili oil
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
crushed peanuts for garnish
Directions
1.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles and mushroom strips for about 5 minutes or to dangmyeon package instructions.  You can do the rest while this is happening.  Drain and set aside.
2.Heat the coconut oil in a wok and add the cubed squash.  Stir-fry for a minute or two, then add the preserved radish greens.
3.  When the squash starts becoming tender (about 2-3 minutes) add the chicken, garlic, leeks, and five spice.
4.  Stir fry until chicken is cooked through (about 5 minutes) then deglaze with the soy sauce.
5.  Give yourself enough time to make the dan dan sauce and red chili oil if you didn't already have it on hand.
6.  Assemble.  Place the strip mushrooms and noodles in a bowl with a few tablespoons of the hot dan  dan sauce.  Add some red chili oil, sesame seeds, and crushed peanuts.

Ah... now THAT is fight food!

The dangmyeon noodles work very well here.  I was looking for they chewy slick texture and this did not disappoint!
I'll be moving on to Mexican now that I've had my weekly Chinese fix..