Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook and stir until tender and lightly golden on the edges, 5 minutes or so.
Move all the ingredients to one side of the pan and add the ground meat to the other side. Chop the meat into smaller chunks using your spatula. When the surface of the beef has mostly turned white, mix everything.
Add the fermented black beans, garlic, and minced ginger. Mix everything again.
Pour in the Shaoxing wine and light soy sauce. Cook and stir until the meat is cooked through. Carefully taste the meat and vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and stir to mix, if needed.
Transfer everything to a large plate. Serve hot as a main with steamed rice or boiled noodles.
Notes
To make this dish gluten-free, use fermented black beans or Sui Mi Ya Cai instead of Doubanjiang. Use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
Ground chicken, ground turkey, and ground pork all work very well in this recipe.
These ingredients add a ton of umami into the dish and make it truly flavorful. Sui Mi Ya Cai is a special Sichuan pickle that is a key ingredient in Dan Dan Noodles. Doubanjiang is a spicy fermented bean paste used in Mapo tofu. If you don’t have any of these ingredients, replace them with 1 tablespoon soy sauce.