Vegan Dan Dan Noodles with Garlic Chili Oil

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Add water until it can easily be stirred. Set aside.
To make the garlic chili oil, heat the sesame chili oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic starts to crisp (2-3 minutes).**** Remove from the heat and carefully transfer to a bowl. Set aside. Reserve the pan to use again later.
Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside - depending on the type of noodles you use, you may need to run them under water to keep them from sticking.
Place the same pot you used for the noodles back on the stove. Add the broth and 1/2 of the sauce to pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer.
Place the same pan you used to make the chili oil back on the stove over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of the chili oil to the pan. Add the ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the beef crumbles, mushrooms and walnuts to the pan and cook until everything starts to brown (3-5 minutes). Add the remaining sauce to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the noodles to the pan and toss to coat evenly. Push the noodle mixture to one side and add the spinach and a little bit more chili garlic oil. Toss until the spinach is wilted.
To serve, ladle a small amount of broth into each bowl. Top the broth with the noodle mixture and spinach. Lastly add green onions, red pepper flakes and garlic chili oil to each bowl.