A spicy and creamy ramen noodle soup which is hearty and scrumptious. Make this scrumptious Tantanmen Ramen at dwelling with this fast and simple recipe.
Tantanmen Ramen
My household and I travelled to Japan for the primary time in spring 2024, and one dish I used to be decided to strive whereas there was Tantanmen Ramen. Japanese delicacies isn’t recognized for being spicy, however each Japanese cookbook I had learn described this ramen dish as one for the chilli lovers. And as I had by no means seen this dish on the menu at any of the Japanese eating places in Zurich, I used to be desperate to strive it in Japan itself.
Tantanmen is a comforting noodle soup which is nutty and spicy, with layers of textures from the recent greens, runny soft-boiled eggs, and crunchy meat topping. After my first style of Tantanmen, I used to be immediately addicted and knew that I wished to recreate it the second I obtained dwelling.
What’s Tantanmen Ramen?
Tantanmen Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup which has a creamy soup base on account of the usage of sesame paste and soy milk, with a spicy and fragrant topping of minced pork or rooster. It’s tailored from a Chinese language Sichuan dish known as Dan Dan Noodles, which is a dry noodle dish however has an analogous fried minced meat topping, and which carries many of the spice and flavours for the dish.
Though Tantanmen is usually marketed as “spicy”, I discover the spice ranges to be considerably delicate compared to different Asian noodle soups. Having stated that, you’ll be able to simply customise the extent of warmth by including extra chilli oil to style.
Tantanmen Recipe
My recipe for Tantanmen Ramen is a fast and simple one for if you desire a noodle soup throughout the busy week. In truth, I hold many of the components readily available in my pantry and freezer in order that I could make Tantanmen every time the craving calls!
This recipe for Tantanmen can also be a lot faster than a Shoyu Ramen which depends on a meat broth which has been simmering for a number of hours. In truth, it’s one of many few soup recipes the place I fortunately use rooster inventory cubes, which implies I could make this dish at quick discover.
Asian recipes not often use dairy, so the creaminess within the soup base is because of the usage of unsweetened soy milk. Unsweetened almond milk additionally works equally nicely, if that’s extra available to you.
You need to use both minced pork or minced rooster on this recipe, and even crumbled agency tofu for a vegetarian model.
I normally all the time have some Chinese language greens in my fridge, however different greens which you may additionally use embrace:
- asparagus
- bamboo shoots, sliced
- bean sprouts
- broccoli, minimize into florets
- carrots, grated or sliced into skinny batons
- corn kernels
- inexperienced beans
- mushrooms, thickly sliced
- rocket leaves (arugula)
- spinach
The right way to Make Tantanmen Ramen
Step 1
Begin by making the spicy meat topping. Warmth some oil in a medium-sized pan, and prepare dinner the meat till it’s golden and barely caramelised. Add the garlic and ginger, and prepare dinner for a number of seconds till aromatic. Add the remaining components, and simmer gently for about 5 minutes for the flavours to include.
Step 2
Make the soup paste by whisking collectively all the components. Divide the combination between 4 noodle soup bowls.
Step 3
Make the soup broth by mixing collectively the inventory and soy milk in a big pan. Carry to the boil, after which let it simmer gently.
Step 4
Cook dinner the noodles in keeping with the packet directions. Rinse nicely below chilly water to take away the starch.
Step 5
Carry a pot of water to the boil and prepare dinner the greens till tender however nonetheless crisp. I like to make use of child bok choy which you’ll be able to halve or depart entire. To prepare dinner child bok choy, I like to make use of a noodle strainer to prepare dinner simply the stems, and permit the leaves to wilt within the soup broth later. You probably have very huge bok choy, you’ll be able to chop the stems and leaves into massive items.
I wish to reheat the noodles by plunging them briefly into the identical boiling water used to prepare dinner the greens. I take advantage of a noodle strainer to portion the noodles and to simply take away the noodles from the water.
Step 6
Divide the nice and cozy noodles among the many soup bowls.
Ladle the recent soup broth over the noodles.
Add the greens, soft-boiled eggs, and a beneficiant scoop of spicy meat topping.
Simply earlier than consuming, use your chopsticks to dissolve the paste into the broth. Take pleasure in!
Ideas For Making Tantanmen Ramen
- Use recent noodles. Because the noodles are the hero of the dish, I like to recommend shopping for recent or frozen Japanese ramen noodles or Chinese language wheat noodles (each are basically the identical) which have the very best flavour and texture for this dish. I might solely use dried or vacuum-sealed noodles as a final resort.
- Use your favorite chilli oil. My Selfmade Chilli Oil makes use of Sichuan pepper for that tingling and numbing warmth, and which works nice in a Tantanmen which is Sichuan-inspired. However any Asian chilli oil will work, and you may alter the spice ranges to your liking.
- Use Japanese or Chinese language sesame paste. You’ll find sesame paste at most Asian grocers. The paste is usually separated from the oil, so you will have to combine or whisk the combination first till it types a cohesive paste earlier than utilizing. The closest substitute to sesame paste is tahini, which has a milder flavour. The following smartest thing is clean peanut butter, however be aware that it’s going to have a special flavour to sesame paste (it’s nonetheless scrumptious!).
Make-Forward Ideas for Tantanmen
- Freeze soy milk. I can solely purchase unsweetened soy milk the place I stay in massive cartons, however any leftover soy milk may be frozen. I wish to freeze them in batches of 250 ml (1 cup) in ziplock freezer baggage.
- Freeze minced meat. I freeze minced meat in batches of 100 g in ziplock freezer baggage or vacuum-sealed baggage. This permits for fast and simple thawing.
- Freeze the spicy meat topping. You possibly can prepare dinner the spicy meat topping forward of time and freeze them in batches. Thaw and reheat the cooked meat in a pan with some oil till warmed by way of.
- Meal-prep within the fridge. Every of the elements may be saved individually within the fridge for as much as 3-4 days. Use no matter leftover greens you could have, resembling steamed broccoli, carrots, corn, and many others.
Tantanmen Ramen
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook dinner Time: 20 minutes
- Whole Time: half-hour
- Yield: Serves 4
- Class: Dinner
- Methodology: Stovetop
- Delicacies: Japanese
A spicy and creamy ramen noodle soup which is hearty and scrumptious. Make this scrumptious Tantanmen Ramen at dwelling with this fast and simple recipe.
Elements
For the Spicy Meat Topping
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 300 g (11 oz) minced pork or minced rooster (floor pork or floor rooster)
- sea salt
- freshly floor black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons doubenjiang
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake or Chinese language cooking wine
- spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
For the Soup Paste
For the Soup Broth
- 1.5 litres (6 cups) rooster inventory or vegetable inventory
- 500 ml (2 cups) unsweetened soy milk
For the Toppings
- 400–500 g (1 lb) recent Japanese ramen noodles or Chinese language noodles
- bok choy or different inexperienced greens
- soft-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
- spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
- chilli oil
Directions
For the Spicy Meat Topping
- Warmth the oil in a medium-sized pan.
- Season the meat with salt and pepper.
- Cook dinner the meat till it begins to brown and is barely caramelised.
- Add the garlic and ginger, and prepare dinner till aromatic.
- Add the remaining components.
- Simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
For the Soup Paste
- Whisk all the components collectively.
- Divide the paste evenly between 4 soup bowls.
For the Soup Broth
- Pour the inventory and soy milk into a big pot.
- Carry to the boil after which let it simmer gently.
To Serve
- Cook dinner the noodles in keeping with the packet directions, after which rinse below chilly water.
- Cook dinner the bok choy in boiling water for a couple of minutes (relying on dimension).
- Ideally, the noodles ought to be heat earlier than serving, so I sometimes plunge them with a noodle strainer into the identical boiling water used to prepare dinner the greens.
- Divide the noodles between the soup bowls.
- Ladle some scorching soup broth over the noodles.
- Place some bok choy and soft-boiled eggs into every soup bowl.
- Place a beneficiant spoonful of spicy meat topping on prime of the noodles.
- Garnish with spring onions (scallions).
- Add extra chilli oil to style.
- Simply earlier than consuming, use your chopsticks to softly dissolve the soup paste into the broth.
Kitchen Notes
MAKE IT VEGETARIAN
Substitute the meat for crumbled agency tofu or sliced mushrooms (I like king oyster mushrooms or shitake mushrooms), and use a vegetable inventory.
MAKE IT KID-FRIENDLY
Once I make this dish, I prepare dinner half of the meat with out the doubanjiang for the children, or I solely use a teaspoon of doubanjiang for only a little bit of spicy kick.
MAKE IT AHEAD OF TIME
This dish lends itself nicely to meal-prepping. Retailer every of the elements individually within the fridge for as much as 3-4 days.
OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this web site have been examined on an induction range and/or with a standard oven (i.e. an oven with out fan). All recipes on this web site use temperatures for a traditional oven, until in any other case talked about. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are sometimes 20°C/70°F hotter than standard ovens, however please test your producer’s handbook.
CONVERSIONS
To transform from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this helpful Conversion Chart for Fundamental Elements.
