Tantanmen Ramen

A spicy and creamy ramen noodle soup which is hearty and delicious. Make this delicious Tantanmen Ramen at home with this quick and easy recipe.
Tantanmen Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup which has a creamy soup base due to the use of sesame paste and soy milk, with a spicy and aromatic topping of minced pork or chicken. It is adapted from a Chinese Sichuan dish called Dan Dan Noodles, which is a dry noodle dish but has a similar fried minced meat topping, and which carries most of the spice and flavours for the dish.
Although Tantanmen is often advertised as “spicy”, I find the spice levels to be somewhat mild in comparison to other Asian noodle soups. Having said that, you can easily customise the level of heat by adding more chilli oil to taste.
Ingredients:
For the Spicy Meat Topping
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 300 g (11 oz) minced pork or minced chicken (ground pork or ground chicken)
- sea salt
- freshly ground 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 cooking wine
- spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
For the Soup Paste
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) sesame paste, tahini or smooth peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1–2 tablespoons chilli oil, or to taste (optional)
For the Soup Broth
- 1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 500 ml (2 cups) unsweetened soy milk
For the Toppings
- 400–500 g (1 lb) fresh Japanese ramen noodles or Chinese noodles
- bok choy or other green vegetables
- soft-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
- spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
- chilli oil
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes
Total Time:
30 minutes
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