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Tantanmen
Serves 2 Prep 30 min Cook 25 min Total 55 min Type Meal Origin Japanese

Tantanmen

Japan's take on dan-dan noodles: a brothy ramen with a thick sesame-and-chilli tare, topped with spiced ground pork and a soft-boiled egg.

Serves 2 Prep 30 minutes Cook 25 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Three components assemble at service. (1) Niku miso: ground pork stir-fries with garlic, ginger, doubanjiang and miso, then sweetened with sugar and finished with sesame oil. (2) Tare (concentrated seasoning paste): white sesame paste (tahini), soy sauce, rice vinegar, chilli oil, miso paste, garlic, whisked together. (3) Hot soup: chicken stock with a touch more sesame paste and chilli oil swirled in. Ramen noodles cook separately. Bowls layered: tare in the bottom, hot soup ladled over, cooked noodles, mound of niku miso, blanched bok choy, soft-boiled marinated egg, scallions, extra chilli oil.

Ingredients

Niku miso (spiced pork topping)

  • 200 g pork mince
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil
  • 4 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 25 g fresh ginger (minced)
  • 1 tablespoon doubanjiang (Sichuan fermented chilli bean paste)
  • 1 tablespoon red miso paste
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Tare (per bowl, makes 2)

  • 3 tablespoons white sesame paste (Asian style - runnier than tahini; substitute tahini whisked smooth)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon chilli oil (la-yu - Japanese rayu chilli oil; substitute homemade or a good shop-bought)
  • 1 teaspoon white miso paste
  • 1 garlic clove (grated to a paste)
  • ½ teaspoon caster sugar

Soup

  • 800 ml chicken stock (good quality)
  • 1 tablespoon white sesame paste (extra, whisked into the soup)
  • 1 teaspoon chilli oil

Noodles

  • 200-250 g fresh ramen noodles (or 200 g good dried ramen)

Toppings

  • 2 soft-boiled eggs (6 ½ minutes from cold water; peel and marinate in 2 tablespoons soy + 2 tablespoons mirin + 50 ml water overnight if possible)
  • 200 g baby bok choy (halved lengthways)
  • 4 spring onions (sliced thin, green parts)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • Extra chilli oil and Sichuan pepper for the table

Method

Stage 1 - Niku miso

  1. Heat oil in a small pan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the pork mince; brown 5 minutes, breaking up.
  3. Add garlic and ginger; 30 seconds.
  4. Add doubanjiang and miso; stir-fry 1 minute (they should darken and become fragrant).
  5. Add Shaoxing, soy and sugar; cook 2 minutes till the liquid mostly evaporates.
  6. Off heat; stir in sesame oil. Keep warm.

Stage 2 - Tare

  1. In each serving bowl directly, whisk together: 1 ½ tablespoons sesame paste, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ tablespoon rice vinegar, ½ tablespoon chilli oil, ½ teaspoon white miso, ½ grated garlic clove, ¼ teaspoon sugar.
  2. The tare will be a thick glossy paste at the bottom of the bowl.

Stage 3 - Soup

  1. Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan to just-simmering.
  2. Whisk in 1 tablespoon sesame paste and 1 teaspoon chilli oil - the soup turns a creamy beige with red flecks.
  3. Keep hot.

Stage 4 - Bok choy and noodles

  1. Bring a wide pot of water to a rolling boil.
  2. Blanch the bok choy halves 90 seconds; lift out; set aside.
  3. Cook the ramen noodles according to packet (usually 90 seconds for fresh, 3-4 minutes for dried).

Stage 5 - Assemble

  1. Working fast (everything wants to be hot):
  2. Pour 400 ml of the hot soup into each bowl over the tare - whisk briefly with chopsticks so the tare emulsifies into the soup.
  3. Drain the noodles; lift into the soup; arrange in a small mound at the centre.
  4. Spoon half the niku miso on top of the noodles in each bowl.
  5. Add 2 bok choy halves alongside.
  6. Halve a soft-boiled egg and place cut-side-up.
  7. Scatter the spring onion greens, sesame seeds.
  8. Extra drizzle of chilli oil for those who want more heat.

Stage 6 - Serve

  1. Bring to the table immediately, with extra chilli oil and Sichuan pepper available.
  2. Eat by stirring the niku miso into the soup; slurp the noodles loudly (Japan-approved).

Notes

  • Doubanjiang is critical: Sichuan fermented broad-bean chilli paste. Pixian brand is the standard. Other chilli pastes (sambal, harissa, gochujang) are all wrong flavour profiles.
  • Two sesame pastes (Asian + tahini): Japanese tantanmen uses runnier roasted-sesame paste; Middle-Eastern tahini works but is slightly nuttier. Whisk well into the soup or it sinks.
  • Tare in the bowl, soup over the top: unlike clear ramens, tantanmen's flavour is in the bottom paste that the soup emulsifies into. Mixing in a separate jug loses the layered effect.
  • Eat fast: the noodles soften in the hot soup within 5 minutes. Serve in a hot bowl and don't dawdle photographing.

Storage

  • Niku miso keeps 5 days refrigerated; reheats well.
  • Marinated eggs keep 3 days refrigerated.
  • Tare components keep 2 weeks refrigerated as a base.
  • Don't pre-assemble; build each bowl to order.

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