Tantanmen (short for Tantan Ramen) is a spicy and creamy ramen with a hint of nutty flavor. Essentially, it has wheat-based noodles, broth made from soy milk and sesame paste, then topped with seasoned spicy minced meat.
It’s a super easy and effortless thing to make! One of those recipes that you should have in your back pocket.

Tantanmen Ramen is the Japanese take on the delectable, fiery Sichuan Dan Dan Mian (Dan Dan Noodles) which is more of a dry noodle with sauce. In contrast, Tantanmen has a deep umami flavored broth that is super creamy.
Traditionally, it can take hours to prepare ramen in order to get that deep, savory flavor in its broth. The use of soy milk is actually a hack that you can use in order to emulate the full, rich and creamy taste of ramen easily.

I came across this hack on YouTube some time 2 years ago and it completely blew my mind at how good it is! I’ve made it so many times since, tweaking it to my taste here and there. It’s super delicious.
RECIPE

Easy Tantanmen Ramen
Ingredients
- 2 servings ramen noodles
Meat marinade
- 1/2 lb ground meat
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp *toban djan (Chinese chili bean paste) (optional)
Tantanmen Sauce
- 3 tbsp *tahini (sesame paste)
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp chili oil
Broth
- 3 cups soy milk/whole milk (unsweetened)
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
Toppings
- 1 baby bok choy (remove bottom and separate each leaf)
- 1 green onion (diced)
- 2 ramen egg
- sesame seeds (optional)
- shichimi togarashi (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate the ground beef with the ingredients listed. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce.
- In a pot, add chicken bouillon powder to soy/whole milk and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and set aside.
- Boil noodles and drain from water.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add bok choy. Blanch for 1 minute and remove from water.
- Over medium heat, pan fry the ground meat until cooked.
Assembling
- Add half of the sauce to a serving bowl.
- Pour in half of the broth into the bowl and stir until the sauce dissolves.
- Add the noodles to a bowl. Swirl it in the broth so the noodles are lightly coated.
- Add 3-4 tbsp of the ground meat and the baby bok choy on top.
- Slice one ramen egg in half and add to bowl.
- Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds and shichimi togarashi. Enjoy!
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