Easy Tantanmen Ramen

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

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Easy Tantanmen Ramen

This flavorful bowl of ramen is easy for anyone to make at home.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Main Course

Keyword: easy, experience, noodles, ramen

Servings: 2

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!

Notes

*Adding toban djan (Chinese chili bean paste) gives an extra umami flavor and the perfect amount of heat to the meat. Totally optional if you can’t find it.

*I used my own homemade chili oil. 

*The amount of chili oil used should be up to heat preference.

*Tahini (sesame paste) can be substituted with peanut butter

Other recipes you'll like:

20-Minutes Spicy Creamy Miso Ramen (Vegan) Malaysian Chili Pan Noodles Savory Ramen Pancake (Eggless & Vegan-Friendly)