hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to Japanese classics with yet another variation at one of my very favorite dishes of all time, which is a sesame paste noodle, or tan tan ramen. Those following along with this channel should hopefully have noticed by now that we have done. Just. so many versions of dan dan noodles now. In past months, this has included a peanut butter version, a vegan version, a tofu version, a traditional Sichuan version, a Thai rice noodle version, and now finally at long last, a Japanese ramen version.

The reason of course that we have done so many iterations is because dan dan noodles transcend many, many different food cultures, which makes sense because it is conceptually pretty simple. Sesame paste has a thick, dense texture to it, so it in turn in turn yields a thick, luxurious sauce to coat your noodles. For today’s tan tan ramen (as you might have guessed), we’ll be pairing some fresh ramen noodles with a sesame paste based ramen broth. Then to round this out, a tan tan ramen soup base is traditionally thickened up with a non-dairy milk as well. Today I’ll be using some fresh Chinese soy milk for a thicker and more dense sauce, but I’ll also be diving into the benefits of using these more readily available western alternatives, like oat milk or almond milk too. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger

  • 3 green onions

  • 1 lb ramen noodles

  • 8 oz ground pork

  • 4 oz baby bok choy

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (marinade)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 1 tbsp mirin

  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

  • 1/2 tsp corn starch

INGREDIENTS (broth)

  • 2 cups dashi stock

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp mirin

  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar

  • 2 tbsp chili crisp oil

  • 1 tbsp doubanjiang

  • 2 cups soy milk (or oat, or almond milk)

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside

  • SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice thinly, set aside

  • SLICE the bok choy into halves, set aside

  • COMBINE the ground pork with all marinade ingredients and let marinate for 30 minutes

  • COMBINE all broth ingredients except for the soy milk, set aside

ON THE STOVE

  • BOIL a pot of water, parcook the noodles and bok choy for 2 minutes, then remove immediately

  • HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add the broth ingredients (do not add the soy milk yet) and bring to a simmer

  • ADD the soy milk and let simmer for 20 minutes, then remove from heat

  • HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the garlic, ginger, and whites of green onions, then saute for 15 seconds until fragrant

  • ADD the ground pork and saute for 2-3 minutes until cooked through, using a spatula to break up any large clumps, then remove

  • CLEAN the wok, reheat over medium heat, then add the broth ingredients (do not add the soy milk yet) and bring to a simmer

  • ADD the soy milk and let simmer for 20 minutes, then remove from heat

  • SERVE with broth over noodles, and bok choy, ground pork, and greens of green onions on top

 

tagged with tan tan ramen, sesame ramen, sesame noodles, dan dan ramen, dan dan noodles,r amen noodles, ramen recipe, tan tan ramen recipe, japanese ramen, japanese ramen recipe