Tan Tan Ramen (Tantanmen)

Step 1

Gather all the ingredients. For substitute suggestions, please read the blog post. Prepare a big pot of water for cooking the bok choy and noodles. Slowly bring it to a boil on low heat while you prepare all the ingredients.

Step 2

A typical ramen bowl can hold 1200–1400 ml of liquid. We will prepare 1½ cups (360 ml) of soup broth per bowl, which should be more than enough for a ramen bowl size. If you're using bigger bowls, you may need to prepare extra soup to fill them up.

Step 3

Please note: Typically, ramen shops will prepare each ramen bowl to order, adding individual portions of tare soup seasonings and soup broth from their big stock pots. Since my ramen broth recipe is already pre-measured, I just combine the tare and broth together in one pot. For making ramen at home, I found this method creates a more flavorful outcome as you can meld all the seasoning ingredients and let them simmer together. If you prefer, you can portion this tare into the individual ramen bowls, then pour in the soup broth and mix it before adding your noodles. Make sure the soup broth is piping hot as it will cool down after mixing with the tare sitting at room temperature.

Step 4

In a medium bowl, combine the sesame paste and miso.

Step 5

Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and la-yu chili oil.

Step 6

Mix them all together (I use this whisk) and set aside. We'll use this seasoning mixture when we make the soup broth.

Step 7

Grate the ginger (I use a ceramic grater) and mince or press the garlic (I use a garlic press).

Step 8

Cut the bok choy in quarters lengthwise. Rinse well under cold running water and make sure there is no dirt between the leaves. Drain and set aside.

Step 9

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the saucepan is hot, add the oil, then the pork.

Step 10

Cook the pork, stirring frequently, until it's no longer pink. When it's almost done cooking, add the sake and stir to combine. Tip: Sake helps remove the unwanted odor from the pork.

Step 11

Add the ginger and garlic and stir to combine.

Step 12

Add the doubanjiang and soy sauce and stir to mix.

Step 13

Lower the stove's heat to medium low and let the pork mixture simmer until the cooking liquid is almost evaporated, for about 2–3 minutes. Then, turn off the heat. Transfer half of the pork mixture to a bowl and leave the other half in the saucepan.

Step 14

Cover the bowl with plastic to avoid further evaporation and to keep it warm.

Step 15

With the stove's heat off, add the soup seasonings to the pork mixture in the saucepan and mix well.

Step 16

Turn on the stove's heat again to medium. With a spatula, stir the pork mixture constantly while you gradually add the chicken stock, combining them well. Tip: If you add the stock all at once, it'll be difficult to combine well.

Step 17

Then, gradually add the soy milk while stirring.

Step 18

Taste the soup now and adjust the seasoning with salt. Don't be shy about adding salt because the broth will taste less salty after you add the noodles. Also, if you feel it's too creamy or too thick to your taste, you can adjust the soup broth by adding a few tablespoons of chicken stock or water. Once the soup broth tastes good, turn off the heat, cover the saucepan with the lid, and set aside.

Step 19

Prepare a medium bowl of cold water and set aside. In the big pot of boiling water, add the bok choy, stem end first, and cook it for 2 minutes. When the bottom end is tender, turn off the heat.

Step 20

Without draining the water, remove the blanched boy choy from the pot and transfer it to the bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Keep the hot water in the big pot to cook the noodles in the next step. Once the bok choy is cool enough to handle, squeeze the water out and set aside.

Step 21

Now, it's time to reheat the soup broth until it's piping hot, but don't let it overboil because it may curdle. Before cooking the fresh noodles, loosen them up with your hands.

Step 22

Turn the stove's heat back on and bring the water in the big pot to a boil again. Once boiling, add the noodles and cook according to the package instructions. While cooking, stir and separate the noodles with chopsticks. Here, I cook the noodles inside a big noodle strainer (I got it in Japan) that I've set inside the pot.

Step 23

When the noodles are done cooking, drain them well in a strainer, shaking it a few times to drain the water thoroughly (otherwise it will dilute the soup broth). Transfer the noodles to the individual ramen bowls.

Step 24

Divide and pour the soup broth with seasonings over the noodles.

Step 25

Place the reserved pork mixture on top of the noodles and place the bok choy to one side to garnish.

Step 26

You can keep the soup broth in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cook the noodles right before serving.