🍜 Tantanmen

Name: Tantanmen
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Japan · adapted from Sichuan, China
Ingredients: 200 g fresh wheat ramen noodles; 200 g minced pork; 3 tbsp sesame paste; 1–2 tbsp chili oil; 800 ml water or unsalted meat stock; 2 heads bok choy, halved; 2 garlic cloves and 1 tsp grated ginger; 1 spring onion, sliced; Salt and a pinch of sugar

Origin: Japan · adapted from Sichuan, China

880kcal

per serving · 550 g

160kcal

per 100 g

38 gProtein7 g / 100 g

38 gFat7 g / 100 g

88 gCarbs16 g / 100 g

Tantanmen is a Japanese ramen bowl of wheat noodles in a rich, nutty broth built on sesame paste and spiked with chili oil. It is topped with savoury minced pork and quickly blanched bok choy. The soup is creamy, spicy and slightly sweet, and the noodles soak up the sesame flavour. It is served piping hot in a deep bowl.

Diets

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: ground pork

Not veganbecause of: ground pork

Contains porkbecause of: ground pork

Contains glutenbecause of: wheat noodles

Not keto16 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy ⚠ Sesame

What it is made of

wheat noodlessesame brothground porkchili oilbok choy

Recipe

2 servings30 min

Ingredients

200 g fresh wheat ramen noodles
200 g minced pork
3 tbsp sesame paste
1–2 tbsp chili oil
800 ml water or unsalted meat stock
2 heads bok choy, halved
2 garlic cloves and 1 tsp grated ginger
1 spring onion, sliced
Salt and a pinch of sugar

Method

Fry the pork in a dry pan with the garlic and ginger until browned and crumbly; season with salt.
Whisk the sesame paste with a little hot stock until smooth, then add the rest of the stock, sugar and salt and bring to a simmer.
Blanch the bok choy for 1 minute and cook the noodles according to the packet.
Divide the noodles between bowls and pour over the hot sesame broth.
Top with pork, bok choy, spring onion and chili oil to taste.

How to make it lighter

Sesame paste is calorie-dense — 1 tbsp is roughly 90 kcal — so use 2 tbsp instead of 3 for a lighter broth.
Drain the fat from the fried pork and drizzle the chili oil sparingly, as 1 tbsp of oil adds about 120 kcal.
Double the bok choy and take a smaller nest of noodles to keep the bowl filling with fewer calories.

History

Tantanmen is the Japanese take on Sichuan dandan noodles, which were traditionally sold by street vendors from a carrying pole. The Japanese version is usually credited to Chinese chefs working in Japan in the mid-20th century, who turned the dish into a soup to suit local tastes. Today it is a standard item in ramen shops across Japan.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →