Tan Tan Ramen Recipe

Tan Tan Ramen is a Ramen noodle dish with a rich and deep sesame-flavored soup topped with red Miso-flavored minced pork. This Ramen is packed with strong umami tastes from pork, sesame paste, and miso. The thick soup coats every string of the noodles, and you can enjoy the wonderful flavors in every bite. It may be hard to recreate the restaurant-quality taste since that is something skilled chefs have achieved taking years of experimenting and experience. But here we can show you an easier way to make Tan Tan Ramen with simple ingredients right in your home kitchen.

Tan Tan Ramen is a Japanese version of Chinese Sishuan Dandanmian, which is a noodle dish with minced pork and preserved vegetable called zha cai. It is served in a spicy sesame-flavored noodle soup, or it can be serverd “dry,” depending on where you get it. Dandanmian varies vastly too in China, and there is no one right answer. It’s been a long time since the dish was introduced in Japan, and now Tan Tan Ramen is one of the most popular Chinese-style Ramens there.

Sichuan’s famous Dandan noodles were (not surprisingly) brought to Japan by a Chinese chef from Sichuan, and over the years, it became today’s Japanese Tan Tan Ramen. The spiciness of the original Dandanmian was largely reduced, and the dish is almost always served in soup, not dry. As with many Chinese foods in Japan, it’s been adjusted and balanced to Japanese seasonings and tastes. Although Tan Tan Ramen is different at different Ramen stores, minced meat and chopped onion are signature ingredients, and they shouldn’t be skipped.

The key component of Tan Tan Ramen is the Ramen soup. Tan Tan Ramen’s soup has a very strong sesame flavor which is very different from regular Japanese Ramen. You really need Japanese or Chinese sesame paste to make the soup, but if you can’t find it, use Tahini, which is more easily available in American supermarkets. To shorten the process, use store-bought chicken broth instead of making your own. When cooked with garlic and ginger, the boxed broth becomes a decent Ramen base along with other seasonings.

Even though this is a simplified Tan Tan Ramen recipe, there still are more than a couple of steps. Don’t be alarmed though. It is not difficult if you take it step by step with our recipe and video. The end product is absolutely delicious, and it’s worth the effort. Try this one soon!