Spicy Tan Tan Soup (Tantanmen or Dan Dan Noodles)

Tantanmen (dan dan noodles) is a Chinese noodle dish, and very popular in Japan. This contains some Chinese spices that are not very common but many Chinese supermarkets have them in the spices aisle.

• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Calories: 561 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons doubanjiang (soy bean paste)
• 6 ounces ground pork
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 1 teaspoon tianmianjiang (sweet bean paste)
• 1 teaspoon rayu (chile oil)
• ½ cup fresh spinach, or to taste (Optional)
• 2 cups ramen noodles, or to taste
• 1 red Thai chile pepper, sliced

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat; add doubanjiang. Cook and stir shallots, garlic, and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ground pork; cook and stir until browned, about 3 minutes.

Step 2

Mix soy sauce, tahini, sake, miso paste, and tianmianjiang into pork mixture until evenly combined. Add chicken stock; bring to a boil. Mix rice vinegar and rayu into pork mixture; add spinach. Simmer soup over low heat for 10 minutes.

Step 3

Put noodles in a bowl of hot water to separate; drain. Mix noodles into soup and garnish with green onions and Thai chile peppers.