00:00This was super easy and taste is phenomenal. I will be making this again, says one of my readers.
00:05But what makes my tantanmen recipe so fast yet rich and delicious? Let's uncover the secrets
00:10together. For a printable version of this recipe, visit my website, just google tantanmen statue to
00:16find me. Before we dive in, let's get our ingredients sorted. Finely diced the white part
00:22of your 30 grams of Japanese leek. If you don't have it, regular leek, onion or even shallots
00:27work fine. You'll be dividing this between the meat and the tare. Grate one teaspoon each
00:34of ginger and garlic using a Japanese oroshigane grater or a microplane to get that fine texture.
00:42And here's an optional step that adds depth. Drop your konbu into your measured 500ml of water.
00:50Ideally, you do this 30 minutes ahead. This gives you a subtle umami foundation,
00:56but it's totally optional. Reheat your skillet of medium heat until the surface is hot.
01:02Add your half tablespoon of neutral cooking oil along with one teaspoon of chili oil,
01:08then toss in two teaspoons of tobanjan, that's Sichuan chili bean paste, and one teaspoon of sliced
01:16dried chilis. Stir gently for 60 seconds, watching as the oil transforms into this vibrant,
01:23chili-stained red. You'll bloom in the spices here. Heating spices and chili paste briefly in oil
01:30develops their aroma and rounds off those harsh edges. You'll want to stop as soon as you see the
01:36beautiful red oil forming and catch the nutty, savory scent. That's your cue.
01:41Next, spread your 150 grams of ground pork in a thin, even layer across the pan. Resist every
01:48edge to touch it for a full two minutes. I'm using 100% ground pork, but you can use a
01:5570-30 pork
01:57beef mix for a meatier one or chicken turkey vegetarian ground meat alternative is also fine
02:03if that's what you prefer. After those two minutes, flip and cook for one minute on the other side.
02:09Then break the meat into coarse chunks while adding your grated ginger, grated garlic,
02:14and half of that minced leek. Stir fry for one minute until the aromatics perfume your kitchen.
02:21Time to deglaze with one teaspoon of sake. Cook until the liquid evaporates completely
02:26and the meat looks glossy and concentrated. Alternatives here would be Shaoxin wine,
02:33dry sherry for dry white wine. Finish with a pinch of white or black pepper,
02:38then remove from the heat. Cover and keep warm. Set a bottle of water to boil for your noodles.
02:45At this point, it'll take a few minutes.
02:50Right, it's time to build our tare. Grab a large heatproof bowl and add 3 tablespoons of sesame paste
02:56or tahini and 1 tablespoon of unsweetened and salted smooth peanut butter. I like this mix,
03:03but if it's easier, you can just stick to 4 tablespoons of one or the other.
03:09Then add 2 teaspoons of ground sesame seeds, 2 teaspoons of Japanese soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of chili
03:16oil, 1 1⁄4 teaspoon of sugar, then add the remaining half of your minced leek white.
03:22We're going to mix that with our broth later, so no need to mix it quite yet.
03:28In a separate pot, bring your 500ml of kombu dashi that we prepared earlier,
03:34or plain water if you skip the kombu, to an almost boil. We don't want a rolling boil here,
03:41just gentle bubbles around the edges.
03:44Whisk in 1 tablespoon of Chinese style chicken bouillon powder until it's completely dissolved.
03:51Turn off the heat immediately, then stir in 100ml of unsweetened soy milk.
03:58We're keeping the temperature just right so the soy milk doesn't curdle or separate.
04:03You can replace soy milk with extra kombu dashi or water.
04:07Now let's mix them together. Pour the hot soup into the bowl of tare gradually,
04:13stirring vigorously after each pour. You're creating a cloudy, unified emulsion,
04:18where the fats and liquids bond together. Ramen shops in Japan usually pour the tare into each
04:25singular serving bowl and then add the broth base. And you can do that if you like, but if you
04:30mix
04:31everything together in the bowl like I'm doing it, you'll guarantee consistent flavour across every
04:36serving. Finish with an optional 1⁄2 teaspoon of rice vinegar to brighten everything up.
04:42And because many of these ingredients vary wildly by brand, make sure to taste test at this stage
04:49and adjust. Remember, your noodles are plain so you want to aim for something slightly saltier than
04:55feels perfect on its own. Let's move on to the final elements. Wash your bok choy and trim off those
05:05tough root ends. Drop your 2-3 portions of ramen noodles, depending on how many you're serving,
05:11into the boiling water and set a timer for 1 minute less than the package directs.
05:17For ramen noodles, I'd like to suggest a few options. If you've got time on lab weekend projects,
05:23go for homemade. That's the best of the best.
05:26Next up, store-bought fresh ramen noodles if you have access.
05:30But if fresh noodles aren't available near you, high-quality dried ramen noodles are your next best
05:36bet. Followed by my spaghetti ramen hack. You can check out the hack on my website.
05:43The only type I'd go against is noodles from Instant Products. I enjoy instant noodles for what they are,
05:51but I just think they're not a suitable replacement for authentic ramen noodles.
05:55If the availability is the problem, the spaghetti hack is a far better option in my opinion.
06:02And since this is such a rich sauce-forward dish, even udon or soba noodles will taste absolutely
06:09delicious. When the timer rings, add the bok choy directly to the noodle pot and cook everything
06:15together for the final minute. And it's worth noting, never cook noodles early. Everything else can
06:22wait or be reheated if needed, but noodles absolutely cannot. Noodles always come last.
06:29Drain everything together. We're almost there. Divide the dried noodles between your 2-3 bowls.
06:36Divide the pre-made soup equally. If it's cooled a bit, you can gently reheat it on the stove beforehand.
06:42Top each serving with a generous amount of the seasoned pork. Then nestle the bok choy alongside.
06:50Scatter your optional finely green onions and crushed roasted peanuts over the top.
06:56And finish with extra chili oil to taste.
07:00Now, quick heads up about the broth before you dig in. You're not expected to drink the whole bowl.
07:06If you want to sip it, feel free to dilute it with some hot water.
07:10And leftover broth can be stored. Just reheat it, cook fresh noodles and you've got round 2 ready in under
07:1810 minutes.
07:20You can also keep the cooked pork mixture for up to 2-3 days.
07:24And there you have it. Nutty, spicy, rich, weak and fast restaurant bold tan tanmen.
07:29Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
07:36Ok, let's go over the ingredients one more time. And if you're ready to cook, grab the written
07:40instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on your screen.
07:52You'll find the full recipe with all the tips I can fit into this video right on my website.
07:56The link's on the screen now.
07:58And if you're in the mood for more, my ramen playlist is waiting for you next.
08:03Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you again soon.
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