Tan Tan Men
Greg Dunmore
Servings
4
This is one of my favorite types of noodle dishes. Originating from China, it is a cool blend of spicy and sesame. I usually see this served two ways, one more brothy and the other more like a Bolognese-style sauce like my version.
Generally, at home I use frozen udon noodles because I have a hard time finding thick fresh ramen noodles.
Ingredients
-
2 Takehisa Dried Donko Shiitake Mushrooms
- Tare sauce (see below)
-
2 tablespoons Wadaman Dark Roasted Golden Sesame Oil
- 1 pound pork, ground
- 2 tablespoons, scallions, sliced fine
- 2 teaspoons ginger, peeled & diced fine
- 2 teaspoons garlic, chopped fine
- 2 tablespoons sake
-
1½ tablespoons Suehiro Usukuchi Shoyu (soy sauce)
-
½ teaspoon Yamatsu Tsujita Sansho Powder
- 4 packages of udon or thick ramen noodles
-
- 2 tablespoons gochujang
-
1 tablespoon Takehisa Dried Shiitake Mushroom Powder
-
3 cups Dashi
-
¼ cup Wadaman Organic White Sesame Paste
-
- ½ cup cucumber, julienned
- ¼ cup scallions, sliced fine
-
2 tablespoons Wadaman Organic Roasted White Sesame Seeds
Sauce and Noodles
Tare Sauce
Garnish
Directions
Soak the shiitake mushrooms in 1 cup room temperature water for 5 hours, then dice them finely, reserving the soaking liquid.
To make the tare sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and reserve.
- In a large sauté pan, heat the sesame oil on high heat until it just starts to smoke, then add the ground pork. Using a wooden spoon, make sure to break up the pork so it does not clump together, then let it cook for about a minute, then stir. Continue to do this until the pork starts to brown, then add the diced shiitake mushrooms, scallions, ginger and garlic. Cook over medium heat until it becomes fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to brown the garlic.
- Deglaze the pan with the sake and shoyu, and cook for another minute or so until the liquid is almost gone. Add the tare, mix well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and add the sansho. Keep hot.
- Cook the noodles as instructed by the manufacturer. Drain and toss into the hot sauce, mix well, and divide into 4 bowls. Garnish with cucumber, scallions and a generous amount of sesame seeds on each bowl. Enjoy.