Recipe Highlights
Tan Tan Udon is my fast and comfortable bowl of noodles that feels wealthy and satisfying for such a quick recipe. With pantry staples and some easy methods, you may construct a creamy sesame broth and savory meat topping with out sacrificing taste. It’s daring, comforting, and prepared in simply quarter-hour.
- Builds deep taste with pantry substances
- Wealthy, creamy broth and savory topping with out lengthy simmering
- Prepared in simply quarter-hour with frozen udon noodles
In the event you love udon noodle dishes, attempt my Udon Noodle Soup, Beef Udon, and Curry Udon recipes subsequent!
What’s Tan Tan Udon?
Tan tan udon (坦々うどん) is impressed by Japanese-style tantanmen (Tan Tan Ramen), which advanced from Chinese language dan dan noodles. In Japan, it turned a comforting soup with a creamy sesame broth and seasoned floor meat. This model makes use of thick udon as a substitute of ramen, giving the dish a chewier texture and heartier really feel.
Components for Tan Tan Udon
- udon noodles (frozen really helpful, or attempt my Do-it-yourself Udon Noodles)
- Shanghai bok choy
- floor pork
- garlic, ginger, and inexperienced onions/scallions
- doubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste) – you need to use the non-spicy or gluten-free kind
- toasted sesame oil
- soup broth – rooster inventory, unsweetened soy milk, soy sauce, and toasted white sesame seeds
- la-yu (Japanese chili oil) – elective; you may make Do-it-yourself La-yu
Discover the printable recipe with measurements under.
Make Tan Tan Udon
- Make the soup. Simmer the rooster inventory and soy milk in a saucepan and add soy sauce. Grind the sesame seeds and stir half into the broth. Cowl and preserve heat.
- Prepare dinner the aromatics. Warmth sesame oil in a frying pan and sauté the minced garlic, grated ginger, and doubanjiang till aromatic. Add sliced inexperienced onion whites and stir.
- Prepare dinner the pork. Add the bottom pork and break it up because it cooks. When now not pink, stir in many of the scallion greens.
- Prepare dinner the bok choy and noodles. Blanch the bok choy quarters in boiling water till tender and take away. Boil the frozen udon till loosened, then drain and divide into bowls.
- Serve. Pour the recent soup and spoon on the pork combination. Prime with bok choy, floor sesame seeds, and inexperienced onions. Drizzle with la-yu on the desk if you happen to like further warmth.
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
These easy suggestions will make it easier to make Tan Tan Udon completely each time.
- Use Asian-style soy milk for the appropriate taste – Western soy milk, even unsweetened, typically consists of vanilla or pure flavors, whereas Asian soy milk is usually simply soybeans and water for a cleaner, extra savory style. Right here’s a 2-ingredient soy milk.
- Maintain the broth at a delicate simmer, not a boil – When you add soy milk, preserve a delicate simmer to stop scorching. Soy milk can foam up and boil over shortly if heated too aggressively.
- Grind the sesame seeds recent – Freshly floor sesame provides a deeper aroma and richer taste to the broth. For much more perfume, briefly toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan, shaking ceaselessly, till fragrant earlier than grinding. Since this shortcut recipe doesn’t use sesame paste, be happy to extend the sesame seeds for a fuller sesame taste.
- Management the spice stage – Regulate the quantity of doubanjiang to your style, or use a non-spicy model for a milder bowl. When my children didn’t eat spicy meals, I used to purchase a Taiwanese non-spicy doubanjiang from our native Asian grocery store.
- Use frozen udon noodles – They’ve one of the best chewy texture and cook dinner in a short time. Boil simply till loosened.
Variations and Customizations
Trying to change issues up? Strive these simple and attractive concepts!
- Swap the pork. Floor rooster or floor turkey are nice lighter alternate options to pork.
- Vegan/vegetarian. Use vegetable inventory and substitute the pork with agency tofu crumbles or finely chopped mushrooms.
- Change the creaminess. To make the creamy soup lighter or heavier, regulate the rooster inventory, soy milk, and floor sesame (or use sesame paste).
- Use your selection of veggies. Prime it with spinach, inexperienced cabbage, or different greens as a substitute of child bok choy.
- Serve it chilly. In the summertime, use chilly soup broth.
What to Serve with Tan Tan Udon
I prefer to pair this wealthy noodle soup with lighter sides for stability.
Storage and Reheating Ideas
To retailer: Cool and retailer the soup broth and pork combination in separate hermetic containers. Refrigerate for as much as 3 days. You may also freeze the pork combination as much as 3–4 weeks. Prepare dinner the noodles proper earlier than serving.
To reheat: Defrost the pork combination if frozen, then heat the broth and pork combination gently on the stovetop till scorching.
FAQs
Is tan tan udon spicy?
Tan tan udon has light warmth from doubanjiang, a fermented chili bean paste. You may regulate the spice stage by selecting non-spicy doubanjiang or including further la-yu.
What’s the distinction between tan tan udon and tan tan ramen?
The principle distinction is the kind of noodles. Tan tan udon makes use of thick udon noodles, whereas tan tan ramen makes use of thinner ramen noodles.
What can I exploit as a substitute of floor pork in tan tan udon?
Floor rooster or turkey work effectively as lighter substitutes. For a vegetarian model, use crumbled agency tofu or chopped mushrooms. These choices pair properly with the creamy sesame broth.
Can I make tan tan udon forward of time?
Sure. Put together the broth and pork combination as much as 2–3 days upfront and retailer them individually within the fridge. Prepare dinner the udon noodles proper earlier than serving for one of the best texture.
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To Make the Soup
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Mix 2 cups rooster inventory/broth and 1 cup unsweetened soy milk in a saucepan and convey it to a simmer.
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Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and stir.
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Grind 4 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle (I exploit a Japanese suribachi and surikogi). Maintain some seeds unground for texture. Nami’s Tip: Freshly floor sesame provides a deeper aroma and richer taste to the broth. Earlier than grinding, you may develop extra perfume by briefly toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan, shaking ceaselessly, till fragrant.
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Add half the floor sesame seeds (put aside the remainder for garnish). Stir to mix with the soup. Scale back to the bottom setting and canopy to maintain heat whilst you put together the opposite substances.Nami’s Tip: Preserve a delicate simmer to stop scorching. Soy milk can foam up and boil over shortly if heated too aggressively.
To Prepare dinner the Bok Choy and Udon
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Convey a medium pot of water to a boil. Whilst you’re ready, reduce 1 head Shanghai bok choy lengthwise into quarters. Rinse effectively beneath chilly working water to take away the grime between the leaves. Drain. Add the bok choy to the boiling water and blanch till tender, about 1½–2 minutes relying on the thickness. Take away with tongs or a strainer (preserve the water boiling for the following step) and dunk the bok choy in a bowl of chilly water to cease the cooking. Squeeze out the water when cool sufficient to deal with and put aside.
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To the identical pot of boiling water, add 2 servings udon noodles (frozen; no have to defrost). Warmth till loosened; it could take lower than the 1-minute cooking time on the package deal. Then, take away from the pot with tongs or a sieve and serve into particular person bowls.
- Udon noodles: I extremely advocate frozen udon noodles for this recipe. My favourite is thick and chewy Sanuki udon from the freezer part of the Japanese market. In the event you can’t discover it, cook dinner 6.3 oz, 180 g dry udon noodles for two servings or 10.6 oz, 300 g Do-it-yourself Udon Noodles.
- Floor pork: You need to use gspherical rooster or floor turkey as a lighter different.
- Doubanjiang: Use both the spicy or non-spicy kind, or use gluten-free doubanjiang.
- Unsweetened soy milk: Use Asian-style soy milk for the appropriate taste. Western soy milk, even unsweetened, typically consists of vanilla or pure flavors, whereas Asian soy milk is usually simply soybeans and water for a cleaner, extra savory style.
- Toasted sesame seeds: Since this shortcut recipe doesn’t use sesame paste, be happy to extend the sesame seeds for a fuller sesame taste.
Variations and Customizations
Trying to change issues up? Strive these simple and attractive concepts!
- Vegan/vegetarian. Use vegetable inventory and substitute the pork with agency tofu crumbles or finely chopped mushrooms.
- Change the creaminess. To make the creamy soup lighter or heavier, regulate the rooster inventory, soy milk, and floor sesame (or use sesame paste).
- Use your selection of veggies. Prime it with spinach, inexperienced cabbage, or different greens as a substitute of child bok choy.
- Serve it chilly. In the summertime, use chilly soup broth.
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