Inspired by vegan tantanmen ramen from Mensho Tokyo in San Francisco, here is a bowl of smooth, creamy and delicious ramen with right amount of spiciness to warm you up on a chilly day.
This dish features smooth and creamy broth that is made from sesame paste, peanut butter, chili oil and coconut milk. The partially cooked the ramen noodles gives the right amount of bite and texture.
One of the key toppings this ramen is the tofu crumble which is made by crumbling firm tofu, seasoning it with sriracha and soy sauce and cooking until the moisture dries off. The crumbled tofu is then added to the ramen bowl, where it soaks up the delicious broth and adds a wonderful protein-rich element to the dish.
Overall, it’s flavorful and very satisfying dish!
Notes:
- Sesame paste is not same as tahini; this is asian sesame paste made from roasted sesame.
- Cook noodles partially; half the time as suggested on the packet. They will cook in the warm broth when served.
- Tofu crumble is must!
- Other nut butter like hazelnut butter or almond butter could be used instead of peanut butter. I wouldn’t recommend cashew butter though.
- I use coconut milk, feel free to use any of your favorite vegan milk.
Happy Cooking!
Tantanmen Ramen
Ingredients
Tofu crumble
- 2 tbsp seasme oil
- 1 pack of extra firm tofu
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha
Base
- 4 green onions thingly sliced
- 5 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 cup sesame paste
- 1/4 cup peanut butter unsweetened
- 2 tbsp seasame chili oil
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cans of coconut milk
- juice of one lemon
- salt as per taste
Noddles & Toppings
- half cooked ramen
- toasted sesame seeds
- baby bokchoy
- green part of green onions
Instructions
Tofu crumble
- Press the tofu to get access water out; you can place a cutting board on the tofu, put some weight on top and let it stand for 20 minutes.
- Crumble the tofu and keep it aside.
- In a large pan heat the oil; stir in ginger and garlic and cook until they are light brown.
- Add crumble tofu, soy sauce and sriracha; mix everything and cook on a medium high heat for 15 - 20 minutes; stir occasionally.
- Once the tofu is completely dry, removed from the heat and set aside.
Base
- In a large pot on a medium heat add the sesame chili oil; once the oil is hot add green onions (white and light green parts) and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Once onions are cooked, add sesame paste, peanut butter, sriracha and soy sauce and mix to form a paste.
- Immediately add vegetable broth and coconut milk while stiring continuously. Make sure there are no lumps of the peanut sesame paste in the base.
- Cover and cook until the base should come to roiling boil, around 10 minutes.
- Reduce to low heat, stir in lemon juice, adjust salt and add more sesame chili oil if you like more spicy.
Assembly
- You can cook the ramen while the base is being cooked or after the base is ready.
- Start with two to three servings of ramen, cook as per the package instructions but for half of the suggested time. Mine said to cook for four minutes, I cooked for 2. At 2 minute timer the ramen where either in the strainer or in the serving bowl.
- You can use the same water to blanch the bokchoy and/or any other vegetables of your choice.
- To serve, place ramen in the serving bowl; top with tofu crumble, bokchoy and green onions. Pour the base on side of the bowl and fill it until the noddles are almost covered in the broth. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and more chili oil if you like.
- Have it immediately!
