Tahini tantanmen ramen with crispy shiitakes
This brilliant tahini tantanmen comes from Alexina Anatole’s book Bitter, which embraces a taste so many of us shy away from. In this recipe the bitterness comes from a generous amount of tahini in the creamy, soy milk-based tantanmen broth.
This recipe is taken from Bitter by Alexina Anatole (Square Peg, £27) Photography: Yuki Sugiura
Alexina says: 'This recipe is inspired by tantanmen ramen – a Japanese take on Sichuan dan dan noodles, with a broth made from soya milk and sesame – but it is by no means authentic. Typically, this would have a proper stock as the base and be topped with minced (ground) pork, but I got attached to the idea of a ramen that could be knocked up quickly and that remained vegetarian/vegan. I also wanted to use udon noodles (again, untraditional), because I love their texture: big, fat, slippery, chewy – is there anything more satisfying?'
TIP
When cooking mushrooms, there are three rules:
1. high heat; 2. refrain from moving them around too much; 3. only salt them in the last couple of minutes of cooking. This helps to ensure that they properly caramelise.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
For the broth
- 500ml of vegetable stock
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 5mm of piece of fresh ginger, skin on
- dried kombu, 5-7 cm piece
- 250ml of soya milk
- 1 tbsp of tamari, or soy sauce, or to taste
- 70g of tahini
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
To assemble
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 1/2 leek, sliced about 5mm thick and rinsed
- 100g of assorted fresh mushrooms, Alexina likes oyster and chestnut/cremini, torn into even bite-sized pieces
- 200g of udon noodles, ready-to-eat, or noodles of choice
- 2 soft-boiled eggs, halved, optional
- 1 tbsp of peanut rayu
- 2 spring onions, cut into strips
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
For the broth, bring the stock to the boil, add the shiitakes, ginger and kombu (if using) and simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave to steep
- 500ml of vegetable stock
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 5mm of piece of fresh ginger, skin on
- dried kombu, 5-7 cm piece
Meanwhile, set a large heavy-based frying pan (skillet) over a medium–high heat and allow to get hot – around 5 minutes. Fish the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms from the broth, remove the stems and thinly slice
Coat the pan with oil, increase the heat to high, then add the leek and all the mushrooms (including the rehydrated shiitake). Do not move them around much – they will take around 10 minutes to get golden and crispy in places. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper about 5–10 minutes into cooking
- 1/2 leek, sliced about 5mm thick and rinsed
- 100g of assorted fresh mushrooms, Alexina likes oyster and chestnut/cremini, torn into even bite-sized pieces
Fish out the ginger from the broth and discard, then add the soya milk, tamari, tahini and sesame oil. Bring to a simmer and allow to bubble for 3 minutes, then check the seasoning and add more tamari if desired. Add the udon noodles and take the pan off the heat, allowing them to warm through in the broth
- 250ml of soya milk
- 1 tbsp of tamari, or soy sauce, or to taste
- 70g of tahini
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 200g of udon noodles, ready-to-eat, or noodles of choice
To plate, use tongs to divide the noodles between two bowls, then ladle over the broth. Top each bowl with half of the crispy mushroom and leek mixture, then add two halves of the soft-boiled eggs (if using). Drizzle each bowl with half a tablespoon of the peanut chilli rayu and garnish with the spring onions
- 2 soft-boiled eggs, halved, optional
- 1 tbsp of peanut rayu
- 2 spring onions, cut into strips
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