Vegan Tantanmen With Pan-Fried Tofu

I was enjoying a bowl of this as leftovers for lunch out of my porch, when my partner pulled out a chair and incidentally disturbed a yellow jackets nest. They immediately swarmed my bowl of ramen, which I sacrificed to them. However, one by one they came to taste this luscious broth and died on impact. Some of them were able to crawl out of the bowl, but wasn’t long until it took them all out! (all!) So, if you can’t figure out what to do with your leftovers, consider trapping some wasps ;)

Ribbon-cut savoy cabbage and saute very lightly to retain crunch. Add with mushrooms, corn, and raw snow pea pods sliced thinly on the diagonal. Unsweetened almond milk worked fine. Garlic red pepper flake paste in place of chile oil. Sri racha on top for heat lovers. Oven bake tofu. Press squares between two sheet pans, toss with oil and soy sauce, then with corn starch. 20 minutes or so on 425. Nice and crispy.

White sesame Tahini kept the color true to the photo. For the person who asked about cow milk, yes, it works just fine. Just whisk in on low, a cup at a time. I pretty much followed everything, less adding a couple of cups of shredded cabbage with the mushroom. It was absolutely fantastic, even if my attempt wasn’t ‘vegan’. I also used chicken/shrimp stock - crucify me.

Try making this with half fresh shiitake (they fry up better) and half reconstituted dried shiitake. The cup or so of mushroom water you get from reconstituting the dried shiitake, added to your broth, will make it exceptionally umami and deep. A little miso paste along with chili garlic sauce is a serviceable substitute for dobanjiang -- I always have those in my (tiny) pantry!

Yum. I press a block of tofu overnight and then crumble it into a bowl, adding a little mirin + grated ginger to sit for a few minutes. I then pan fry the tofu crumbles in some oil, and when brown stir in some broad bean paste + minced garlic; it is **insanely** tasty. We sprinkle this tofu on top of the plated bowls.

Not olive oil! The flavor doesn't go with the sesame paste, sesame oil and kombu at all! Use canola, vegetable or corn oil.

Coconut Aminos!

Cold noodles plus cold soup base yields a tepid and unappetizing bowl of noddles. Just add the sesame base to the broth in the pot as does every home and restaurant chef. And keep your olive oil for Mediterranean dishes.

My gawd this slaps. I’m vegetarian but never been the biggest mushroom fan, so I added in garlic sautéed spinach. Used chile crisp instead of oil, but followed the recipe otherwise

We're not vegan, but our regular guests are, and this is just the best recipe, regardless of dietary requirements. We added lots more mushrooms and tasked steps to everyone in the kitchen so the final meal came out nice and warm and tasty and easy and communal. Couldn't ask for more.

Works well with Soba noodles.

This was delicious! Added in some steamed bok choy. I had leftovers and just whisked the soy sesame mixture into the broth. Don’t see a reason to do it bowl by bowl. Will make again!

Would cow's milk work with this? I keep skimmed milk in my fridge, I'm not vegan and have no issues with it. On the other hand I could try a quart of vegan milk if it works best. I'm actually omnivorous except for shellfish.

This recipe was a real hit at a dinner party. BUT: The only way this only takes 45 minutes is if you are super fast and have everything laid out and prepped in advance. It took me at least 1 1/2 hours. If you are slower, like me, make the noodles right before you serve the dish. They got a little cold and sticky, hard to put in the bowl but perfect under the warm broth. I used cilantro as add'l topping. I used nori sheets instead of kombu, which was great, but add them at the end of soup simmer.

the soup base is delicious. My father (from Beijing) used to make us “dan dan mein” with peanut butter mixed with warm water & soy sauce. It was one of my favorite dishes & this improves on that childhood favorite. I cut the sugar and oat milk each by 1/2 with no loss of creaminess or flavor. I used roasted peanut oil for sautéing, turkey stock, and Chinese egg noodles. The recipe benefits from chili paste & a sprinkling of Nanami Togarashi (Japanese chili pepper) before serving.