Tantanmen (Japanese Spicy Sesame Ramen) | Easy Homemade Recipe Using Instant Noodles

Make rich, creamy tantanmen at home using store-bought instant noodles. Three versions — fresh, dried, and cup ramen — all under 15 minutes.

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About This Recipe

Tantanmen is a rich, spicy ramen beloved across Japan, built on a base of sesame paste and seasoned ground pork. In this recipe, we use store-bought instant noodles — the kind you can pick up at any supermarket — to make tantanmen at home. With just a few additions like sesame paste and soy milk, your everyday instant ramen transforms into a rich, creamy bowl of tantanmen.

We cover three variations depending on what you have on hand: fresh instant ramen for a restaurant-quality finish with a chewy texture, dried instant ramen for a satisfying bowl with minimal effort, and cup ramen for a quick tantanmen-style upgrade in just a few minutes. Choose whichever suits your mood and schedule.

 

What's Tantanmen?

Tantanmen is a style of ramen that originated from Chinese dan dan noodles, a dish from Sichuan province. While the original is served as a dry noodle dish with minimal broth, tantanmen evolved in Japan into a soup-based ramen — rich, creamy, and deeply savory.

In Japan, the soup is typically made with a base of sesame paste, combined with chicken broth or soy milk for a thick, creamy consistency. Chili oil is a standard finishing touch, and adding Sichuan peppercorn (huajiao) brings a numbing heat characteristic of Sichuan cuisine.

The key topping is niku miso — ground pork stir-fried with miso, soy sauce, and doubanjiang (spicy bean paste). Common additional toppings include bok choy, bean sprouts, green onion, soft-boiled egg, and a finishing sprinkle of ground sesame seeds.

The flavor builds with each bite: the mellow richness of sesame comes first, followed by the savory depth of niku miso, and finally a lingering warmth from the chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn.

Today, tantanmen is one of Japan's most popular ramen styles, found everywhere from specialty ramen shops and chain restaurants to convenience store cup noodles.

 

Using Fresh Instant Ramen

If you have a little extra time, fresh instant ramen delivers the closest result to a restaurant bowl. The chewy texture of fresh noodles holds up beautifully against the rich, creamy soup — something dried or cup noodles can't quite replicate.

 

Ingredients (Serves 1)

 

Instructions

1	Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the doubanjiang and stir-fry until fragrant, then add the ground pork and cook, breaking it apart, until no longer pink. Tip Stir-frying the doubanjiang in oil first draws out its aroma and depth of flavor.
2	Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for another minute until fragrant.
3	Add the miso, soy sauce, and sugar. Cook, stirring, until the liquid has almost completely reduced. Remove the niku miso from the pan and set aside. Tips Cook until the niku miso is well-reduced and concentrated — this intensifies the umami. Setting it aside and adding it on top at the end preserves its texture and adds a flavorful accent to each bite.
4	In the same pan, add the sesame paste, soy milk (or whole milk), included soup packet, and water (reduced amount). Stir to combine and warm over low to medium heat. Tip Do not bring to a boil — soy milk can separate at high temperatures. Both soy milk and whole milk work well here, but soy milk pairs more naturally with sesame paste and gives a more traditional tantanmen flavor. Adjust the amounts of soy milk and sesame paste to your preferred richness.
5	Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain well.
6	Pour the soup into a bowl, add the noodles, and top with the niku miso. Add any toppings such as bok choy, green onion, or soft-boiled egg. Finish with a drizzle of chili oil and a sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorn if using.

 

Using Dried Instant Ramen

When time is short but you still want something satisfying, dried instant ramen is the way to go. Everything comes together in one pan, and the ground pork left in the pan adds its flavor directly to the soup.

 

Ingredients (Serves 1)

 

Instructions

1	Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it apart, until no longer pink.
2	Add the doubanjiang, garlic, and ginger. Stir-fry until fragrant. Tip Stir-frying the doubanjiang thoroughly draws out its aroma and depth of flavor.
3	Add the miso, soy sauce, and sugar. Cook, stirring, until the liquid has almost completely reduced.
4	Without removing the niku miso, add the water (reduced amount) directly to the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the noodles and cook according to the packet instructions. Tip Leaving the niku miso in the pan allows the flavor of the ground pork to infuse the entire soup.
5	About 30 seconds before the noodles are done, add the soy milk and warm through. Do not bring to a boil. Tip Adding the soy milk late and removing from heat as soon as it warms through prevents it from separating.
6	Remove from heat. Add the included soup packet and sesame paste in that order, stirring well after each addition. Stir until the sesame paste is fully dissolved.
7	Transfer to a bowl, finish with a drizzle of chili oil, and add any toppings such as green onion or bok choy. Add Sichuan peppercorn if using.

 

Using Cup Ramen

The quickest of the three — just warm the soup, pour it in, and wait. A small addition of sesame paste and soy milk turns a cup of instant ramen into a rich, creamy tantanmen-style bowl in just a few minutes.

 

Ingredients (Serves 1)

 

Instructions

1	In a small saucepan, combine the sesame paste, soy milk (or whole milk), and water. Stir to dissolve the sesame paste while warming over low heat. Adjust the ratio of water to soy milk so the total liquid reaches the amount specified on the cup ramen packaging. As a general guide, using soy milk for about one-third of the total liquid gives a well-balanced richness. Tip Soy milk gives a more authentic tantanmen flavor, while whole milk produces a creamier, milder result.
2	Pour the hot liquid into the cup ramen and let it sit for the time indicated on the packaging.
3	Finish with a drizzle of chili oil. Add green onion, ground sesame seeds, or Sichuan peppercorn if using.