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A bowl of creamy tan tan udon broth ramen topped with ground meat, bok choy, sesame seeds, and green onions sits on a wooden table with a spoon, chopsticks, teacup, and teapot nearby.

Tan Tan Udon

by Namiko Hirasawa Chen
My Tan Tan Udon recipe is a bold noodle soup that comes together in just 15 minutes. I’ll show you a few shortcuts to a rich, creamy sesame soy milk broth and an aromatic, savory pork topping. It’s a satisfying and cozy noodle soup you can make anytime at home.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients

For the Soup Broth

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Gather all the ingredients.
    Overhead view of tan tan udon ingredients on a wooden surface: chicken broth, sesame seeds, ground pork, bok choy, udon noodles, milk, soy sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and green onion.

To Make the Soup

  • Combine 2 cups chicken stock/broth and 1 cup unsweetened soy milk in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
    A person prepares tan tan udon, pouring broth from a measuring cup into a pot on the stove in the left image, and adding soy milk to the pot in the right image.
  • Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and stir.
    Two photos: On the left, a hand pours soy sauce into a saucepan of soy milk on the stove. On the right, a ladle stirs a thickened milk mixture in the same saucepan, evoking the creamy texture found in tan tan udon dishes.
  • Grind 4 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle (I use a Japanese suribachi and surikogi). Keep some seeds unground for texture.
    Nami's Tip: Freshly ground sesame adds a deeper aroma and richer flavor to the broth. Before grinding, you can develop more fragrance by briefly toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan, shaking frequently, until aromatic.
    A hand pours sesame seeds into a striped ceramic bowl, then uses a wooden pestle to grind them—an essential step in preparing aromatic tan tan udon—on a wooden surface.
  • Add half the ground sesame seeds (set aside the rest for garnish). Stir to combine with the soup. Reduce to the lowest setting and cover to keep warm while you prepare the other ingredients.
    Nami's Tip: Maintain a gentle simmer to prevent scorching. Soy milk can foam up and boil over quickly if heated too aggressively.
    Two photos: On the left, sesame seeds are poured into a saucepan of creamy tan tan udon mixture on a stove. On the right, the mixture is being stirred in the saucepan with a metal spoon.

To Cook the Pork Mixture

  • Thinly slice 2 green onions/scallions diagonally. Separate the white and green parts.
    A series of three images showing hands slicing green onions for tan tan udon on a wooden cutting board: first lengthwise, then into thin rounds, and finally finely chopping them.
  • Peel and grate 1 inch ginger (I use a ceramic grater). I use about 1 tsp. Preheat a frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil.
    A person grates ginger on a small ceramic grater on a wooden cutting board, preparing ingredients for tan tan udon as another hand pours liquid into a frying pan with oil on a stovetop.
  • Mince 2 cloves garlic (I use a garlic press) and add to the pan. Add the grated ginger with juice.
    Side-by-side images show minced garlic being pressed into a hot, oiled wok on a stovetop (left), and the garlic sizzling in the oil (right)—a key step in preparing flavorful tan tan udon.
  • Add 2 tsp doubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste). Sauté until fragrant with a spatula.
    A hand uses a wooden spatula to stir minced garlic and red chili paste in a black skillet on a stove, mixing and sautéing the base for flavorful tan tan udon as the ingredients begin to cook.
  • Add the white part of green onion and sauté until wilted.
    Side-by-side images of a black pan on a stove: left, chopped garlic, chili paste, and sliced green onions are sautéed to create a flavorful base for tan tan udon; right, the mixture is further cooked and stirred with a wooden spatula.
  • Add 6 oz ground pork and cook, breaking up the chunks with a spatula. Cook until it's no longer pink.
    Two side-by-side images show a hand stirring ground meat for tan tan udon in a frying pan. The left shows raw meat being cooked, while the right displays the meat fully browned and mixed with vegetables.
  • Add most of the green part of the green onion, reserving some for garnish. Stir to combine. Turn off the heat.
    Two images show ground meat cooking for tan tan udon in a wok. In the first, chopped green onions are being added with a wooden spatula. In the second, the onions are mixed in and the meat is fully cooked and combined.

To Cook the Bok Choy and Udon

  • Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. While you're waiting, cut 1 head Shanghai bok choy lengthwise into quarters. Rinse well under cold running water to remove the dirt between the leaves. Drain.
    Add the bok choy to the boiling water and blanch until tender, about 1½–2 minutes depending on the thickness. Remove with tongs or a strainer (keep the water boiling for the next step) and dunk the bok choy in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Squeeze out the water when cool enough to handle and set aside.
    Three images: a hand slicing bok choy for tan tan udon on a cutting board, bok choy halves boiling in water, and blanched bok choy being lifted from the pot with a strainer.
  • To the same pot of boiling water, add 2 servings udon noodles (frozen; no need to defrost). Heat until loosened; it may take less than the 1-minute cooking time on the package. Then, remove from the pot with tongs or a sieve and serve into individual bowls.
    Two-panel image: On the left, hands add uncooked tan tan udon noodles to a pot of boiling water. On the right, cooked udon noodles are lifted from the pot with tongs, steam rising in both images.

To Serve

  • Pour the soup broth into the bowls. Spoon the pork mixture on top. Top with the bok choy and sprinkle with ground sesame seeds and green onions. Serve immediately and drizzle with optional la-yu (Japanese chili oil) at the table. Enjoy!
    A three-panel image shows the steps of preparing tan tan udon: first, broth is poured over noodles; second, a ground meat mixture is added; third, bok choy, chopped green onions, and sesame seeds are placed on top.

To Store

  • Keep the soup broth and pork mixture in separate airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the pork mixture up to 3–4 weeks. Cook the frozen noodles right before serving.

Notes

Ingredient Notes
  1. Udon noodles: I highly recommend frozen udon noodles for this recipe. My favorite is thick and chewy Sanuki udon from the freezer section of the Japanese market. If you can't find it, cook 6.3 oz, 180 g dry udon noodles for 2 servings or 10.6 oz, 300 g Homemade Udon Noodles.
  2. Ground pork: You can use ground chicken or ground turkey as a lighter alternative.
  3. Doubanjiang: Use either the spicy or non-spicy type, or use gluten-free doubanjiang.
  4. Unsweetened soy milk: Use Asian-style soy milk for the right flavor. Western soy milk, even unsweetened, often includes vanilla or natural flavors, while Asian soy milk is typically just soybeans and water for a cleaner, more savory taste. 
  5. Toasted sesame seeds: Since this shortcut recipe doesn’t use sesame paste, feel free to increase the sesame seeds for a fuller sesame flavor.
Variations and Customizations
Looking to change things up? Try these easy and tasty ideas!
  • Vegan/vegetarian. Use vegetable stock and replace the pork with firm tofu crumbles or finely chopped mushrooms.
  • Change the creaminess. To make the creamy soup lighter or heavier, adjust the chicken stock, soy milk, and ground sesame (or use sesame paste).
  • Use your choice of veggies. Top it with spinach, green cabbage, or other vegetables instead of baby bok choy.
  • Serve it cold. In the summer, use cold soup broth.
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