Tan-men Ramen (タンメン)

Ramen noodle soup with fresh cabbage, carrots, green onions, bean sprouts, and wood ear mushrooms. Featured on the Netflix show Midnight Diner - Tokyo stories

Ingredients

• 4 oz pork belly (or substitute 4 slices thick cut bacon)

  • If using pork belly with skin: 1 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable, sunflower, etc.)

• 3 cups chicken broth

• 5 leaves cabbage

• 1 whole carrot

• 3/4 cup bean sprouts

• 5 green onions

• 6 pieces dried wood ear mushrooms

• 1 tbsp sake (substitute rice wine)

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• Cracked black pepper

• 2 packets of instant ramen noodles - discard the flavor packets

** Leave out the meat and substitute vegetable stock for a vegetarian alternative! **

Instructions

Follow the order so everything is timed just right.

Prep

1. Soak the wood ear mushrooms in cold water for 30 minutes so they may reconstitute

2. Wash and chop the onions, carrot, and cabbage into 2 inch pieces. The carrot can be quartered and chopped. The cabbage leaves can be rolled and cut, then cut into 2 inch pieces.

3. Wash the beansprouts with cold water and drain

4. Chop the pork into 2 inch pieces.

   • Pork belly: season the pork with soy sauce and pepper

   • Bacon: no seasoning needed, only pepper if it does not have any

Cook

1. Pour the chicken stock into its own pot and bring it to a simmer

2. Boil some water and add the noodles their own pot, add the noodles in when the cabbage is cooking

3. Heat a large skillet and cook the pork

   • Pork belly: bring the neutral oil up to a hot temp. Cook through until there is no more pink

   • Bacon: can go straight into the pan by itself to cook. Cook through, but not crispy

4. Add sake and let the alcohol cook off, 1-2 minutes

5. Squeeze the water out of the wood ear mushrooms and then add them to the pan. Add green onions and carrots. Mix to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes

6. Add cabbage and bean sprouts. Mix to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Season with soy sauce and pepper

7. Once the cabbage is a bit more translucent, add in the sesame oil and chicken stock

8. Let it simmer for 3-4 more minutes. Check for seasoning and add to taste.
   

Plate

1. Drain the noodles and split them into two bowls

2. Pour the toppings and broth onto the noodles

About This dish

I saw this dish on Midnight Diner: Tokyo stories on Netflix. I’m surprised by the amount of food-related shows on there. I like to save recipes that catch my eye or make me hungry when watching shows. I initially experimented with this dish using skinless pork belly. I didn’t season it and it ended up really bland. My take here uses thick cut bacon that has generous pepper cured onto it. This is perfect for seasoning on spice. Bacon that is cured is naturally salty as well, so that really kicks flavor up a notch. However if you can find pork belly with skin - that will work even better. Just be sure to season it well before cooking!

The veggies in this ramen are very common (even the wood wear mushrooms!) I was able to find these mushrooms at Albertsons (Kroger) in the US. You will often find them dried. These mushrooms are super versatile as they take on whatever flavor you cook them in. The cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, and onions all play their classic roles in ramen. This dish cooks super fast and is a easy way to spice up plain old ramen noodles. In this recipe I used the noodles form instant ramen packets.