tan tan men

Lunch on Saturday was Tan tan men. A spicy sesame seed based soup with noodles.

I've made this from scratch in the past.

Since I didn't have much time to get lunch together, I used a pre-made noodle with an instant soup packet.

The only thing with the instant version is that there are no toppings, so I had to make these myself.

The meat on the top is called ja jan, to make the ja jan (seasoned meat) this is the recipe I followed.

This time around I only used 100 grams of pork, added 1/2 a tablespoon of shoyu (soy sauce) and 1/2 a tablespoon of sake (rice wine) and 1 teaspoon of tenmenjan (sweetened miso) when the pork browned. I cooked everything until the liquid evaporated then drained the meat onto a paper towel.

I cleaned some chin gen sai, which I think is bok choy and wilted it in a warm pan with a little water.

Then after cooking the noodles according to the package, I added hot water to the bowls for the soup then added the noodles.

I topped our bowls with the bok choy & the ja jan (seasoned meat).

The soup wasn't as spicy as some restaurants serve their tan tan men, but this was delicious and perfect for a cold wintry Saturday.