There is a vegan restaurant at Tokyo main station called T’s Tantan. They have this amazing Japanese tantan soup that makes me get on a train through half the city, walk forever through the giant station and even buy a ticket for a train I don’t take, to get to the area where the restaurant is.
And every time again I come to the conclusion that this soup is worth the effort.
They were so kind to draw the ingredients on the wall, so I managed to create a tantan soup recipe at home very similar to the one at T’s Tantan. Since 2017 I have improved my recipe, I added chili oil and roasted the bok choy, also I have made the process faster and easie.
Mirin is an ingredient that maybe not everyone knows, it is a sweet Japanese rice wine mainly used for cooking.
Miso Shiro is a mild soy paste that contains a lot of beneficial bacteria, which would be destroyed when boiling it. That’ s why it only goes into the soup once it’s not boiling anymore.
Tahin is a ground sesame paste, you can grind it yourself in a mortar, which is what I did when I started making this soup, but it is so much work and so I just buy it now.
Would you like to watch the video first?
Recipe for the tantan soup
about 30 minutes
Ingredients for 2 servings
- 1 cup textured soy protein (75 g)
- 1 cup veggie broth (240 ml)
- 1 scallion (white part, chopped)
- 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 cups veggie broth (480 ml)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup tahini (55 g)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (55 g)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 cup oat or soy milk (120 ml)
- 1 tablespoon miso shiro
- 200 g ramen noodles (7 oz)
- 2 mini bok choy, washed, outer leaves removed, cut in halves,
- sesame seeds
- chili oil
- chili flakes or strings
- scallion (green part, cut)
How to make the tantan soup
Combine the soy protein with the 1 cup of veggie broth and stir.
Heat water for noodles.
Sauté garlic, ginger and white part of scallion in a little plant oil in a skillet. Add the soy protein, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and one tablespoon of ketchup and roast at moderate to high heat, stir frequently.
Combine 2 cups of veggie broth, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup tahini, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons mirin and 1 teaspoon paprika in a small pot and bring to a boil.
Switch off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of plant milk and 1 tablespoon miso shiro.
Cook noodles according to instructions.
Move the soy protein to the sides of the skillet and put the bok choy face down in the middle. Roast for about 3 minutes.
Turn the bok choy to roast a little from the other side.
Drain the noodles and put them into two bowls, add soup, soy protein and bok choy.
Garnish with sesame seeds, chili oil, chili flakes or strings and green part of scallion.
Tantan men, as this soup is called in Japanese, was inspired by the Chinese dish dandan noodles which I once tried in a Szechuan restaurant in Hamburg and was almost unable to finish it because it was so spicy!
The Japanese version is not that spicy, but feel free to add as much chili and chili oil as you like 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 cup textured soy protein (75 g)
- 1 cup veggie broth (240 ml)
- 1 scallion (white part, chopped)
- 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 cups veggie broth (480 ml)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup tahini (55 g)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (55 g)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 cup oat or soy milk (120 ml)
- 1 tablespoon miso shiro
- 200 g ramen noodles (7 oz)
- 2 mini bok choy washed, outer leaves removed, cut in halves,
- sesame seeds
- chili oil
- chili flakes or strings
- scallion (green part, cut)
Instructions
- Combine the soy protein with the 1 cup of veggie broth and stir.
- Heat water for noodles.
- Sauté garlic, ginger and white part of scallion in a little plant oil in a skillet. Add the soy protein, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and one tablespoon of ketchup and roast at moderate to high heat, stir frequently.
- Combine 2 cups of veggie broth, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup tahini, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons mirin and 1 teaspoon paprika in a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Switch off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of plant milk and 1 tablespoon miso shiro.
- Cook noodles according to instructions. Move the soy protein to the sides of the skillet and put the bok choy face down in the middle. Roast for about 3 minutes.
- Turn the bok choy to roast a little from the other side.
- Drain the noodles and put them into two bowls, add soup, soy protein and bok choy.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, chili oil, chili flakes or strings and green part of scallion.
Have you made this recipe? I would love to see your picture on Instagram @flymetotheveganbuffet or #flymetotheveganbuffet.
You love Japan or are planning to go there? You can check out my blogpost WHERE I ATE AS A VEGAN IN TOKYO and have a look at my Pinterest Board VEGAN IN TOKYO/ JAPAN
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6 Comments
Alex
18. August 2018 at 20:21Amazing! I’ve been trying to recreate this soup since visiting Japan and this recipe is perfect! Thank you.
Nina
18. August 2018 at 23:40Oh, so happy to hear that! Thanks 🙂
Jem M
29. March 2019 at 06:18Omg!! I came back from Japan last month and today I was cravinnggggg T’s Golden Tan Tan and I was searching everywhere to try find one that sounded similar and then I came across your blog and you have the exact one I’m looking for ! 😍😍 Bless you I’m so stoked, trying it out today!!
Nina
19. April 2019 at 13:10Hi Jem, thank you so much! Hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂
PeterAndLisa
3. September 2020 at 20:31So similar to ts tan tan in Tokyo station – great job and thanks so much for tweaking as you go we’ve been following along. Roasting/grilling the pak choi is a great idea, worked well.
Nina
4. September 2020 at 12:58Thank you so much! Glad you like the pak choi as much as I do 🙂