Vegan Tantanmen With Pan-Fried Tofu Recipe (2024)

I was enjoying a bowl of this as leftovers for lunch out of my porch, when my partner pulled out a chair and incidentally disturbed a yellow jackets nest. They immediately swarmed my bowl of ramen, which I sacrificed to them. However, one by one they came to taste this luscious broth and died on impact. Some of them were able to crawl out of the bowl, but wasn’t long until it took them all out! (all!) So, if you can’t figure out what to do with your leftovers, consider trapping some wasps ;)

Ribbon-cut savoy cabbage and saute very lightly to retain crunch. Add with mushrooms, corn, and raw snow pea pods sliced thinly on the diagonal. Unsweetened almond milk worked fine. Garlic red pepper flake paste in place of chile oil. Sri racha on top for heat lovers.Oven bake tofu. Press squares between two sheet pans, toss with oil and soy sauce, then with corn starch. 20 minutes or so on 425. Nice and crispy.

White sesame Tahini kept the color true to the photo. For the person who asked about cow milk, yes, it works just fine. Just whisk in on low, a cup at a time. I pretty much followed everything, less adding a couple of cups of shredded cabbage with the mushroom. It was absolutely fantastic, even if my attempt wasn’t ‘vegan’. I also used chicken/shrimp stock - crucify me.

Try making this with half fresh shiitake (they fry up better) and half reconstituted dried shiitake. The cup or so of mushroom water you get from reconstituting the dried shiitake, added to your broth, will make it exceptionally umami and deep. A little miso paste along with chili garlic sauce is a serviceable substitute for dobanjiang -- I always have those in my (tiny) pantry!

Yum. I press a block of tofu overnight and then crumble it into a bowl, adding a little mirin + grated ginger to sit for a few minutes. I then pan fry the tofu crumbles in some oil, and when brown stir in some broad bean paste + minced garlic; it is **insanely** tasty. We sprinkle this tofu on top of the plated bowls.

Coconut Aminos!

Not olive oil! The flavor doesn't go with the sesame paste, sesame oil and kombu at all! Use canola, vegetable or corn oil.

Cold noodles plus cold soup base yields a tepid and unappetizing bowl of noddles. Just add the sesame base to the broth in the pot as does every home and restaurant chef. And keep your olive oil for Mediterranean dishes.

My gawd this slaps. I’m vegetarian but never been the biggest mushroom fan, so I added in garlic sautéed spinach. Used chile crisp instead of oil, but followed the recipe otherwise

We're not vegan, but our regular guests are, and this is just the best recipe, regardless of dietary requirements. We added lots more mushrooms and tasked steps to everyone in the kitchen so the final meal came out nice and warm and tasty and easy and communal. Couldn't ask for more.

This was delicious! Added in some steamed bok choy. I had leftovers and just whisked the soy sesame mixture into the broth. Don’t see a reason to do it bowl by bowl. Will make again!

Works well with Soba noodles.

Would cow's milk work with this? I keep skimmed milk in my fridge, I'm not vegan and have no issues with it. On the other hand I could try a quart of vegan milk if it works best. I'm actually omnivorous except for shellfish.

This recipe was a real hit at a dinner party. BUT: The only way this only takes 45 minutes is if you are super fast and have everything laid out and prepped in advance. It took me at least 1 1/2 hours. If you are slower, like me, make the noodles right before you serve the dish. They got a little cold and sticky, hard to put in the bowl but perfect under the warm broth. I used cilantro as add'l topping. I used nori sheets instead of kombu, which was great, but add them at the end of soup simmer.

the soup base is delicious. My father (from Beijing) used to make us “dan dan mein” with peanut butter mixed with warm water & soy sauce. It was one of my favorite dishes & this improves on that childhood favorite. I cut the sugar and oat milk each by 1/2 with no loss of creaminess or flavor. I used roasted peanut oil for sautéing, turkey stock, and Chinese egg noodles. The recipe benefits from chili paste & a sprinkling of Nanami Togarashi (Japanese chili pepper) before serving.

This was really yummy and I have made many vegan ramens. The 45 minutes quoted in the recipe is possible, but probably only for someone really experienced and savvy, otherwise if you can budget some extra time it will be well worth it when you get to savor it. I substituted almond milk for soy as it was all I had on hand and I added a few veggies and still came out great. Highly recommend!

Can this be made in advance as part of a meal prep?

So yummy! Added some quick sautéed Bok choy with garlic powder and salt. Skipped the kombu and used miso paste instead. Was great for leftovers too!

This was amazing - I will be making this again and again and again. I used all of the ingredients (unsweetened oat milk) as directed and it was incredible. The only thing I changed was using fresh ramen noodles and cooked them just before assembling the bowls.

This is an exceptional dish and will be in our regular rotation. I used Udon noodles (b/c that's what I had), a big sheet of seaweed snack (ibid), and tahini. Also added some frozen peas.Truly just divine. And that I could make this with things on hand = Bonus.

I thought I left a comment already but apparently I haven’t. Kids love it. I double the broth and only use about 3/4 of the sesame paste mixture. I mix it in with the oat milk. It’s stupid good. Made a huge batch of this for 30ppl at my birthday party and gave the option of either shredded pork or tofu. People loved it! I’ll never waste hours making tonkatsu ramen again. Will make this over and over again. THANK YOU!

I used miso instead of combo and made my own vegetable broth. This was an incredible meal. I also ate it with a soft boiled egg. Delicious will be making this again and again.

Great vegetarian/vegan meal for a cold day. Made mine pescatarian with a 30 minute fish stock, leftover frozen snapper head/bones, scallion, ginger, carrot, and the stems from the shiitakes.

Used wakame, tahini and white miso for a creamy broth. Added sautéed savoy cabbage and pea pods. Delish!

This is so delicious! We had to reheat after everything was added together and I even waited to make the noodles until the end. I would heat the broth to scalding hot next time before doing all the assembling and again wait to make the noodles until the last step. But so worth it and definitely use the seaweed!

This was delicious and will be on repeat in our household. My only modifications were to use chicken stock instead of vege stock, and we used Auntie’s Chinese chilli paste instead of chilli oil. Divine! Divine!

Absolutely delicious! I think the key is unsweetened soy milk. I also added butter in with my corn, and used swiss brown instead of shiitake (just couldn't get any fresh). It worked. Added some coriander on top too, and a splash of extra soy sauce in the broth. I think it depends how salty your stock is. Mine needed a little extra help. Will be making again!

This felt like an awful lot of effort for too little reward. The flavours were very muted — nothing stood out, flavour-wise — and the overall dish was edible but nothing more.

Shocked that my kids ate this without any comments. Just destroyed it. My partner gave rave reviews, and I thought it was killer! I mixed 3/4 of the sesame paste seasoning into the broth over medium heat then added about 1/2 cup water and a tablespoon of miso paste. I threw the mushrooms, corn, and some spinach in at the end just to warm them. Shockingly good. Will definitely make this again!

I wish the NY Times recipes could use less obscure ingredients and recipes that are usually no longer than 1 hr to prepare! Many look so tempting, but often too complex. I love most of the recipes and have tried a few with non-traditional "American" ingredients and loved them...but I'm not a chef, just a home cook looking for original but doable recipes. Appreciate you all, especially the response from which I have also learned a lot!