A Tsukemen Recipe served with a deeply flavored spicy miso broth. These Japanese dipping noodles are ready in 22 minutes!
Our grumbling stomachs had us up at the crack of dawn. The jet lag was brutal. Every time we travel to Japan, we eat our way through the tiredness of the first few days! This trip, a couple of years ago, was no different.
To combat fatigue, we devoured the melon pan (sweet bread shaped like a honeydew melon) that we picked up from Family Mart the night before and washed it down with small cans of strong, black Japanese iced coffee.
Of course, our hunger returned a few short hours later – and Ben and I left my brother’s apartment in Tokyo to find real sustenance.
Luckily, we didn’t have far to go. A few blocks away, just outside of the Asagaya JR (train) Station, we spotted a promising sight: A packed noodle bar with the beginnings of a line forming.
From the looks of the sign, they were serving Tsukemen. Nice! We queued up and, a short time later, were sitting at the counter – beyond ready to dig in.
Was it good? OMG, yes! The deeply flavored broth and springy noodles tasted amazing, and revitalized our road-weary bodies. In fact, we joked that tsukemen might just be the cure for jet lag!
Tsukemen are Japanese dipping noodles.
Although usually served with ramen noodles, the main difference from the traditional ramen preparation is that, with tsukemen, the broth and noodles are served in separate bowls.
To eat, just grab some noodles with your chopsticks, dip in the broth and slurp away!
Tsukemen broth is usually much stronger and more concentrated than typical noodle soups because you aren’t meant to down it by the spoonful. Of course you can – but the flavor is typically too salty on its own.
The flavor balance you achieve when dipping the noodles in the broth is just perfect though.
This spicy miso tsukemen recipe can be made hot or cold. Up to you. If you’re sweltering in the summer heat, it’s a fantastic light and cooling lunch.
Just refrigerate the broth after preparing and be sure to rinse your noodles under cold water after boiling to stop the cooking process. And, if you don’t have the patience to wait for the broth to cool after cooking, you can always devour it while it’s hot.
Added bonus when eating hot tsukemen: your noodles aren’t constantly in the hot broth – so they will remain al dente and springy for longer.
The other option you have when making tsukemen is that you can use whatever noodle you prefer: ramen, somen, udon, etc. Heck, you could even use spaghetti if you’re craving a tsukemen fix and it’s the only noodle in the pantry.
I used a green tea infused noodle for this recipe, but – really – the sky’s the limit!
Eating tsukemen always reminds me of that delicious and restorative late morning lunch a couple of years ago, just outside the Asagaya train station in Tokyo!
And now, pretty much every time we travel to Japan, tsukemen is one of the first meals we have as soon as we put our suitcase down.
The springy noodles and strong broth are a filling reminder that we have arrived in a land where it is almost impossible to find a bad meal – and is a harbinger of great eating to come!
Other simple, healthy and delicious Japanese recipes:
- Shrimp Ankake Donburi with Zucchini and Potatoes
- Japanese Cabbage Salad (Coleslaw)
- Cold Ramen Zoodles (Hiyashi Chuka)
- Vegetarian Chirashizushi
- Kani Salad – カニ サラダ
Did you like this Spicy Miso Tsukemen Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
PrintSpicy Miso Tsukemen (Dipping Noodles)
A cooling and summer-perfect Tsukemen Recipe served with a deeply flavored spicy miso broth. These Japanese dipping noodles are ready in 22 minutes!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 2 people 1x
- Category: Noodles
- Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients
- 6 ounces green tea, ramen, udon or somen noodles
Dipping sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 small shallot (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons miso paste (I’m using awase miso)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon powdered chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon chili oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Toppings
- 2 scallions, chopped on the bias
- 2 tablespoons bonito flakes (optional)
- Ichimi pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a pot over medium heat, add canola oil, garlic, ginger and shallot and cook for 3-4 minutes, until shallots are translucent.
- Add miso paste and soy sauce and stir until miso turns into a soft paste.
- Add water, sugar and chicken stock, stir and bring to a boil.
- Lower to a strong simmer and leave uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and add chili oil, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
- Transfer the sauce to a tupperware container and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Cook noodles according to direction on the package. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain well.
- Divide noodles among two plates or bowls.
- Divide tsukemen sauce among two other bowls and top with scallions, sesame seeds and bonito flakes. Serve.
Notes
This Spicy Miso Tsukemen Recipe Is:
Low in saturated fat
Cholesterol free
Low in sugar
High in manganese
The tsukemen sauce is good hot or cold so you don’t have to refrigerate it if you prefer it warm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 264
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Sodium: 549.5 mg
- Fat: 10.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.6 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 1.1 mg
Keywords: recipe, healthy, main, lunch
More Yummy Summer Noodle Recipes:
Wonderful flavorful recipe! The chili oil and sesame oil put it over the top! Served this to my friend/neighbor at room temp on the rooftop garden tonight (that’s what we do in NYC!)
A total success! Thank you, Caroline!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Jeana!
Tasty, quick little dinner that you will have everything on hand for if you cook Asian fair regularly. My chili oil is Fly by Jing and the flavors melded beautifully. Used shrimp seasoned with schichimi togarashi for protein with a little kick. This recipe really hit the spot! I bet with a dollop of peanut butter it would be over the top!
★★★★★
I made this noodle dinner tonight and paired it with chicken katsu. It was a winner. The kids also loved the salad with ginger carrot dressing! I can honestly eat this every night! Thx for the wonderful dinner ideas. Hubby wants to know if there’s other flavours of dipping sauce for the noodle ?
★★★★★
Hi Jenn! Yes there are lots of different flavors to enjoy with tsukemen! You can easily tweak the recipe and add your own twist. You could add a block of Japanese curry roux to it, a splash of rice vinegar to lighten up the taste, etc… So many to choose from! 🙂
Caroline, this looks awesome. I am new to Korean cooking so have a
question. The recipe calls for Miso. I have red, white and yellow Miso
paste but you don’t say what kind of Miso. Is there a powdered Miso
that I am not aware of? I’m looking forward to making this as soon as
possible!
Hi Terri! You can use any type of miso paste for this recipe, they all work really nicely 🙂
I just cooked this for my fiance and I, and it was delicious! It was so easy to make but still tasty, thank you! I substituted dashi for the chicken stock, half an onion for the shallot. It went well with chicken katsu. I accidentally simmered down the stock a bit too long but you can always adjust the saltiness with more hot water.
★★★★★
I cooked this with some changes (minced white part of two scallions instead of shallot, no garlic, a little packet of dashi instead of powdered chicken stock) and ate it with somen and kimchi on the side. It’s really good and I immediately sent the recipe to my sister.
I also like that this recipe makes “only” two servings because I live alone and don’t like filling my very small fridge with lots of leftovers. Looking forward to eat the second serving tomorrow!
★★★★
I made this but substituted dashi for the water and powdered chicken stock, I also added seven spice for a kick, skipped bonito flakes because of the dashi. It was wonderful, thank you for this recipe.
How spicy is this if you go precisely by the instructions? Can someone who normally orders a 1 on the Thai spice scale handle this soup?
Hi Christie! I don’t find this recipe spicy – Japanese people can’t handle spicy food so their version of spicy is never hot – but if you are really sensitive you can omit the chili oil and the dish won’t have any heat 🙂
Just tripled this and made it for my family of 7 on Friday and they loved it. Great recipe.
Thank you much…so many times i tried your recipes…it was amazing …thanks again…
Thank you Ayeesha! 🙂
Looks great would like to try it. If you’re using liquid stock instead of powdered, how much should be used?
Hi Sean! Use 1 1/2 cup of liquid stock and skip the water 🙂
OMG! I’m reading this at midnight and I’m so hungry!
http://beautifullyme.in/
★★★★★
I am so excited to try this Caroline. Japan sounds amazing & I look forward to one day going there for a foodie experience. I’ve pinned this for later reference – I really can’t wait to try this at home 🙂
https://missfoodfairy.com/2016/10/05/in-my-kitchen-october-2016/
★★★★★
Thank you Nicole! 🙂
Caroline, so far I have tried, Krave beef jerky pineapple Orange,,Krave Pork Jerky Black Cherry Barbecue, Krave Pork Jerky Grilled Sweet Teriyaki. Krave Beef jerky Sweet Chipotle and Krave Beef Jerky Pineapple Orange L OVE every one of them. Once again thank you for drawing my name that I might receive your gift..
I do love to read all of your recipes and try some
Thank you Thomas!