Tantanmen - Spicy Japanese Noodles

With a massively flavorful, spicy broth as its secret weapon, Tan Tan Ramen (Tantanmen) is a Japanese noodle soup that is certainly not for the faint of heart. The familiar aromatic combination of garlic, ginger, and scallions cozies up to the likes of miso, toasted sesame, peanuts, and Sichuan sesame paste.

1/4 cup dried wood ear mushrooms

1 cup hot water

Soak the mushrooms in hot water 30 minutes, discarding hard parts, cut up

8 cups pork stock ( pork bones boiled 12 hour slowly)

1 1/2 cups rich chicken broth

3 tablespoons grape seed  oil

8 shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails off

2 pieces squid (tubes), cleaned and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rings

16 fresh bay scallops, trimmed

1/2 cup thinly sliced pork belly 

3 cups chopped napa cabbage

8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, ends trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup peeled and sliced carrots

16 pea pods, trimmed of their ends

3 cups bean sprouts or waterchesnuts

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

Couple of sautéed shrimp for each bowl

4 (7-ounce) pieces frozen ramen noodles

2 scallions, both white and green parts, thinly sliced on an angle

Dash of hot chili oil or Szechuan pepper

Decorate bowls with a softish egg half, steamed boy choy, few peanuts, fried squid, pan fried scallops