Sansotei Ramen, the Dundas West sensation that springs lines out the door on the daily, has just added two new signature items to their Japanese menu. With the addition of a Tonkotsu Black and a Spicy Tantan ramen, Sansotei now offers six different flavours of the silken noodle soups.
A divine addition to their always tempting signature dish; the Tonkotsu Black implores the simple addition of black garlic oil to their tonkotsu broth revealing a complex new element to the dish. The garlic oil is made by pan-frying raw garlic in pork back fat for many hours. One must watchfully stir the garlic in order to create the deep black burn on the garlic without charring it too quickly.
“The Tonkotsu Black is for someone who likes a more rich, garlicky depth of flavour,” says Sansotei owner Michael Zhang. “It give almost a charcoal smokiness to the broth and is best served with our thin noodles.”
The creamy, salty and delectable tonkotsu broth is lightened with the addition of the black garlic oil. Far more delicate on the tongue, some of the salty notes that would normally hit you first take a back seat to the aromatic garlic oil.
Sansotei’s Spicy Tantan ramen is but a take on the traditional tantan ramen that one would find in Japan, Michael tells me.
“It’s basically our spicy version of the tonkotsu. I wanted to incorporate elements of traditional tantan like the ground pork, but make something that was uniquely Sansotei.”
Traditional tantan is often much sweeter and is strongly spiked with sesame oil, something that Michael says he doesn’t prefer. The addition of pork belly as well as ground pork, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and green onion as condiments, Sansotei’s tantan is also less minimalist than many traditional preparations.
Using imported chili oil from Japan, chili paste, traditional tantan seasonings as well as only a hint of sesame oil, it’s recommended to order this dish with Sansotei’s thick cut noodles.
“The larger surface area of the thick noodle will bring along more broth and more chili oil with each bite,” Michael says.
If you’ve got a spice obsession like I do, make sure to tell your server that you’d like it extra spicy. The standard Scoville count is quite modest and approachable for almost any palate. No matter how you like it, the best part is getting to the bottom and still having the dynamite little nuggets of ground pork for every last bite of the broth.
Sansotei Ramen is open from Monday to Saturday, 11am to 10pm. Closed on Sunday.
Want more info on Sansotei Ramen? Check out our vid below!
