No, not the stuff you remember from college, I’m talking a homemade broth with fresh noodles, meat and veggies served with an array of condiments to dress it as your own. Making it your own when preparing it is the really lovely thing about ramen, and once at the table everyone has their own unique way of altering it (much like Vietnamese Pho.) Serve this dish with an array of Japanese condiments such as soy sauce, chilli soy sauce, chilli flakes, chilli garlic sauce, chilli oil and fish flakes,.If you are vegetarian, sub the beef broth for veggie, omit the meat and add more vegetables. If you don’t like one of the vegetables in the recipe, or want more, sub them out for something else or just add more (such as corn or bamboo shoots.)
Like much Asian cooking the trick here is to prep EVERYTHING before you start cooking so that once you are done you can serve the dish steaming hot. This includes setting the table, making sure everyone has drinks for their meal, laying out the array of condiments and prepping all the vegetables and garnishes before you start to cook. Ramen noodles are delicate, if they sit too long in a hot broth they get mushy, and mushy noodles just aren’t as good!
Ramen
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 4 cups broth (either make your own, obviously the better choice, or use beef broth)
- Fresh ramen noodles (such as Sun Noodle Brand)
- 1 head of baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
- 2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 egg
- 2 scallions, sliced for garnish
- 1 sheet nori, sliced for garnish
- 1/3 lbs BBQ Pork (which you can find at your local asian grocery store)
Directions:
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil (this will be to cook the noodles). Also bring pot that you will use to steam the veggies to a boil. ( I use the same pot of water to both steam my veggies and cook the noodles.) Bring broth to a boil in a separate pot, add half of sauce packet that came with the noodles ot the broth.
- Prep mushrooms and bok choy and arrange in a steamer basket.
- In a pot with a clear lid, place egg and fill with half an inch of water. Bring to a boil over a high heat, once boiling reduce to medium and cook for 4 minutes. Do not remove lid. After 4 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 3 minutes, do not remove lid. After 3 minutes remove eggs and place in cold water. Peal eggs once cool enough to touch.
- Steam vegetables for 3-4 minutes, until they are until mostly cooked. Do not over cook, leaves of baby bok choy should not be too wilted.
- Cook noodles as instructed by the package except 30 seconds less (as noodles will continue to cook in the hot soup broth).
- In serving bowls, divide noodles into the two bowls. Arrange hot BBQ pork, bok choy, and mushrooms around the edges of the bowl. Slice egg in half and add half to each bowl. Ladle half the broth into each bowl. Garnish with scallions and slices nori.
- Serve immediately with soy sauce, chilli oil and chilli flakes. (I also include chilli soy sauce and chilli garlic sauce in my spread.)
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