A quick and straight forward recipe. How to make ramen involving other recipes we have posted this year, all linked for easy use.
Tools:
Stove
Pots x 3
Saute pan
Knife
Cutting Board
Toothpicks
Strainer
Ingredients:
For Broth:
Vegetable and Bone Scraps
Water
Seasoning
For Soy Marinated Eggs
Soy Sauce to cover
2 eggs
Water
tsp of baking soda
For Ramen
Choice of Protein(We usually use a flank or skirt steak or Pork Belly)
Sesame oil
Garlic
Onion
Soy Sauce
Miso
Mushroom (Portobello or shitake)
Broccoli or bok choy
Radish- picked or raw
Seaweed or Dulce
Noodles of choice
Water
Method:
Broth:
You can view the detailed recipe to make a broth here. For a quick reminder here is how I did it:
In a stock pot place all your veggie and bone scraps and cover with water, then bring to a high simmer. You do not want to over boil it. Rather we want the stock to simmer and slowly reduce down. For pure vegetable stocks we will do this for a minimum of 45 minutes or until the stock is reduced enough, reduce longer with bone components to extract more nutrients and flavour.
While reducing stock, oils and fat known as 'scum' will float on the surface, this is easy to skim off with a ladle or spoon and place it in a separate container to discard later. When your stock has reduced to a flavour and viscosity you like, strain the scraps and cool, and pour into jars for storage. For more details about this whole process, and reducing futher, please check out the recipe linked above.
Soy Marinated Eggs:
This recipe is simple. We are going to bring a pot of water to a boil and place a tsp of baking soda in the water. This will help the egg whites peel from the shell. Once the water is boiled, place the eggs in the water and let them boil for 6 minutes. Once the 6 minutes are up you will carefully drain the eggs in the sink while pouring cold water from the tap over them, refilling the pot, then draining, and refilling until the eggs are cool enough to handle. Set aside in cold water for 10 minutes. Once you have chilled them, crack the shell and start peel it all off. It is best to do this under running water. Once they are peeled, rinse the eggs and grab your tooth picks. Start poking the eggs with the toothpick all over. Next, place them poked eggs in a bowl and cover them with soy sauce, then place them in the fridge. They should be done after 20 to 30 minutes. The longer the better but its up to your discretion.
Ramen:
Time for the main event. If your using beef protein, start by cleaning the silver skin and seasoning it well on both sides with salt and pepper, set aside. Start mincing your garlic, 2 cloves is sufficient, and slicing your onions. ( I just did them julienne). Place your pot on the stove and add your sesame oil to the pan and bring to medium heat. Place your garlic and onions in the pan and sweat them off until they are translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. From there we are going to deglaze the onions and garlic with soy sauce, (I take the soy sauce from the eggs I have been marinating as not to waste too much) about a 1/4 cup, do this for about 2 minutes. Once this is done, add in 1 liter of broth and a cup of water to the pot and bring it to simmer. Add 2 tbsp of miso paste to the pot, it is crucial that the pot does not boil from this point on as it'll destroy the miso's enzymes and living bacteria. We are going to leave this on a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
Now for the toppers. My partner likes her vegetables soft but crispy so what I tend to do is steam them before I sauté them. In a separate small pot I bring about 2 inches of water to a boil. I place a strainer on top of the pot and as that pot reaches boil I cut my broccoli into small, bite sized pieces. I place them in the strainer and cover them with a pan lid that covers the vegetables tightly over the strainer. This is a simple version of steaming without the cage tool. After 5 minutes, try a piece to see if it is soft enough to pull apart, if not continue until your liking.
Cut your mushrooms into bite size pieces and sauté them off in a pan. Once done, take your steamed broccoli and sauté them off in the same pan. You can alternatively place them in the oven to roast them to finish. Finally, the protein. Depending on what you purchase you can do it multiple ways. For beef I tend to use flank or bavette as I find them to be good slicing steak. This time we chose to use picanha because it is an absolutely marvelous piece of meat. Traditionally, for ramen dishes, kitchens will use pork belly. Regardless of what you chose, here is what to do:
For flank or bavette, cut it into strips and and sear both sides about two minutes on each side depending on thickness. Alternatively, you can sear the outsides of the meat and finish it in the oven, and once cooked, take it out to rest and then slice to order.
For the pork belly it has to be done ahead of time. For skin on, you'll take your knife and make small slits into the meat every 1/2 inch and then repeat diagonally to create a diamond appearance, this is called scoring and it helps with tenderizing the meat, but also allows for the fats and juices to drain while cooking, and also is quite decorative. Next, you're going to season the meat thoroughly and place it on the middle rack of a preheated 450'F oven for 30 minutes and then reduce the temperature down to 275'F and continue for another hour until the meat is tender but not mushy.
For the picanha I just cut it into strips and seared it on both sides for 2 and a half minutes and let it rest for a minute. Quick and delicious. Our meat was aged and the flavor was delicious.
The only thing left to do is make your noodles. Fill your last pot with water and generously season with salt. Bring it to a boil and place your noodles in the pot, I add a little oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Cook until your liking. Traditionally ramen is cooked more soft, versus al dente. Strain.
Now, assemble your dish.
Place your noodles at the base of your bowl, add your vegetables around, and place your sliced meat in the front staggered on top of each other. Next place your seaweed strips in the back in the middle and then pour your broth in or around the vegetables in the bowl until it is filled to your liking. Remember the seaweed will go from crunchy to long and soft, so don't over do it since it grows significantly in size. Don't forget to cut your marinated eggs in half and enjoy the soft melty goodness.
Why we love ramen
Store leftovers in the fridge, a quick and easy meal to heat up when you are in a rush for something after work.
Hydrating, nutritious and filling.
A nice balance of macro (protein, fat and carbohydrates) and micro nutrients (phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals from both plant and animal foods) to create a balanced meal.
Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy a bowl, tag us in your pretty ramen pics!
Brian