Homemade Ramen

The Recipe

Serves: 4 people
Preparation: 20 minutes + 2days marinating (eggs)
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

“Ramen is a humble dish of wheat noodles, broth, toppings and is synonymous with Japanese food and culture, developing over the years with the evolution of Japan.”


Throughout Asia, noodle dishes are one of the most popular to eat and come in varying types of textures, ingredients used, serving, and cooking methods. While each country prides itself on a significant noodle dish, one of the most recognized types of noodles within both the region and internationally is ramen. Ramen is a humble dish of wheat noodles, broth, and toppings and is synonymous with Japanese food and culture, developing over the years with the evolution of Japan. Read more about the history of ramen.

I made a ramen stock with a kilo of pig’s trotters, tare, and dashi from scratch to learn the entire process, but I wouldn’t put you through that!!!
Here’s a quick ramen you can do with either roasted chicken or roasted pork.

THE INGREDIENTS

AJITSUKE RAMEN (this needs to be made 2 days in advance)

4 medium eggs
60mls soy sauce
60mls mirin
100-120 mls water

RAMEN STOCK

1.5L chicken stock or pork stock (low or no salt)
30mls mirin
30mls sake
60mls soy sauce
60 mls dashi stock*
½ tsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic, peeled
thumb size piece of ginger, peeled
10g spring onion, roughly chopped
*if you cannot get your hands on kombu or dashi, try 30g of dried shiitake mushrooms
400g ramen noodles (if you can find the alkalized noodles and not the instant ones!)

THE METHOD

  1. Bring water to a rolling boil

  2. Drop in eggs and reduce the water to a simmer for about 7 mins, move the eggs around the saucepan

  3. When the timer is done, place the eggs into an ice bath to stop the cooking process immediately.

  4. Peel the eggs and place them in a sealed bag with the liquid. Allow to marinate for a minimum 2 days

  5. Add all the ingredients into a large pot, bring to a light boil then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes, fine strain twice before serving. Taste and season accordingly.

  6. Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil, and add in ramen.

  7. Cook until al dente and strain out the noodles

TO SERVE

In large warmed bowls, ladle in the ramen stock and the cooked noodles
Top with roasted meat, ajitsuke tamago, bamboo, spring onions and a sheet of nori