Table of Contents
- The Key Ingredient of a Ramen is the Soup Base
- An Abundance of Flavour With This Home Cooking Method
- 10 Step-by-Step instructions for Roasted Chicken Ramen
- Recipe: Roasted Chicken Ramen
The Key Ingredient of a Ramen is the Soup Base
Rich, creamy and bursting with layers of flavour, ramen soup recipes are created in restaurants over days of reducing broth, squeezing all the flavour out of pork and chicken bones, and adding a variety of vegetables and aromatics, making the experience of eating a magical taste mystery.
An Abundance of Flavour With This Home Cooking Method
Reducing the stock with an initial quick boil is the most important part of making this stock. Roasting chicken bones and using them as a base for the broth provides the all-important oily cartilage element that is the foundation of a ramen dish, and which cannot be recreated by reducing instant shop bought broth alone.
10 Step-by-Step instructions for Roasted Chicken Ramen
1. Ramen Eggs: The eggs must be at room temperature, otherwise they will crack when added to the boiling water. Bring the water and white vinegar to the boil in a small saucepan and add the eggs. Boil for exactly 6.5 minutes. Remove and place in iced water to stop cooking. Set aside for later. If marinating, once cold, peel away the shell and place the eggs in the marinade. Transfer to the fridge until ready to serve.
Recipe for Ramen Egg Marinade is in the Recipe notes
2. Meat Preparation: Preheat oven to 200ºC (180ºC fan-forced). Cut rind off pork belly strips with a pair of scissors. Then roll up and use some toothpicks to secure.
3. Starting the Soup Base: Place the chicken wings, chicken thighs, pork belly rolls, shallots and garlic bulb on a roasting tray. In a separate bowl or cup, mix the soy, mirin and togarashi seasoning (if using). Rub the chicken wings and pork with this. Use a little vegetable oil for the garlic and onions. Roast for 45 minutes.
4. Chilli Oil: Put the chilli flakes, chopped garlic, and sesame seeds in a pestle and mortar and crush them as much as possible. Add the sesame oil and vegetable oil along with the crushed chilli to a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Finish the Soup Base: Remove the meat from the chicken legs and set aside to use as the meat topping on your ramen.
Now remove the garlic and onions from their skins. Place the pork belly, the whole chicken wings with the meat, the chicken thigh bones, the garlic, the shallots and the chopped ginger in a saucepan. Return to the roasting pan and add 150ml of boiling water. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up all the juices from the pan.
6. Mash: Add the juices to the pork-chicken mixture and with a potato masher, use all your muscle to bash and mash up. When this is done pour in 1 litre of your chicken stock, place on high heat and bring to a rapid boil. Continue to boil uncovered for approximately 15 – 20 minutes or until reduced by more than half (keep your eye on it as if you over-reduce you won’t have much soup at the end!). This method is going to help thicken the sauce and extract oils from bones, chicken and pork meat.
7. Finish: When reduced, add the remaining 500ml chicken stock, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes. After this time the stock should be nicely thick and oily. Use your potato masher to mash the stock one last time, breaking up as much of the meat and bones as possible. Strain the broth through a fine sieve until it’s clean.
Note: Don’t discard the meat and bones, set them aside. Later you can remove the bones and fat from this meat and use it in the following recipe: Japanese Hash Browns
8. For the Tare: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, gently heat and whisk until smooth. Remove and set aside.
9. Ramen Noodles: Cook ramen noodles according to packet instructions (they should be slightly al dente). Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.
10. To Finish the Soup Base: Reheat the stock until very hot, then remove from the heat and whisk in the miso tare and 2 teaspoons of chilli oil.
Build your bowls: Remove eggs from the fridge and slice them in half lengthways. Divide noodles between bowls. Pour over very hot miso broth. Let it sit for 30 seconds to reheat the noodles. Layer with reserved roasted chicken meat, shredded spring onion and ramen eggs. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Serve remaining chilli oil on the side for topping up if desired.
Recipe: Roasted Chicken Ramen
Roasted Chicken Ramen
Ingredients
Broth
- 6 chicken Wings
- 2 chicken thigh fillets, skin on and bone in
- 2 slices of pork belly
- 6 shallot onions
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- a few shakes of Japanese togarashi spice optional
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1.5 litres of high qulaity natural chciken stock (homemade or shop bought)
- 100g ramen noodles
- 4 spring onions shredded or chopped very fine.
- 2 eggs Check recipe notes for optional Ramen Egg Marinade
- white vinegar for adding to boiling water
- Black sesame seeds for garnish
Tare
- 2 tsp white miso red is also fine if you can’t find white
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 45ml soy milk or regular milk and 1 tsp butter
- 1 tbsp mirin
Instructions
- Ramen Eggs: The eggs must be at room temperature, otherwise they will crack when added to the boiling water. Bring the water and white vinegar to the boil in a small saucepan and add the eggs. Boil for exactly 6.5 minutes. Remove and place in iced water to stop cooking. Set aside for later. If marinating, once cold, peel away the shell and place the eggs in the marinade. Transfer to the fridge until ready to serve.
- Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).
- Cut rind off the pork belly strips with a pair of scissors. Then roll up and use toothpicks to secure (or tie with cooking string).
- Place the chicken wings, chicken thighs, pork belly rolls, shallots and whole head of garlic on a roasting tray. Mix the soy, mirin and togarashi seasoning in a separate bowl or cup. Rub the wings and pork with the marinade. Use a small amount of vegetable oil for the bulb of garlic and the onions. Roast for 45 minutes.
- To make the chilli oil: Put the chilli flakes, chopped garlic and sesame seeds in a pestle and mortar and crush as much as possible. In a small saucepan, add the sesame oil and vegetable oil together with the crushed chilli mixture and heat gently for about 1 minute, stirring all the time. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Finish the soup base: Remove meat from chicken thighs and set aside to use as the meat topping on your ramen. Now remove garlic and onions from skins. Add pork belly, chicken wings with meat in tact, chicken thigh bones and skin, garlic, shallot and minced ginger to a saucepan. Return to the roasting tray and add 150ml boiling water, then using a wooden scraper or spoon, scrape all the pan juices tougher.
- Add the pan juices to the pork-chicken mixture and with a potato masher use all your muscle to bash and mash up. When this is done pour in 1 liter of the chicken stock, place on heat, and bring to a rapid boil. Continue to boil uncovered for approximately 15 – 20 minutes or until reduced by a little more than half (keep your eye on it as if you over-reduce you won't have much soup at the end!). This method will help thicken the soup and extract oils from bones, chicken, and pork meat.
- When reduced add the remaining 500ml of chicken stock, bring back to a rapid boil then cover, turn to simmer, and gently cook for 20 minutes. After this time the ramen broth should be nicely thickened and oily. Next, with your potato masher give the broth one last mash, mincing as much of the meat and bones as you can to extract flavour. Strain broth with a fine sieve until clean.
- Ramen noodles: Cook the ramen noodles according to packet instructions (they should be slightly al dente). Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.
- For the Tare: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, gently heat and whisk until smooth. Be careful not to boil or burn.
- To finish the soup base: Reheat the stock until very hot, then remove from the heat and whisk in the miso tare along with 2 teaspoons the chilli oil.
- Build your bowls: Remove eggs from the fridge and slice them in half lengthways. Divide noodles between bowls. Pour over hot miso ramen broth. Let it sit for 30 seconds to reheat the noodles. Layer with reserved roasted chicken meat, shredded spring onion and ramen eggs (seaosn the eggs with salt if they are not marinated). Sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Serve remaining chilli oil on the side for topping up if desired.
Notes
- 4 Medium Eggs
- 60ml cup soy sauce
- 60ml cup mirin
- 60ml cup sake or white wine
