Japanese Ramen

So far this blog has mainly included recipes for bread, mainly as I have recently been trying out lots of different recipes. This blog will include a much wider range of recipes as time goes on, and today’s recipes is definitely one of my favourites. Earlier this year we travelled to Japan and discovered a whole new world of culinary delights, but one dish in particular got my attention – ramen. We first tried some ramen at a little place in the Shinjuku Electric Street (Shinjuku Denki-gai) area, it was so good we went back a second time later in the holiday.

There are various components to ramen (tare, ramen soup and the toppings) and the stock in particular does take some time to make, but it is worth it. The recipe used here is an adapted version from Japanese Soul Cooking – their version has a lot more components and so to begin with I am keeping it at simple as possible.

Ingredients for the Ramen Soup

• 900g chicken bones/carcass
• 450g chicken
• 15g ginger (peel on, crushed)
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 3 litres of water
• 1 spring onion
• 1 small carrot

Ingredients for the tare – this is the base of the ramen dish

• 225ml soy sauce (preferably light soy sauce)
• 60ml sake
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 15g ginger (peel on, crushed)
• 1 spring onion
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)

Other ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspsoon salt
• 2 eggs
• breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil
• noodles for four people
• sugarsnap peas or fine green beans
• 1 spring onion

Method

For this recipes you need plenty of time to make the broth, a little time to make the tare, chicken and noodles – and then it all gets put together very quickly.

For the noodle soup:

1) Add all the ingredients to a large cooking pot, bring to the boil and then simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any of the fat that accumulates at the top.

2) Sieve the soup (or strain through a muslin lined colander if you have one).

For the fried chicken:

1) Finely chop the garlic, and mix with the salt and juice of the lemon. Marinade the chicken in the mixture for about an hour (longer if you have the time).

2) On a  plate spread the breadcrumbs. On another plate whisk the two eggs.

3) Heat a shallow layer of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Slice the chicken breasts in half so each makes two flat fillets. For each of these fillets place them in the eggs (turn to cover both sides) and then dip them in the breadcrumbs (again make sure to turn to cover both sides), and then add to the frying pan. Depending on how thick the chicken is it should take around 8-10 minutes for the chicken breast to cook (ensure they are turned over after a couple of minutes.

4) Once the chicken has turned golden remove from the frying pan and leave to rest (preferably on some kitchen towel to absorb some of the excess oil).

For the tare:

1) Add all the ingredients to a pan and heat until boiling and then remove from the heat.

For the noodles:

1) This will differ depending on the type of noodles so follow packet instructions – usually around 3-4 minutes in boiling water.

Assembling the Ramen

This might seem like there are lots of stages, but none of them are complicated so don’t be put off.

1) Reheat the ramen soup for a few minutes (if you have made it earlier and it has now cooled). Add the sugar snap peas or green beans for the last couple of minutes. Ensure the tare is still warm, reheat if necessary.

2) This recipe should make enough for four people, so get four bowls ready. In each bowl add, 60 ml of the tare (if you use cup measures this will be about 1/4 cup), then 475ml of the ramen soup with the peas/beans.

3) Add the noodles to each bowl.

4) Slice the breaded chicken into smaller pieces (so it can be eaten with chopsticks) and place on top of the ramen.

5) Sprinkle some chopped spring onions on top.

And then all that is left to do is enjoy!