eG Cook-Off #72: Ramen

[David Ross]

I made dashi last night and today I'll use it in a miso soup.  I found some interesting fresh, frozen and dried noodles at the Asian market yesterday and I'm still thinking about which one to use.  Also found some unusual garnishes for the ramen dish.  Salmon will be the main star, at least I hope so. 

 

[Shelby]

5 hours ago, David Ross said:

I made dashi last night and today I'll use it in a miso soup.  I found some interesting fresh, frozen and dried noodles at the Asian market yesterday and I'm still thinking about which one to use.  Also found some unusual garnishes for the ramen dish.  Salmon will be the main star, at least I hope so. 

 

So, miso soup is the kind one should make when making a ramen with seafood?  I have some granules ....I think the brand is HonDashi and it says it's bonito soup stock.  I have never tried it (or if I have I don't remember).  It smells like it would go well with shrimp.

[David Ross]

2 minutes ago, Shelby said:

So, miso soup is the kind one should make when making a ramen with seafood?  I have some granules ....I think the brand is HonDashi and it says it's bonito soup stock.  I have never tried it (or if I have I don't remember).  It smells like it would go well with shrimp.

I would say so.  I got the idea from two different cookbooks.  One is a general Japanese cookbook and I was looking for the dashi recipe.  Then I pulled out Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger cookbook and he has a dish of Miso Broth with a Tatsoi and Enoki Salad, (baby spinach and mushrooms).  His recipe doesn't include ramen noodles.  I like the hint of the sea from dashi and miso seems to deepen the flavors so that was my thought process to then include salmon. 

 

[helenjp]

Miso ramen - usually not dashi but a chicken or pork & chicken broth seasoned with miso. Adjust with a little salt, soy sauce, and if you like, sake or sugar, and a tiny bit of garlic. Ginger if you like. Ground, semi-ground or whole toasted sesame seeds go well with miso ramen, chopped scallion to taste.

[David Ross]

1 hour ago, helenjp said:

Miso ramen - usually not dashi but a chicken or pork & chicken broth seasoned with miso. Adjust with a little salt, soy sauce, and if you like, sake or sugar, and a tiny bit of garlic. Ginger if you like. Ground, semi-ground or whole toasted sesame seeds go well with miso ramen, chopped scallion to taste.

Thanks for the guidance.  We'll see what I come up with.  In addition to the ramen dish with salmon, this afternoon I slowly braised the beef shank in a mixture of Chinese ingredients.  I'll chill it overnight, slice it thin and also put it in a dish with ramen noodles.

 

[Paul Bacino]

So I subscribe to Vegetarian Times.

 

They had a recent article " Ramen Revival "  with in the article they had a few ( Ramen ? ) dishes .  The Names I will add below!!

I think these were all made with Instant noodles.  You could probably google the recipes if something interested you.

 

Green Curry Ramen Bowl

Ramen lettuce wraps

Chilled Cucumber soup with Ramen, Asian Pear and Avocado

Ramen in Miso Broth

Spicy Ramen Stir-Fry w/ Broccoli,Tofu and Mandarian oranges

 

Might not fit the the Topic, but food for thought. 

 

Cheers Doc

[Ashley Werner]

On 1/3/2016 at 8:39 PM, weinoo said:

Here's a ramen I like to make around Passover. Matzo Ball ramen.

 

 

I get fresh ramen noodles from Sun Noodle.

Looks really yummy..want to dig in right now!

[David Ross]

My first-ever attempt at ramen was a fun, creative yet challenging adventure and I'd say for a rookie attempt the final dish was, shall we say, given a passing grade.  Like a B-. 

From a visual standpoint and the contrasting tastes and textures, it was a good dish, but the broth lacked flavor.  The noodles didn't really soak up much taste of the lipid broth.  I brushed the salmon with Chinese dark soy sauce and it was delicious, but probably would have been better as a stand alone along with some rice.  Yet it was a good starting point and along with what I've learned from you so far, I'm confident my next ramen dish will be better. 

 

I bought fresh, frozen and dried noodles at the Asian market earlier in the week, all teetering on the definition of "ramen noodles."  For this dish I chose these dried noodles-

 

Granted, they are "Japanese Style" noodles made in Taiwan, but I'm finding a lot of noodles labeled as "ramen" can be misleading-

 

So it's labeled as Chuka-Soba, Japanese Style Noodle, but can be used in both Ramen and Yaki Soba dishes. The noodles were made with wheat flour, cornstarch, salt,

soybean oil, potassium carbonate and yellow coloring-

 

I suppose you could call the garnishes I chose as spanning the globe, not exclusively Japanese.  From the upper left to right: pickled lettuce from Fujian China,

lemon zest, pea shoots from California, green onion and pickled radish, (takuwan), from Hawaii.  We haven't seen the start of the Spring salmon fishery in the Pacific Northwest, so I bought farm-raised salmon which was actually quite delicious and moist-

 

The noodles after boiling for about 4 minutes-

 

With the miso-dashi broth-

 

After broiling, I seasoned the salmon with Japanese togarashi spices, seasame oil, Chinese peppercorn chile oil and mustard seed oil made in Mumbai-

 

Miso soup is delicate in my taste view, and so I think ramen needs a more hearty broth like some of you have shown us.  I'll work on the broth next time and choose some different garnishes, probably cut way back on the portion of the meat or seafood.  It was a good, Asian noodle soup dish but I've got work to do.

[helenjp]

Looks tasty! And I agree that the matzo balls look like a good match...I have never seen, much less eaten one, but it looks like a starter!

[Okanagancook]

Ramen.  Never ate, never made it.  David Chan's recipe, very involved but not a lot of active care.  Delicious!  Just added fresh noodles and shaved scallions so we could appreciate the amazing broth.  Nine more portions in the freezer 

[btbyrd]

Glad you made it! Isn't it nice that ramen broth freezes so well? 

 

Chang and Momofuku actually have (at least) 2 ramen recipes floating around. The classic one printed in the cookbook is pork based and begins with Benton's bacon dashi. Their newer, "2.0 Recipe" is primarily chicken based and doesn't start with bacon dashi. Rather, it adds Benton's bacon fat at the end (and uses it in the tare). It also calls for grinding the shiitakes into a powder instead of soaking them and using them whole, as in the "1.0" recipe. 

[David Ross]

I'm starting on my second attempt at ramen and buying the ingredients for the broth.  I have two questions.  I have a recipe that calls for adding daikon radish to the broth during the cooking process.  Does the daikon add flavor and/or texture to the broth?  I liked the flavor of pickled daikon as a garnish in my first ramen, but that was added at the last minute before serving rather than an ingredient in the broth during cooking.

 

Another recipe calls for Japanese soy sauce in the broth during cooking.  While I'm familiar with the taste differences between some Chinese soy sauces, (more salty), than Japanese soy sauces I have used, are there other differences specific to Japanese soy sauce.

[sartoric]

I'm not sure if these are technically ramen, they are Mi Chay noodles - Vietnamese.

 

They sit in a chicken stock boosted with miso and wakame, rehydrated shiitakes, snow peas and chicken.

Garnished with spring onions, coriander and fried shallots.

 

 

 

[David Ross]

I've got my latest stock simmering right now with pork and chicken bones.  Some Shoyu Ramen recipes call for adding soy sauce to the broth, but they vary in terms of what time the soy sauce is added.  Some call for adding the soy sauce in the initial stages, others direct that the soy sauce be added on day two after the solids have been pulled out and the stock has been strained and refrigerated for a day.  Some recipes call for adding soy sauce only at the finishing stages with the garnishes.  Anyone have thoughts or preferences for when to add the soy sauce?

[huiray]

On 3/10/2016 at 10:54 AM, David Ross said:

Does the daikon add flavor and/or texture to the broth?

Largely flavor. Think of radishes in a stew.

 

On 3/10/2016 at 10:54 AM, David Ross said:

are there other differences specific to Japanese soy sauce

http://justhungry.com/handbook/just-hungry-handbooks/basics-japanese-soy-sauce-all-you-need-know

[David Ross]

Thanks for the info. 

[huiray]

A couple of examples of augmented commercial Japanese ramen packs from some time ago.

 

(L) With Sun noodles tonkotsu ramen (link); (R) with a pack of Myojo Chukazanmai stuff (link).

 

[huiray]

I use a fair amount of Sapporo Ichiban Chicken Flavor Instant Ramen packs. These are inexpensive but fairly decent. I then dress them up with stuff.

 

Some examples from past posts here on eG.  There are others.

 

L: Example 1.    R: Example 2.

 

 

L: Example 3.    R: Example 4.

 

 

L: Example 5.    R: Example 6.

 

[huiray]

Dragonfly (Taiwanese brand) Instant Noodles (Ramen-type) also gets used by me with some regularity. I prefer the "Hot & Sour Shrimp Flavor" one.

 

Some examples. There are others.

 

L: Example 1.    R: Example 2.

 

 

L: Example 3.    R: Example 4.

 

[huiray]

Some examples of Korean-brand Instant Ramen stuff - Nong Shim & Paldo - gussied up and augmented. There are more.

 

L: Example 1.    R: Example 2.

 

 

L: Example 3 (scroll down).    R: Example 4.

 

 

L: Example 5.    R: Example 6.

 

Edited March 13, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

A couple examples (just two) of Ibumie ramen packs, dressed up. Malaysian brand, range of flavors as with others.

 

L: Example 1.    R: Example 2.

 

Edited March 13, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

Then there's air-dried La Mian packs like the Prima Taste series (Singapore brand).

Note1: recall that "ramen" is the Japanese pronunciation of "la mian", the immediate Chinese parent of the Japanese ramen.

 

Some examples of the Singapore Laksa La Mian packs, prepared as directed and both lavishly augmented as well as minimally dressed. There are others posted here.

Note 2: Kare Ramen is also a "thing" in Japan and elsewhere. :-)

 

L: Example 1 (scroll down).    R: Example 2.

 

 

 

L: Example 3 (scroll way down).    R: Example 4.

 

 

Prima Taste also puts out "Curry Mee" and "Chili Crab" La Mian packs.  The "Singapore Laksa" one is superior (in authenticity & taste) compared to the other two, IMO.

Edited March 13, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

Ibumie also puts out a Penang White Curry ramen pack.  This one uses the standard instant ramen block and the seasonings and resultant sauce tastes pretty good even if it uses lots of chemical additives.

 

One example posted here:

[huiray]

On 3/9/2016 at 9:17 AM, David Ross said:

I bought fresh, frozen and dried noodles at the Asian market earlier in the week, all teetering on the definition of "ramen noodles."  For this dish I chose these dried noodles-

 

Granted, they are "Japanese Style" noodles made in Taiwan, but I'm finding a lot of noodles labeled as "ramen" can be misleading-

 

So it's labeled as Chuka-Soba, Japanese Style Noodle, but can be used in both Ramen and Yaki Soba dishes. 

 

BTW, FYI, "Chuuka Soba" literally means "Chinese Buckwheat(Soba)" - which is also exactly what the kanji+hiragana says (中華そば) (look at the front of the package) but *that* is a common term for RAMEN in Japan, as I touched on in my previous post.  Helenjp also talked about and explained terms used for ramen including the one that was posted on the pack she showed in her picture (中華蕎麦)(中華=chuuka=China/Chinese; 蕎麦=buckwheat/"soba"; but 中華蕎麦 = ramen)

[Paul Bacino]

Nice Job Raymond!!