eG Cook-Off #72: Ramen

[FeChef]

I use the instant packages. I still need to work on the broth, but i think ive nailed the tooth feel with the dried noodles. I just cant come up with a good doctored up broth. I like a really spicy ramen, and my go to is shrimp ramen and chili ramen mixed together, with a 1/2 tsp of cayenne powder, and a 1/2 tsp or korean red pepper flake. The heat is good, but i need some more flavor and body, while keeping it cheap and quick. Suggestions? I am using 3 cups of water to flash boil the dried noodles, which i remove with a strainer and set aside then use the same water to make the broth. I like to fry a egg in some butter in a small pan that i add before serving, ad also add some frozen peas/carrots and some small raw peeled shrimp after i remove the noodles. Still, needs something. Just dont know what.

Edited March 23, 2018 by FeChef (log)

[heidih]

Goguchang adds depth or even miso  https://yummybazaar.com/products/authentic-korean-gochujang-very-hot-pepper-paste-by-haechandle-1-1-lbs?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=20223988998&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqM3VBRCwARIsAKcekb3l0xCC34QZqB00cjWFnudiZy1dd9alis9CF2hNFSQQYl2QsTwuP_kaAtPUEALw_wcB

Edited March 23, 2018 by heidih (log)

[Paul Bacino]

Forbidden Rice Noodle Ramen

 

Lotus Foods makes a Ramen Noodle from forbidden rice ( Black Rice )--Quite different than a Shiratake ( Sp ) type noodle.

But the other day I slow cooked a Cabbage head in Beef stock and Maggi--  I used the broth to make this:

 

Beef Cabbage Broth/ Shitake mushrooms( Balsamic and Yashida infused )SousVide Turkey breast/Beef braised carrots/ 60C egg yolk/ pickle Jalapenos --Forbidden Rice Ramen Noodles  Coriander leaf

 

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by Paul Bacino (log)

[ImportantElements]

Hey guys, 

 

A long time ago, while sitting in the office 3D modeling things for a video game, a coworker asked me a question.

- Dude, do you want to go to lunch? Im hungry.

- Man, its only 11am.  - I said

- Trust me, we need to get there before the line gets big. Have you ever had ramen?

HA HA - I laughed

- No man, seriously. Have you ever had real ramen? Not that instant crap.

 

Things were never the same after that trip to a real ramen place in San Jose, Ca.

 

Addiction started instantly. 

 

Well fast forward 12 years, here I am making ramen at least 3 times a month. As some of you might know, there are only 4-5 main types of ramen out there made freshly. 

Shio - Seasalt base

Shoyu - Soy sauce based

Tonkatsu - Pork based

Miso - pretty self explanatory  

 

Each one of those has sooo many varieties through out areas of Japan its crazy. I must say my favorite one is the classic SHOYU, soy sauce based ramen. 

 

Today I decided to make it from scratch, and show you how I do it. 

If you have a good Asian style market near you, be sure to visit it for some of the ingredients. However you dont really need to. I've seen similar ingredients at regular grocery stores that will work just fine. 

 

Shoyu ramen is usually made with 3 main parts.

 

1. The soup Base - your broth 

2. Sauce Base (Tare) - together with pork chashu 

3. Topings 

 

Of course the noodles should be fresh if possible. If you cant find fresh ramen noodles, seriously them instant ramen noodles will work just fine  

 

I just went shopping and bought all this at a Japanese grocery store we have here in California called Mitsuwa. Here is all you will need for the soup 

 

 

So lets start with the first part. The Soup Base 

 

For the soup base I prefer chicken. Thighs, legs, backs, necks will work perfectly. For the aromatics we go with simple 

1. Ginger

2. Onion

3. Green Onion

4. Dry Shitake mushrooms (any mushrooms will do)

5. Kombu (dry kelp), dry seaweed will work too. But not roasted Nori !!! 

6. Katsuobushi (this is dry skipjack tuna flakes), your regular grocery store should have Bonito flakes. Which is basically dry smoked tuna flakes.

7. Dry Sardines (dont have to use those at all if you cant find them) they add a very nice salty seafood touch to the broth

 

 

If you do manage get some Kombu (kelp), make sure to soak it in hot (not boiling) water for 15 minutes, and then wash it with cold water. 

 

Get plenty of good clean water, and add chicken, and all the aromatics listed above. Let it simmer for 3 hours on medium heat. Try not to stir it hehehe. 

 

Add 2-3 tablespoons of Sake, any sake will do. Just not fruit flavored. 

 

3-4 hours, let the magic of time do its ... wait I already used the word magic you know what I mean. Dont touch it for 3 hours at least. 

 

Now I will go and make TARE (Sauce Base), and will be back with photos in just a few minutes. 

 

Stay tuned here for PART 2 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2018 by ImportantElements (log)

[ImportantElements]

PART 2 

 

So now that our broth is slowly simmering, lets do the second very important part of Shoyu Ramen. 

 

THE TARE 

 

Basically this is the sauce, the actual taste, the magic part of shoyu ramen. And of course in this part we will prepare the chashu. Juicy, moist, yummy pork that goes with the ramen. 

 

I use pork belly. Simple uncured pork belly. The bacon before it becomes bacon  

 

Roll it into a nice roll and tie it with food twine 

 

On a medium high heat, sear all sides of it. No oil needed. Just make sure the skillet is nice and warm. The heat I use is 7 out of 10 

 

And for the actual TARE ( the sauce) we will need the following 

 

 

1. TOKYO LEEKS (these are basically a big brother of green onions) if you cant find them, use the green onion. 

 

2. Dry Shitake mushrooms (any dry mushrooms will work, in fact porcinis are YUMM)

 

3. Ginger, fresh is better

 

4. Bonito flakes (any big grocery store should have it in the Asian area) Its basically thinly shaved smoked cured tuna

 

5. Garlic a whole thing  

 

6. Carrot

 

7. Kombu (that soaked kelp we did, some for the broth and some for the sauce)

 

8. Soy Sauce (lots of it) get your favorite one. 

 

9. Mirin (or sugar if you cant find mirin) its just a rice syrup 

 

10. Sake 

 

11. and of course the pork belly 

 

 

In a Sauce pan, add 2/3rds of soy sauce 

 

And then 1/3rd of water. I like the sauce saltier, but you can do half soy sauce, and half water if you want

 

Then add 3 table spoons of Mirin (or 2 tablespoons of sugar) 

3 tablespoons of Sake 

 

Place your pork in there 

 

Rest of the aromatics listed above 

 

and sprinkle the Bonito flakes. 

 

Let it slowly simmer on medium-low heat for 2 hours. Dont let it boil !!!! 

 

And for the part 3 I will make it all come together, and show you how it looks. 

 

Part 3 in a few hours  

 

 

 

 

[ImportantElements]

So here we go my friends, after 3 hours we are ready for the ramen 

 

I removed the pork belly into a fridge and let it rest for an hour

 

 

But the sauce we must drain 

 

 

Let all the soy sauce and pork flavor come through. It will be salty to the taste, but we need that salt. 

It should be nice and amber like 

 

 

Now we also drain our broth. I used a cheese cloth to make it nice and clean 

 

 

It should be clear and transparent 

 

 

Meanwhile I chopped the Tokyo Leek very thinly, and placed it in the cold salty water 

 

 

Now for the toppings 

 

1. Raw onion 

2. Bamboo Shoots

3. Green Onion

4. Chashu

5. Bean Sprouts

 

 

 

Now we add the noodles into the hot broth mixture 

 

Enjoy my friends

 

 

 

 

 

[ImportantElements]

To make the Shoyu soup 

 

Add one scoop of TARE 

 

 

and 3 parts of Broth 

 

 

taste it for your saltiness level 

 

 

[BeeZee]

Beautiful, thats a real labor of love.

[ElsieD]

Beautiful!

[KennethT]

Wow... that looks great!

[FeChef]

You seem to know a lot about Ramen. Maybe you can help me out with something. Have you ever tried those spicy chicken Yakisoba instant Ramen's? There is a aroma/flavor in them that really stands out over any other spicy chicken ramens. I can not make out this aroma/flavor. I believe its in the dehydrated vegetable packet. I thought it might have been napa cabbage but i have tried making my own even dehydrating my own napa cabbage but it didnt have that aroma/flavor. Its definitely not the normal ingredients like ginger, green onion, garlic.

[btbyrd]

Wheat-free, rice-based "ramen" noodles are an abomination. They might be tasty in their own right, but they ain't ramen.

 

That dish looks delicious, by the way.

 

 

[SusieQ]

Your photos are so helpful. Thank you for the effort to document this. 

[ImportantElements]

On 4/7/2018 at 8:12 AM, FeChef said:

You seem to know a lot about Ramen. Maybe you can help me out with something. Have you ever tried those spicy chicken Yakisoba instant Ramen's? There is a aroma/flavor in them that really stands out over any other spicy chicken ramens. I can not make out this aroma/flavor. I believe its in the dehydrated vegetable packet. I thought it might have been napa cabbage but i have tried making my own even dehydrating my own napa cabbage but it didnt have that aroma/flavor. Its definitely not the normal ingredients like ginger, green onion, garlic.

 

Thank you for kind words everyone. 

 

FeChef, I believe its a mustard mayo sauce that they add ? 

 

[FeChef]

2 hours ago, ImportantElements said:

 

Thank you for kind words everyone. 

 

FeChef, I believe its a mustard mayo sauce that they add ? 

 

Negative. Everything is dry ingredients. You may be thinking of the chow mein brand, i think they include a liquid package with theirs. This is Yakisoba brand. They are usually $1 and come in a plastic rectangle container.

[Anna N]

On 2018-03-19 at 2:13 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Fixed.  Sorry.  "I shall never again forget the .com."

So were you able to get the instructions translated?

Edited May 9, 2018 by Anna N
To remove duplication (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

So were you able to get the instructions translated?

 

 

Sorry, I can't figure out for what?

 

[Anna N]

4 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Sorry, I can't figure out for what?

 

The Ramen soup base. Please.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Anna N (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

The Ramen soup base. Please.The Ramen soup base. Please.

 

No, not translated.  Anyone read Japanese?

 

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

No, not translated.  Anyone read Japanese?

 

 I used Google translate and the best I can decipher is that one package is mixed with 270 mL of hot water. Good enough for me.  

Edited May 9, 2018 by Anna N
Edited to note that the water should be hot (log)

[David Ross]

Seems like the perfect time to take another look into the world of Ramen given these cold, dark days of winter.

[FeChef]

Anyone know what vegetables would give a unique flavor/aroma when dried. One of my favorite instant type ramen is the yakisoba spicy chicken. For the longest time, i always assumed the unique flavor/aroma was from the spice packet. Turns out the flavor/aroma is actually from the dried vegetable packet. I love this flavor so much, i buy these instant ramens just for the packets. I really want to either make, or buy these dried vegetables in bulk instead of buying the whole package. I prefer a thicker more chewy noodle. Anyway this is the list of dried vegetables in the dried vegetable packet:

 

Dehydrated Vegetables (Cabbage, Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Green Peas, Garlic, Chive, Celery Stalk)

 

Just to clarify, none of these vegetables taste or smell like this when fresh. Drying them must change their flavor/smell. (kind of how dried minced onion smells compared to fresh minced onion)

But the onion doesn't seem to be the unique flavor/smell in this case. Just using it as an example.

 

Also, its really hard to tell which vegetable the flavor/smell is coming from until its been cooked. I am guessing its was the cabbage, but my attempts to dehydrate cabbage and boil it didn't seem to produce this flavor, if any to be honest. Maybe its a specific type of cabbage? I have only tried regular green cabbage.

Edited December 1, 2020 by FeChef (log)

[Eatmywords]

2 hours ago, FeChef said:

Anyone know what vegetables would give a unique flavor/aroma when dried. One of my favorite instant type ramen is the yakisoba spicy chicken. For the longest time, i always assumed the unique flavor/aroma was from the spice packet. Turns out the flavor/aroma is actually from the dried vegetable packet. I love this flavor so much, i buy these instant ramens just for the packets. I really want to either make, or buy these dried vegetables in bulk instead of buying the whole package. I prefer a thicker more chewy noodle. Anyway this is the list of dried vegetables in the dried vegetable packet:

 

Dehydrated Vegetables (Cabbage, Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Green Peas, Garlic, Chive, Celery Stalk)

 

Just to clarify, none of these vegetables taste or smell like this when fresh. Drying them must change their flavor/smell. (kind of how dried minced onion smells compared to fresh minced onion)

But the onion doesn't seem to be the unique flavor/smell in this case. Just using it as an example.

 

Also, its really hard to tell which vegetable the flavor/smell is coming from until its been cooked. I am guessing its was the cabbage, but my attempts to dehydrate cabbage and boil it didn't seem to produce this flavor, if any to be honest. Maybe its a specific type of cabbage? I have only tried regular green cabbage.

 

I'm guessing it doesn't say if and what the veggies were seasoned w before drying?  If so I would think a significant factor in where the flavors are coming from. 

[heidih]

If you google dehydrated vegetable flakes there are many. The McCormick might be a cheap test drive.  https://www.instacart.com/landing?product_id=21394868&

[shain]

I'd guess the chives, they taste quite different when dried (a bit like the scallions used to flavor potato chips). Dried celery also tastes different, but still distinctly like celery. And dried onion and garlic are also quite distinct and familiar.

Edited December 1, 2020 by shain (log)