eG Cook-Off #72: Ramen

huiray · August 22, 2016

Here's something interesting for this cook-off.

Ramen more valuable than cigarettes in the clink.

See here too.

Eater summary.

Maybe some of the recipes in this book mentioned in the above article(s) might be explored...

huiray · August 25, 2016

A bowl of "karē rāmen" (カレーラーメン).

More properly, "Singapore Laksa La Mian" [Prima Taste].

The noodles and component packs.

I've shown this before but here it is again all the same.

Daun laksa a.k.a. daun kesum (Vietnamese coriander; rau răm) from my deck; plus mung bean sprouts.

Some wild American shrimp were cooked in the simmering laksa broth mixture; and a previously-cooked chicken leg was rewarmed in the broth also. Both reserved; the la mian block cooked as directed, the bean sprouts blanched in the broth, and everything assembled in a bowl and topped w/ deep-fried shallots.

Very enjoyable.

huiray · August 27, 2016

A ramen bowl.

Dragonfly "Instant Noodles Artificial Hot & Sour Shrimp Flavor" added into a broth.

The broth was made w/ shrimp shells fried w/ sliced ginger & peanut oil plus some Tom Yum paste [Por Kwan] then quenched w/ water and simmered for a while with more Tom Yum paste added in, then fishing out all solids; then just-barely cooking de-shelled de-veined wild American shrimps in it (and reserving the shrimps).

Trimmed/washed ong choy (water morning glory) was blanched in the broth then reserved. The noodles and sauce packets etc went in, then sliced-up aburaage. Assembled/bowled with 3 halved hard-boiled eggs, chopped scallions, chopped coriander leaves, and deep-fried shallots.

The noodle pack contents:

The initial broth simmering:

pufin3 · August 31, 2016

Originally ramen noodles were made using the water from a lake that had a high soda content.

I make my own ramen noodles.

They are night and day better than the little packaged ones.

Here's recipe that results in excellent ramen noodles:

Into 100 ml warm water add 1 1/2 t ‘baked soda’. (Google how to make 'baked soda'. I make enough to last me six months. I keep it in an airtight container.)

Stir to dissolve.

Into food processor add 2 C All Purpose flour.

Set speed to low.

Slowly pour in the soda water.

In a minute the flour/water will form into small balls.

Remove from processor and knead into a large ball.

You don’t need to rest the dough like the Italian pasta.

Form the dough into golf balls. Press into discs and like with the Italian pasta make thin sheets then run them through the ‘spaghetti’ cutters.

I lightly dredge the noodles with All Purpose flour.

As with the Italian pasta I put the noodles into lots of lightly salted boiling water. The noodles only take a minute to cook, if that.

Some people advise rinsing the ramen noodles in cold water then adding to the hot soup.

I don’t bother if I’m using them right away. If I’m putting some in the fridge for later I do give the noodles a cold water rinse and then drain.

Anna N · August 31, 2016

@pufin3

Thanks for sharing this. Curious as to your food processor which permits a choice of speeds. I have had a number of brands over the years and none had this option.

huiray · August 31, 2016

2 hours ago, pufin3 said:

I make my own ramen noodles.

They are night and day better than the little packaged ones.

Have you had fresh Sun ramen, made in the USA? Or fresh ramen brought into the USA from Japan? Just curious.

2 hours ago, pufin3 said:

Originally ramen noodles were made using the water from a lake that had a high soda content.

Yes, a lake in Inner Mongolia, according to the usual history of its origins as la mian. ;-)

Edited August 31, 2016 by huiray (log)

pufin3 · August 31, 2016

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

@pufin3

Thanks for sharing this. Curious as to your food processor which permits a choice of speeds. I have had a number of brands over the years and none had this option.

This is the one I've had for a few years:

pufin3 · August 31, 2016

2 hours ago, huiray said:

Have you had fresh Sun ramen, made in the USA? Or fresh ramen brought into the USA from Japan? Just curious.

Yes, a lake in Inner Mongolia, according to the usual history of its origins as la mian. ;-)

No I haven't had any store bought fresh ramen noodles. Never seen them in the stores where I live nearby.

I'm sure they are tastier than the .25 cent packages available.

huiray · August 31, 2016

36 minutes ago, pufin3 said:

No I haven't had any store bought fresh ramen noodles. Never seen them in the stores where I live nearby.

I'm sure they are tastier than the .25 cent packages available.

OK, thanks for the reply.

Yes, the "25 cent" packages would be bottom-of-the-line stuff, indeed. (Actually, even the cheapest - with a seasoning pack in it) would be somewhere between 60-ish and 90-ish cents.** :-) I would murmur, however, that there are various brands of "instant ramen" or "instant noodles" from Taiwan, SE Asia, Japan, Korea, and so on that are very good. Many of them are also not cheap - for example, the laksa la mian pack above (with one of the best la mian blocks I've had) would be around $4-$5 each if bought individually in some places. If you had the opportunity one day perhaps you might consider trying some of the better ones.

But nevertheless it is good to read of your recipe for your own ramen noodles, thanks. I'm sure they are excellent. One day perhaps I might try it. Can your method be done in a blender on "low" or on "pulse"; or by hand?

(ETA: Traditionally, la mian was done entirely by hand, and is still done so today. Pasta was, too, of course)

**ETA2: Oh, wait, I remember years ago one could get packs of these instant ramen stuff (the low end stuff) from Western supermarkets in the USA for something like 4 or 5 packs to a dollar when they had special deals. Or even more for less money - but that was many, many years ago.

Edited August 31, 2016 by huiray (log)

Anna N · August 31, 2016

Thanks, @pufin3. I have never seen that brand. Most seem to have only one speed.

Tere · September 1, 2016

My (ancient) Kenwood food processor does variable speed.

pufin3 · September 2, 2016

On 8/31/2016 at 10:20 AM, huiray said:

OK, thanks for the reply.

Yes, the "25 cent" packages would be bottom-of-the-line stuff, indeed. (Actually, even the cheapest - with a seasoning pack in it) would be somewhere between 60-ish and 90-ish cents.** :-) I would murmur, however, that there are various brands of "instant ramen" or "instant noodles" from Taiwan, SE Asia, Japan, Korea, and so on that are very good. Many of them are also not cheap - for example, the laksa la mian pack above (with one of the best la mian blocks I've had) would be around $4-$5 each if bought individually in some places. If you had the opportunity one day perhaps you might consider trying some of the better ones.

But nevertheless it is good to read of your recipe for your own ramen noodles, thanks. I'm sure they are excellent. One day perhaps I might try it. Can your method be done in a blender on "low" or on "pulse"; or by hand?

(ETA: Traditionally, la mian was done entirely by hand, and is still done so today. Pasta was, too, of course)

**ETA2: Oh, wait, I remember years ago one could get packs of these instant ramen stuff (the low end stuff) from Western supermarkets in the USA for something like 4 or 5 packs to a dollar when they had special deals. Or even more for less money - but that was many, many years ago.

I'm guessing ramen noodles have been made "by hand" for quite a while LOL

I think you could quickly 'pulse' your blender to get the ingredients to essentially come together. After they do you'd probably want to finish kneading by hand.

I get a bunch little pieces about the size of small dried lentils. They don't look like they will form a ball by some hand kneading but they do.

Try the recipe sometime when you are in the mood. I'd like to read your feedback.

Kerala · September 4, 2016

That's all very nice. Back to basics. Nissin Damae Ramen duck flavour. Fish balls. Pak choi. Egg. Chopped chilli and garlic in oil. Rubbish picture. Quick delicious meal!

huiray · September 10, 2016

A dry ramen plate.

Yakisoba last night.

Two farm-fresh eggs beaten w/ some salt, hon-mirin, sake, water, ground white pepper, oil. "Flash fried" in a very hot pan w/ generous oil for a bubbly lightly-browned omelette (less than a minute in all), removed & reserved, roughly "chopped" into strips.

A bit more oil in the pan, then lots of sliced lightly-crushed garlic (Music), some of the white parts (sliced thinly on the diagonal) of an entire large-ish negi, toss/stir quickly; chopped hakusai (wong nga pak; Napa cabbage), stir in on high heat; the yakisoba seasoning packets (2) from the nama yakisoba package [Maruchan] (fresh yakisoba), then still-wet fresh yakisoba (from the package) rinsed under hot water, stir in, splash some water in, stir/turn over; add back in the reserved egg strips and the rest of the sliced white-parts of the negi, final toss & stir. Plate, garnish w/ the green parts of the negi, a quick drizzle of Bulldog tonkatsu sauce.

**David Ross** · September 10, 2016

Looks really delicious and just the right ramen dish I can fix in a short amount of time.

Paul Bacino · August 7, 2017

Beet Greens Ramen

Sauted' Beet greens and stems/ Wright Bacon/ House made Candied Crack Jalapeno's/ Yam noodles

in a Pork Broth/Stock

Paul Bacino · November 30, 2017

Made a :

Beef Tendon Ramen

The tendon was cured: Salt sugar/lemongrass/kaffir line/ hot peppers for a week---washed and sous vide 10hrs 145F in Sambal and rice wine vinegar

I used only the tendon attachment for this dish

**David Ross** · November 30, 2017

3 hours ago, Paul Bacino said:

Made a :

Beef Tendon Ramen

The tendon was cured: Salt sugar/lemongrass/kaffir line/ hot peppers for a week---washed and sous vide 10hrs 145F in Sambal and rice wine vinegar

I used only the tendon attachment for this dish

Wonderful Paul. What are the greens and can you tell me a little more about the broth? I'm not cooking much right now due to a broken arm, but this is going to the top of the list when I can. Soothing, hot and delicious.

Paul Bacino · November 30, 2017

@David Ross David-- this is a derivative from ( https://bestbyfarr.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/spicy-beef-tendon/ ) -

-follow their lead and add what you wish...btw it reads backwards

The greens are Bok Choy and my beef stock Wierd as it was is just ( Kitchen Basic unsalted ) but by the time you add in the spicy tendon and heat that for awhile, you get awesome collagen injection to fortify the broth. Lip smakin and easy peezy.

I could make a complicated broth, but I find also---> what works good, is I have an Asian Pho restaurant and their spicy beef broth is far easier to use in dishes than the time it would take me

cheers Doc B

Edited November 30, 2017 by Paul Bacino (log)

Paul Bacino · December 1, 2017

Option B :

Golden Mountain Spicy Beef Pho

JoNorvelleWalker · March 19, 2018

I have to recommend this ramen packet:

Japanese Noodles Tonkotsu Ramen Concentration Pork...

It is not instant ramen but rather a packet of pork fat and bone broth to which one adds cooked ramen noodles and whatever. Cost is about $2.00 per meal. But I've not had better ramen. Served with scallions, leftover sliced pork, and much shichimi togarashi. Na ma tung ith nug.

btbyrd · March 20, 2018

The texture of fresh (or pre-packaged, non-dried) ramen is different, and to my mind better, than fried instant noodles. But they're a pain in the ass to make yourself and they're not widely available commercially. I was an advocate of fresh Sun Noodles for a short time, but was rather quickly turned off by the ridiculous amount of riboflaven they add to the noodles to create the yellow color. It's so much that it turns the cooking water yellow. And you can taste it. Noodles that taste like vitamins? Horrible. It's like everything bad about enriched flour or rice, but turned up to 11.

I went back to instant packets.

Sun Noodles makes the noodles for many of the top ramen shops, and I'm sure they have formulations available that aren't vitamin B-2 bombs. In fact, I'm sure I've eaten some of those noodles. If you could buy fresh, non-Ribo-roided-out Sun Noodles at the local grocery, I'd be very happy. The noodles would be perfect if they weren't dyed with freaking vitamins.

I'm keen to try these fresh-ish noodles from Hakubaru, which use annatto for color. I'd prefer that companies didn't dye their noodles at all, but if you're going to do it... annatto > riboflaven.

JoNorvelleWalker · March 20, 2018

9 hours ago, btbyrd said:

The texture of fresh (or pre-packaged, non-dried) ramen is different, and to my mind better, than fried instant noodles. But they're a pain in the ass to make yourself and they're not widely available commercially. I was an advocate of fresh Sun Noodles for a short time, but was rather quickly turned off by the ridiculous amount of riboflaven they add to the noodles to create the yellow color. It's so much that it turns the cooking water yellow. And you can taste it. Noodles that taste like vitamins? Horrible. It's like everything bad about enriched flour or rice, but turned up to 11.

I went back to instant packets.

Sun Noodles makes the noodles for many of the top ramen shops, and I'm sure they have formulations available that aren't vitamin B-2 bombs. In fact, I'm sure I've eaten some of those noodles. If you could buy fresh, non-Ribo-roided-out Sun Noodles at the local grocery, I'd be very happy. The noodles would be perfect if they weren't dyed with freaking vitamins.

I'm keen to try these fresh-ish noodles from Hakubaru, which use annatto for color. I'd prefer that companies didn't dye their noodles at all, but if you're going to do it... annatto > riboflaven.

What about dried ramen, non-instant, not fried?

I've been well pleased with these noodles...

Hakubaku Organic Ramen

They are what I had last night.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Smithy
Adjusted link to be eG-friendly (log)

btbyrd · March 20, 2018

I've tried them before and should give them another try, as it's been a while. I remember them being good, but somewhat thinner than I was used to. I'll give them another try sometime soon. I'm definitely going to try the broth you mentioned. Looks very good judging by the ingredient list and the enthusiastic reviews.

I've been meaning to try the "baking soda/spaghetti" alkali noodle trick to see how that works, but I fear my sensitivity to soapy alkali flavors may pose problems.