Nga Nguyen

Shoyu ramen

Hubby (with his middle-aged friends): Life teaches us our limits.

5 minutes later…

Hubby (with kids): The sky is the limit! You can do anything!!

Shoyu ramen

(Adapted from Simply Japanese)

Serves 6

Dashi concentrate:
500 ml water
5 g dried kombu
10 g katsuobushi

Meat broth:
6 chicken wings
2 lbs pork shoulder
3 liters water
1 onion (halved)
1 carrots (peeled, cut into 1″)
1/4 daikon (quaterred)
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 leek
100 ml sake
4 slices fresh skin-on ginger
4 garlic cloves

Cha-shu marinade
225ml soy sauce
3 tbs sake
1 tbs mirin
1 tbs sugar
1 piece dried kombu

Marinated soft-boiled eggs
6 eggs at room temperature
1 tbs distilled white vinegar
2 tsp salt

Soup broth
Meat broth (above)
Cha-shu marinade (above)
2 tbs oyster sauce
4 tbs nutritional yeast
Salt

To serve:
Cooked ramen
1 pkg bean sprouts (blanched in boiling water for 1 minute)
Sliced cha-shu marinated pork
Halved marinated soft-boiled eggs
4 scallions (thinly sliced)
6 small nori sheets
Ground pepper

To make the dashi concentrate:

  1. Put all ingredient in a small saucepan.
  2. Boil over medium-high heat.
  3. Then simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Let it cool.
  5. Drain and squeeze the katsubushi to get all the juice.

To make the meat broth:

  1. In a large stockpot, boil water.
  2. Blanch the chicken wings + pork shoulder for 1 minute. Drain.
  3. Refill water to the large stock pot.
  4. Add blanched chicken wings + pork + all remaining ingredients.
  5. Bring the heat to medium-high.
  6. When the broth starts to boil, reduce the heat to low-medium.
  7. Cover but leave a small crack.
  8. Simmer for 1h30.
  9. Remove the chicken wings + pork. Let them cool on a plate.
  10. Continue to simmer the broth for another 30 minutes.
  11. Add the dashi concentrate.
  12. Uncover and simmer for another 45 minutes.
  13. Discard all the vegetables.

To make the marinated eggs and pork

  1. In a small saucepan, boil water + 1 tbs vinegar + 2 tsp salt.
  2. Add eggs.
  3. Cover and cook for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
  4. Add the eggs to iced water and allow to cool.
  5. Peel and put the eggs in water for 1 minute to remove the egg smell.
  6. Drain.
  7. In a large ziplock bag, put all ingredients of the cha-shu marinade.
  8. Add the cool eggs and pork.
  9. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and zip it.
  10. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  11. Remove the eggs and pork.
  12. Halve the egg and thinly slice the pork.
  13. Keep the marinade.

To make the soup

  1. In a stockpot with the meat broth, add the cha-shu marinade from above.
  2. Add oyster sauce + yeast.
  3. Heat over medium heat.
  4. Season with salt.
    • Note: The ramen is already salted, so the broth should not be too salty.
  5. Put some cooked ramen in a bowl.
  6. Arrange sliced pork and blanched bean sprouts.
  7. Pour the hot soup over the noodles.
  8. Add marinated eggs + chopped scallions.
  9. Decorate with a piece of nori sheet.
  10. Serve immediately.