COMPLETE Japanese Ramen Recipe (Broth + Noodles + Toppings!)

Ramen made from my class at The Seasoned Farmhouse

Hey everyone, and welcome to my blog confessions of a cook! I don't usually do this sort of thing, but I am releasing my recipes for noodles, broth and toppings to all of my supporters and followers! Please subscribe to the blog if you think this food rocks your socks, and if you want to hear about more recipes and photos from me in the future!! The subscribe button is small, but right above this blog post, I believe. :) ENJOY these recipes! Please comment below with your thoughts and questions! THANK YOU! <3 --Kaori

Ramen made at home (photo by Shino Takahashi)

My mom and I made this bowl together in California :)

Ramen Soy Broth

(Feel free to double or triple the recipe if you would like to save some broth for future use!)

Broth Ingredients:

(makes enough noodles for 4 bowls)

2 lb chicken wings or other chicken bones (drumsticks or chicken back)

2 lb pork bones (can be bought at local Chinese market)

1 carrot, whole (no need to cut into pieces)

Two 3-b-6 inch pieces Konbu (thick Japanese seaweed)

1 cup dried shittakes, rinsed

1 white onion (whole, remove skin but don't cut into pieces)

1 leek, sliced in quarters and cleaned (or one bunch scallions)

10 cups of water, or enough to submerge the bones

Tare (Concentrated liquid to add to broth)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons soy tare (liquid remaining from the chashu pork)

1 tablespoon Mirin

½ teaspoon pepper

Method:

1. Rinse the konbu under running water, then combine it with the water in a 5 quart pot. Bring the water to a simmer over high heat and turn off heat. Let konbu steep for 10 minutes.

2. Remove the konbu from the pot and add the dried shittake mushrooms. Bring the water to a bowl, then turn the heat down so that the liquid simmers gently. Simmer for 30 minutes, until the mushrooms are plumpled and rehydrated and have lent the broth their color and aroma.

3. Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Remove the mushrooms from the pot with a slotted spoon, and add the chicken bones to the pot. Keep the liquid at a gentle simmer, with bubbles lazily and occasionally breaking the surface.

5. Skim and discard any foam or fat that rises to the surface of the broth while the chicken is simmering. After about one hour, the meat should fall away from the bone. If that's not the case, keep simmering until it does.

6. While chicken is simmering, put the pork bones on a baking sheet or roasting pan and brown them in the oven for an hour, turning them over after 30 minutes to ensure even browning

7. Remove chicken from pot and add roasted bones, carrot, onion, and leek to the broth. Adjust heat to keep pot at a steady simmer. Then simmer the pork bones for another 5 hours. Add water if the liquid evaporates to keep it at the same water level. However, after 4 hours have passed, refrain from adding additional water. (DURING THIS TIME PREPARE YOUR CHASHU, TARE, RAMEN NOODLES, EGG AND OTHER TOPPINGS, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT REQUIRE REFRIGERATION)

8. As the bones cook, remove the foam that appears at the top of the broth. Keep doing this. Leave the pot uncovered. Add more water to the broth if it is getting very low from evaporation, but stop adding water after hour 4 has passed.

9. Remove and discard the spent bones and vegetables, and pass the broth through a strainer lined with cheesecloth.

11. After broth is finished, pour 1 cup of strained broth into a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of the tare (the concentrated liquid produced after boiling the chashu in soy sauce), 1 tablespoon of the mirin, and a little pepper. Add the tare to taste, some people like the ramen broth to taste stronger, and others like it to have a light flavor.

12. Pour over top of cooked noodles, add ramen toppings, and enjoy!

Ramen Noodles:

Ramen Noodles:

(from Chef Marc’s Norecipes.com)

Noodle Ingredients:

(makes enough noodles for 4 bowls)

300 grams bread flour (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon Koon Chun Potassium Carbonate & Sodium Bi-Carbonate (Kansui)

Method:

-Make the noodles. Combine the kansui and warm water. Place kansui-water mixture and flour into a standing mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on low for 5 minutes

-Knead dough by hand for several minutes and then let rest

-Flatten noodles with an attachment or hand-crank to the “4” setting, or however thick you would like it.

-Or use a rolling pin to roll until very thin

-using spaghetti pasta cutter attachment, slice dough into noodles, or cut by hand, and cook in boiling water until they float to the top

-Drain noodles under cold water

-Place noodles in a bowl

Toppings

Toppings in uncooked form

Homemade bamboo menma (recipe from Momofuku), Ajitsuke eggs, nori seaweed, green onion

Uncut Chashu Pork, Onion, Carrot, rehydrated shittake mushrooms, and konbu kelp

Chashu (Sliced Pork)

Ingredients:

2 lbs pork shoulder (or more)

4 cups soy sauce

½ cup cooking wine

4 cups of water (for initially cooking pork)

1 smashed clove of garlic

1 tblspn ginger (just one piece, not chopped into little pieces)

string to tie up the chashu

Method:

• Wash the piece of pork shoulder and then tie knots around the piece of meat, going both vertically and horizontally. This will allow the pork to hold its shape while cooking
• Place tied-up pork shoulder into a small saucepan of water. Pork should be submerged in water. Cook the pork for 20 minutes in boiling water, flipping the pork after the first 10 minutes. Afterwards, dump water out.
• Pour all of the soy sauce into the saucepan, along with the ginger and garlic. Soy sauce should come halfway up the pork.
• Cook for 20 minutes on both sides of the pork, cook pork more if needed (if pork is not all the way cooked through)
• Save the liquid left over after cooking the pork! This will be used to add to the ramen broth later.
• Done! Refrigerate pork until cold, then slice into thin pieces. It’s important that the pork is cold before slicing so that it keeps its shape.

Soft-Boiled Eggs "Ajitsuke Tamago":

Ingredients:

3 eggs (enough for 6 bowls of ramen, since eggs will be cut in half) 

Water for cooking eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda (makes eggs easier to peel)

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)
ice bath made from lots of ice cubes and cold water

Method:

1. In a small pot, heat up water to a rolling boil.
2. Place the eggs in the water gently, with a spoon to prevent cracking. Water should be at a rolling boil as you place the eggs in. This helps the egg be easier to peel after boiling. Also, older eggs are more easily peel-able, so use your older ones first :). Immediately set a timer to 5 minutes.

3. After 5 minutes are up, immediately douse eggs in an ice bath to stop the cooking process
4. Peel shell off of the eggs very carefully, as the egg is still soft on the inside
5. Mix together the soy sauce and mirin in a small bowl. Place peeled eggs in the small bowl so that they are submerged more than halfway. Place a square piece of paper towel on top of the eggs and fold over the side of the eggs. The paper towel should soon absorb the soy + mirin liquid, which it is supposed to do.
6. Refrigerate for 1-3 hours, and the eggs are ready to be cut in half and used as toppings.

ENJOY YOUR FOOD!! AND PLEASE COMMENT BELOW TO TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS! THANK YOU <3  --Kaori