Food is our common ground,a universal experience. – James Beard
I have craved Japanese ramen ever since I tasted it, the flavorful broth, soft boiled egg and a juicy piece of meat. Everything about this meal hits every taste bud just right, unfortunately, all my American finds didn’t follow me back home. A trip to Thailand reminded me of my love for this dish when I stumbled into a Japanese restaurant and found this magnificent meal on the menu. Finding ramen in JNB is like searching for treasure, I’d have to travel miles till my lips can slurp some goodness, in that case I may as well just fly to Japan. I decided to find an easy, quick way to satisfy my constant cravings and it’s probably the best thing that could have ever happened!
So this isn’t the most authentic recipe, but I used my own memories from all the bowls of ramen I’ve had in the past and came up with my own little version…
INGREDIENTS:
- Chicken broth/stock
- The meat of your choice (sliced pork belly works best)
- Soy sauce
- Sriracha
- 1/2 onion finely chopped/ 3 Tablespoons onion powder
- 2 Teaspoons garlic paste/ 3 Tablespoons garlic powder
- Vegetables of your choice [carrots, green beans, green onion, mushrooms]
- Noodles of your choice [or if you’re making one serving you could use the noodles in prepackaged ramen, because laziness]
- Eggs
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Heat up your water to a rolling boil, add your eggs and cook for about 7 minutes.
- Start by preparing your broth (see package for details) – make sure the amount of water you use doesn’t kill the flavor of the broth/stock. Add some garlic and onion (I prefer the onion and garlic powder, that way you can add it in after your broth starts to heat up but if you’re using paste and a whole onion then you should add it before the water, when your pot is hot enough)
- Your eggs should be cooked by this point, remove and place in a bowl with cold water and a lot of ice. Let it sit for about 2 minutes, in that time you can make a little concoction that gives the egg a distinct taste (it’s not the actual way the ramen egg is made but it works) Add some soy sauce, enough for all the eggs to be dunked in, and then add some sugar and mix. Start peeling your eggs and placing them in the soy sauce, let it sit in the mixture till you’re ready to serve.
- While your broth is simmering, add some soy sauce and the vegetables you have chosen, let it simmer till the vegetables are soft. (I like to add extra veg in there that I can ladle out to use as garnishing when plating)
- Whilst the broth simmers start cooking your noodles, when cooked, DO NOT ADD TO THE BROTH, keep it separate!
- Cook your choice of meat. (I like to cook my mine in an air fryer, only because there’s already a lot happening on the stovetop and the meat stays juicy in the air fryer)
- Add some sriracha sauce to your broth for a little bit of a kick, or your favorite hot sauce, don’t add too much, rather add it after you’ve dished your own up and add spice to your own broth.
- Strain your now cooked noodles and start plating.
- To serve, place cooked noodles at the bottom of your bowl, ladle some broth over the noodles, add your meat, ladle your soft boiled egg out of your soy sauce and cut in half, garnish with some cooked vegetables, green onion, I like to add some chili flakes and some of the onion powder over everything. (You can add whatever toppings you may prefer)
- SLURP ALL THAT GOODNESS!!! – Don’t forget to take photos and tag me on Instagram: @itsb_yan_kur
… And there you have it, a mock up version of ramen but it does satisfy the cravings. Hopefully, you try it out and make it your own and let me know if you’ve come up with your own version of ramen or added to this recipe, I would love to try something you’ve come up with too!
xoxo
B.
Itsbyankur 