BASIC RAMEN MAKING
Ramen is a Japanese adaptation of the Chinese Lamian, long wheat noodles.
Types of ramen are based on three main components: broth flavors, noodles, and toppings.
Ramen Broth Flavors
The three primary broth flavors of ramen are Shio, Shoyu, and Miso.
- Shio : is salt-based ramen broth
- Shoyu : is not regular soy sauce. it could partake a clear brown color
- Miso : The most umami-rich of the three ramen and the heaviest, miso ramen has a bolder and more complex flavor.
Tonkotsu uses shio or shoyu as a base broth flavor, then add that milky soup made from boiling the bones for hours. Originated in Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan.
Ramen noodle
Consist of four ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water, and kansui (a type of alkaline mineral water).
Ramen Toppings
- Chashu omits the roasting and simmers the meat block for hours in a sweet soy sauce.
- Menma is seasoned Lacto-fermented bamboo shoots.
- Seaweed: Nori
- Bean Sprouts The bean sprouts in ramen are precooked, either blanched or stir-fried
- Eggs: Ajitama 味玉) are marinated eggs in soy sauce and mirin.
STEP 1: NOODLES
Ingredients: serve 3-4
- WATER 90ml
- KANSUI 3g (Baked Baking soda or Kansui powder)
- SALT 3g
- BREAD FLOUR 300g
Method:
1. Stir well to mix water 90ml and kansui 3g, salt 3g.
2. Slowly add the liquid mixture to the ramen flour. (More consistence with food mixer or food processor)
3. Put into ziplock, wait 40min, and flatten with the roller. And wait another 40.
4. Cut into thin noodles for Tonkatsu ramen. It is best to use thin noodles.
5. Noodles are done.
STEP 2: CHASHU
For Rolled Chashu (Log) (Serves 8-10)
- 2-2½ lb pork belly block
- 2-3 green onion (substitute with 1 leek)
- 1 knob ginger
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc.)
- 1 cup sake
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 2 cups water
- ⅔ cup sugar
- Twine the pork belly and Sear the pork belly
- Add seared pork, water & sake into the pot and bring to boil.
- Add ginger and other ingredients & Turn the meat to marinate evenly.
- Sauce will become caramelized and meat becomes braised, with a sheen.
- Simmer on low heat, and cover with the otoshibuta at all times for the next 2 hours, turning the chashu every 30 minutes.
- Turn off the heat & Once the meat is slightly cooled, transfer it to a container.
- Strain the leftover cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer. You will have roughly 2½ cups of liquid. Marinate the Ajitama/egg with the liquid
- Leave overnight in the fridge.
- Slice and use a propane torch or broiler to sear the chashu slices to enhance the flavor. Enjoy them immediately or serve on your ramen.
STEP 3 : RAMEN SAUCE
- Regular dashi : Water 1 cup, MUSSELS/dried anchovy 200g )
- Veg option : Water 1 cup , 1 Kombu (1” X 2”) and 1 shitake. Remove all before boiling)
- USUKUCHI SHOYU 100ml
- KOIKUCHI SHOYU 30ml
- THAI FISH SAUCE 20ml (replace with soy sauce for veg)
- HON MIRIN 50ml
- COOKING SAKE 30ml
- APPLE VINEGAR 20ml
- CHINESE RICE WINE/SAKE KASU 50g
- HONEY 1tbsp
- SEA SALT 10g
- RISHIRI KOMBU 1pc
Method:
- Add all ingredients into dashi
- Start stove and stir to mix.
- Continue to heat until the sauce boils.
- Stop the fire and add kombu. (Best to store overnight in the refrigerator before use)
STEP 4 : SOUP
TONKOTSU SOUP (BROTH)
- PORK BONES 1.7kg
- PORK LEG 2pcs
- PORK FAT 1pc
Method:
- Add pork bones & pork leg 2pcs into boiling water.
- Start stove at high heat and bring to a boil. And simmer for two hours
- Pour out about 90% of the soup into a separate pot and leave aside.
- Add water until it is at the same level as before.
- Add fat pork 1pc into the pot. Start stove at the high fire for 90 mins and simmer
- Add water when needed until the soup become milky and white.
- Take about half of the soup from earlier on and add it into the boiling pot.
- Boil for about 60 mins and Add the remaining half of the soup.
- Continue to boil for about 40min; you can boil longer to get creamier soup.
- Strain before serving.
MISO BROTH (V), serve one
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ inch ginger
- green onion/scallion (white part)
- 2 tsp roasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp doubanjiang (spicy chili bean sauce/broad bean paste)
- 2 tsp miso
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- ½ cup dashi
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- Dash white pepper powder
To Make the Soup Broth
- Grind and crush the sesame seeds in a Japanese mortar and pestle
- Mince the garlic and the ginger.
- Separate the green and white parts of the scallion, and then cut into thin rounds.
- Set a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the sesame oil. Then, add the garlic, ginger, and white part of the scallion and cook until fragrant.
- Add the doubanjiang (spicy chili bean sauce/broad bean paste) and miso to the saucepan. Stir constantly so that they don’t burn.
- Add the sake and use a wooden spatula to stir and release the bits of the sauce attached to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Add the ground sesame seeds and soy sauce.
- add the soy milk, stirring constantly and making sure to dissolve the doubanjiang and miso. Then, add the kombu and shiitake dashi.
- Add a dash of white pepper and salt to taste. Turn off the heat and set aside.
STEP 5 : TOPPINGS
- Spring onion or leek
- Chashu
- Menma/Bamboo shoot
- Seaweed
- Ajitama/egg (Cook 7 minutes from the first egg in boiling water & Shock the eggs in ice water)
1. Cut spring onions.
2. Slice chasu, Using a kitchen torch, scorch the sliced chashu.
3. Spring onions, menma, aburi chashu
STEP 6 : ASSEMBLY RAMEN
- RAMEN SAUCE 30ml / 2 tbsp
- NOODLES 130g
- SOUP 300ml
- TOPPINGS
1. In a bowl, Add Ramen sauce 2 tbsp.
2. Boil noodles 130g for 1min.
3. Mix with sauce and soup 300ml.
4. Put noodles into the soup.
5. Put on toppings.