Sophie Attempts… Ramen

As you might know by now I am a huge lover of Japanese food. I’ve always wanted to try and make ramen but I understand that to do it properly you need days – the broth is going to taste a lot better if it sits for longer. However, I wanted to try my own version at home, using the things I have in the cupboard to see if I could get remotely close to the same affect.

I thought I would start a new series on my blog where I try some new things and give you a recipe to go alongside it. Technically I could just put out a recipe for ramen but I think I would be doing everyone a disservice to not acknowledge the fact it is my first time making it at home.

The last thing I want to do when writing a post on another cultures dish is to disregard its origin. Ramen is a huge part of Japanese culture so I have done my research and will link some useful articles if you want to learn more about its history. Likewise if you want to make a more authentic version I will link some recipes and articles at the end of this post.

You might have noticed that I’ve been calling Ramen a Japanese dish but it actually originated in China and travelled over to Japan in the nineteenth century with Chinese tradesmen. However it was culturally swept up in Japan where instant noodles and the commodification of the dish took over. Thus we largely view Ramen as a Japanese dish. If you want to find out more about where Ramen originated check out this article.

The Ramen dish we (being my sister and I) were creating was based off of the miso we had in the cupboard. We’d never cooked with it before and wanted to explore its taste in a more traditional setting. Thus this recipe was born.

Chicken Miso Ramen

Ingredients

Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 tbsp of Soy Sauce
1 tbsp of Sesame Oil
1 tsp Ginger

Broth

2 Spring Onions. – 2 Garlic Cloves.
2tsp Sesame Oil. – 1/3 tsp of chilli flakes.
1/2 tbsp Ginger. – 960ml/2 Chicken Stock Cubes.
1 tin of sweetcorn. – 1 tbsp of Miso Paste
1 nest of Egg Noodles *traditional ramen noodles are better if you have them*
handful of spinach

Garnish

2 eggs. – 2 Spring Onions. – Sesame Seeds – Nori.

Recipe

Set the oven to 200 degrees (fan)
Start by boiling 2 eggs for 7-8 minutes. Once done leave to rest in cold water.
While the eggs are boiling prep the seasoning for the chicken by finely chopping the garlic and ginger (ginger can be grated or ready done) and then combine with the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl.
Place the chicken breasts on a covered baking tray and rub the seasoning mix into the chicken breasts.
cook them in the oven for 20 minutes (or until cooked).
while the chicken is cooking prepare the chicken stock cubes by dissolving them in 960ml of boiling water. If you want to reduce the saltiness of the broth or are changing the recipe to be vegetarian you may use vegetable stock and swap out the chicken breasts for an alternative.

Now we are focussing on the broth. Start by finely chop 2 cloves of garlic.
gently heat 2 tsp of sesame oil in a pan with the ginger, garlic, spring onion and chilli flakes. Cook until fragrant – you want the spring onion to release its bitterness while also avoiding burning the garlic.
once fragrant add the stock, season with pepper and bring to the boil
Simmer for 15 mins.
Once the chicken is cooked, slice or shred it into your desired amount/shape.
next dissolve 1 tbsp of miso paste into the broth and add the sweetcorn and noodles
now cook until the noodles are at your desired texture and add a handful of spinach.

Now it is time to assemble your ramen, first de-shell the eggs. I simply take the back of a spoon and hit the egg to then take the shell off. Once de-shelled cut the egg in half.
Nori is an optional topping, if you want a hint of seafood then this is a great addition. Take however much you want and cut it into small rectangles.
Finely chop the remaining 2 spring onions.
place the broth (noodles, veg etc.) into a bowl
place the chicken, egg, nori sheets and spring onion onto the broth
finish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

And there you have it, an extremely comforting bowl of Ramen. This recipe does have quite the warmth in terms of spice but in essence I would say it was very tasty. Especially for my first try.

The good thing with Ramen is it is so easy to switch up and the ingredients found in this dish can make so many other fabulous Japanese dishes, so its worth having them in your cupboard.

If you’re in Edinburgh or Glasgow then check out the Ramen from Maki & Ramen (I mean if you’re going to have the dish in your name then it must be good right!). Particularly the Tonkotsu ramen, it was spectacular.