8/14/2008

After watching the movie Tampopo, I was inspired to make my very own ramen. I didn’t want any instant stuff, I wanted REAL ramen with rich, real broth made from slow simmering chicken bones (or pork bones if you like). The result was an excellent ramen that is both healthy, low in MSG and fulfilling.

You can use ANY toppings on you ramen but I julienne some meat and vegetables to make a medley that rounds off an otherwise plain bowl of noodles.

For my noodles, I used 1 cup of all purpose flour,1 teaspoon salt, 1 egg and 2 tbsp of water. Knead until the dough becomes tough and satiny smooth. This is perhap the most labourious of all throughout the recipe but you will be rewarded with bouncy noodles at the end if you do this. I kneaded my dough for 10-15 mins nonstop. Important: Let the dough rest for 30 minutes before rolling it out thinly. I just ran it through my pasta machine and then cut them with my finest pasta roller on the same machine. Douse a lot of flour on the freshly cut pasta so they don’t clump up together.

For my broth, I laboriously boiled four chicken carcasses with a head of garlic, 1 cup of bonito flakes and a knob of ginger for close to 3 hours. But first, parboil your chicken carcass for 5 minutes first – this is key to getting a very clear broth with no grayish froth while you are boiling your broth. After 3 hours, sieve the carcass garlic and bonito flakes out. This will be your broth base.

To cook and assemble, I heat up a large pot of water, salted, and wait until it boils. While waiting for the water to boil, I took 2 tbsp of miso paste and added it into the broth pot – I stir to dissolve the miso and then season with some soy sauce. The broth is now ready to be used.

To cook and assemble, I heat up a large pot of water, salted, and wait until it boils. While waiting for the water to boil, I took 2 tbsp of miso paste and added it into the broth pot – I stir to dissolve the miso and then season with some soy sauce. The broth is now ready to be used.

Now that the water is boiling I tossed in my fresh noodles. It takes only 2 minutes to cook, once they start floating on the surface you can take them out into a serving bowl. Ladle the hot broth onto your soup and garnish with your favorite ingredients. I made some julienne red peppers, green beans, green onions/scallions and vegetarian mock meat as my topping but feel free to use beef, pork, chicken or seafood.

But anyway, I had to ask – What’s your favorite instant ramen?

Mine’s this: