It won't be easy to make ramen at home, but enjoying this typical bowl of hot broth will give you great satisfaction. Here are the rules and tips for preparing a tasty ramen, the symbolic dish of modern Japan.
Ramen is a flat symbol of Japan as we know it today. It is found everywhere and there are many different types. This dish, which has become so well known in the land of the Rising Sun, is actually originally from China. Let's find out in the post how to prepare an excellent Ramen at home.
Practical information:
Difficulty: difficult
Preparation: 1 day (preparation of broth, roast, topping and dish).
Cooking time:
Broth: 2 hours in a pressure cooker or 5/6 hours in a saucepan (+20 minutes cleaning meat)
Roast pork: 1 hour (+2 hours of marinating)
Dose: 4 people
Presentation of the dish
Ramen is one of the iconic dishes of the Modern Japan. In books, films, anime and manga it is impossible not to find this famous bowl of pasta in broth.
"Ramen" ラ ー メ ン is written in katakana (the syllabary used to transliterate foreign words), as if to confirm the foreign origin of this dish, originally from China.
In Japan the popularity of ramen grew at the end of the Second World War, following a massive shortage of rice and thanks to the importation of flour into the country by the United States. The boom then occurred in 1958, when the "instant noodles”, Considered by some to be the greatest invention of the century!
Various types of ramen
There are different types of ramen that vary according to the composition of the broth, the type of spaghetti used and the accompanying toppings. Each region of Japan has its own version, and there are also some "Westernized" ones.
Ingredients
I propose you a broth that can be used as a base to create 3 different types of ramen (shoyu, shio and miso). For the “tonkotsu” version, just add the joints and legs of the pig to the ingredients (after having drained them with a first boil).
For the broth (about 2l):
1/2 chicken carcass (cleaned and in pieces)
3,5l of water
2 cloves of garlic
1 leek
15g ginger
150ml of sake (or white wine)
1 teaspoon salt
For the roast pork:
1kg pork loin
20g miso
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake (or white wine)
5g grated ginger
1 grated clove of garlic
¼ grated leek
Pasta and topping (classic):
Ramen noodles
Sesame oil
Roast pork
2 Eggs
Cipollotto
Nori seaweed
spinach
Shio ramen: 4 tablespoons dashi broth.
Shoyu ramen: 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
Miso ramen: 1 tablespoon of miso paste
Broth preparation:
In a saucepan, boil the meat for 15-20 minutes to remove excess blood and marrow. Drain and wash the meat under running water
in a pressure cooker, bring the washed meat to a boil together with the other broth ingredients. Foam will form on the surface: remove it with a sieve.
Close the pot, lower the heat and boil for about 2 hours after the whistle. (If you have a regular pot, cook for about 5-6 hours over low heat, adding water if there isn't enough to cover the meat).
When cooked, strain the broth through gauze and a colander.
Roast preparation:
Cover the loin steak with the miso paste, soy sauce, sake, ginger, garlic and grated leek. Leave to marinate for at least 2 hours e
bake in the oven (180 °) for 50 minutes / 1 hour.
Allow to cool, then cut into slices.
Ramen preparation:
Boil the eggs for 6 ½ minutes. Drain and let them cool in cold water. Peel them and set aside.
Prepare the bowls: add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to each one. Depending on the type of ramen you choose, add soy sauce, miso or dashi broth in the quantities indicated. Add 500ml of broth and mix well to mix the ingredients.
In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil (without salting it) and toss the pasta
at the end of cooking (about 1 minute, follow the instructions on the package), drain and divide it among the bowls.
Add to each bowl 2 slices of roast, half an egg and topping to taste. Serve hot.
Curiosities and Advice
The beauty of ramen is that it is a varied dish, so indulge yourself with the toppings!
If you want tastier eggs (ajitama), after shelling them, marinate them at least 1 day in the fridge in a mixture of 2 parts of soy sauce and 1 of mirin.
Meat and broth can be stored for a couple of days in the fridge. It is likely that some fat residues will form on the broth: you can remove them before reusing it.
Ramen is said to be consumed in less than 8 minutes so that the tagliolini do not lose consistency. This unwritten rule is almost a custom for the Japanese who eat it at an impressive speed, sometimes even on their feet!
