Ramen is a soul warming, delightful dish. With a fascinating history rooted in both Japan and China, ramen comes in many different varieties. My favorite ramen experience was in Portland, Oregon, at Marukin Ramen in the Pine Street market. My sister and I took a trip to Portland last year on a rainy and chilly weekend. As we wandered the Saturday market, we craved some warm comfort food and eventually found our way to the ramen spot. We shared a bowl, thinking it would be a snack, and were surprised by what a deliciously warming and filling meal we'd snagged. I still remember the comfort; two travelers in a strange city on a cold day warmed by a hearty bowl of ramen in a busy marketplace. Sounds like a painting.
Sometimes I feel intimidated by rich, well known dishes, but if I can conquer Red Curry and feel good about it, I know I'm ready for a new challenge.
So what does it take to make a ramen soup? The basics are a lot of broth, veggies and seasoning, and of course, the noodles. I tried a ramen variety a few months ago and utilized my favorite sweet potato starch noodles for it. Sweet potato starch noodles have become a staple in my house; they aren't as heavy as flour noodles and I've used them as a spaghetti replacement and even in stroganoff. They leave me feeling less full, and though there is a texture difference, it does not bother me.
I stopped by an Asian market on my way home the day I decided to make ramen V2 on a quest to get ingredients for a few upcoming recipes. It's not exactly on my route home, so the more I can knock out, the better. I wound up walking out with 4 packages of various noodles, galanga, a new kind of tamarind paste (I am bound and determined to get Pad Thai right!), and a few other items.
In my discussion at the grocery, I probed into the particulars of noodles, and the owner recommended I use wheat noodles for ramen in place of the sweet potato starch ones due to the texture. I took his advice, naturally, and grabbed some.
The were rather spaghetti-like in appearance, but lighter. And took only 4 minutes to boil! Spaghetti is double that to make it to al dente.
The start of the ramen itself was as simple as most soups; I got out my dutch oven and sauteed some onion in avocado oil in medium heat for a few minutes until it began to soften. I then added in some white mushrooms, grated ginger and minced garlic and let them cook for another 2-3 minutes. Now I'm going to lose a couple of cool points here and admit that I used a tube of grated ginger. Listen, they are just so handy!
I then added the sriracha, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, apple cider and white wine vinegars, vegetable broth, water, chopped sweet pepper, and tossed in some dried shitake mushrooms. These are fantastic to keep handy just for times like these! The dried mushrooms are totally optional to add in addition to the fresh mushrooms, but as I'm a mushroom fan, I went full steam ahead.
I heated the pot to a simmer and let the flavors meld for about 10-15 minutes.
I let the soup get to a simmer, then started cooking the noodles in a separate pot. Then, I added the baby bok choy stalks to the soup and let it simmer for about 10 minutes as the noodles cooked.
The recipe I worked from originally called for cooking chicken thighs in the soup, however I decided to bake chicken (lightly seasoned with salt and pepper) separately, then slice it and add it in at the end. This gave me a veggie and a meat version of the soup (side note: to go truly veggie, skip out on the fish sauce).
The baby bok choy wilted after about 10 minutes and my soup was ready to go. I added some noodles and broth to a bowl, then topped it with some sliced chicken and fresh carrot slices. Gorgeous.
Though not pictured, I did actually make a ramen egg. This process is about as easy as it can get. Boil an egg for 7 minutes, then spoon that bad boy out of there and into a bowl of ice water. Peel shell and bam. If you have time, marinate it for 2 hours or so in a bowl of soy sauce, water, and vinegar (I used a mix of apple cider and white wine, but rice vinegar is best).
So how was it? Warm. Satisfying. Filling. All great adjectives to describe a meal. The simplicity of the recipe combined with the pleasing results made me a happy lady. And better yet...the leftovers keep well. 5/5, will make again.
Ramen Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon avocado oil (or cooking oil of choice)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh mushooms (shitake preferred)
2 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon sriracha
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 tabespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cups water
1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
2 tablespoons diced sweet peppers
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
8-10 baby bok choy stalks
2 tablespoons thinly sliced carrots
2 cups cooked wheat ramen noodles
2 soft boiled eggs (instructions below)
1 chicken breast, baked (optional)
1/4 cup sliced carrot (optional)
Instructions:
Heat avocado oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, garlic, and ginger, then saute for 3-5 minutes until garlic is fragrant. Add sriracha, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, white wine vinegar, vegetable broth, water, shiitake mushrooms, sweet peppers, and crushed red pepper. Heat to a simmer, then cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bok choy, then simmer for 10 more minutes.
While soup cooks, boil noodles per package instructions. Serve soup with cooked pasta and one soft boiled eggs, sliced lengthwise.
To make the soft boiled eggs, add eggs to boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and add to a bowl of ice water. Remove shells. For extra flavor, marinate peeled eggs in a combination of 3 parts water, 1 part soy sauce and white wine vinegar for 2-3 hours.
adapted from easy chicken ramen and easy homemade ramen
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