Japanese home-style chicken ramen: Just what you needed!
Perfectly soft boiled egg, a rich broth-based soup and handmade noodles
| PREP TIME | 30 m |
|---|---|
| COOK TIME | 9h |
| SERVES | 5 to 6 |
Ramen noodles:
300 gms all-purpose flour
3 egg whites
1 gms salt
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
1 gms baking soda
1 to 2 drops of yellow food colour
Broth:
1 whole chicken on the bone
300 gms beef bones (optional)
100 gms chicken feet (optional)
150 gms leeks
30 gms garlic
50 gms white onion
10 gms Kombu (edible kelp)
10 gms Katsuobushi (dried tuna flakes)
3 gms salt
20 gms dried shiitake mushrooms
2 l water
Tare Shoyu:
50 gms dry fish
300 ml shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
20 gms Katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
½ tbsp chicken bouillon powder
150 ml alcohol-free mirin
100 ml rice vinegar
10 gms Kombu (edible kelp)
10 gms ginger
20 gms white onion
Ramen egg (Ajitsuke Tamago)
200 ml dark soy sauce
50 ml light soy sauce
50 ml alcohol-free mirin
10 gms sugar
100 ml water
For toppings:
Spring onions
Nori (seaweed)
250 gms chicken breast
Chili flakes (per taste)
Garlic oil (store bought)
Chili oil (store bought)
Making the noodles:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly and then add the egg whites, water, and olive oil. Mix all the ingredients to form into a dough in a bowl.
2. Cover the dough with a cling film and rest it for 30 minutes. The dough will not significantly rise.
3. Dust a cutting board with flour and knead the dough for a few minutes. Cut the dough into 4 pieces and form each piece into a flat rectangle shape with your hands. Take one piece and cover the others with a tea towel while you work with the first piece of dough to keep them moist.
4. Roll out the dough until it is as thick as noodles, around 1.8mm or less. Then pass the dough through a pasta machine to cut it into noodles. If you don’t have a pasta machine, cut the dough into noodles using a knife.
Making the broth:
1. Blanch the bone-in chicken for 30 seconds.
2. In a separate pot, add the chicken, and roughly cut vegetables and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture boils, add the bonito flakes and simmer for 9 hours on low heat.
3. After 9 hours, strain the broth.
Note: You can keep the stock in the fridge for up to three days.
Making the Tare Shoyu sauce:
1. Fry the dried fish until they are golden in colour.
2. Add the white onion and ginger, and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the shoyu, mirin, rice vinegar, and kombu.
4. Keep cooking until the mixture comes to a boil, then add the bonito flakes and lower the heat and simmer for two hours.
5. Strain the liquid and then the sauce is ready.
Making the ramen egg (Ajitsuke Tamago):
1. Mix all the ingredients in a deep bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves completely and set aside.
2. Boil the egg for 6 minutes and immediately add to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Once it cools down, peel the egg.
3. Add the peeled egg in the sauce for 2 hours. The egg should change in colour after marinating in the sauce.
Cooking the chicken:
1. Cook the chicken in simmering water for 2 hours on the lowest heat.
2. Then pan sear it until it is golden in colour.
Plating:
1. In a ramen bowl, add a ladle full of Tare shoyu and then the noodles. Coat the noodles in the sauce. Then add broth as per your liking.
2. Top the ramen bowl with chopped spring onions, nori, seared chicken cut into strips, dry chilli flakes, garlic oil and chili oil. Serve warm.
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