Ramen With a Japanese Man

My husband is a true and blue foodie. In some ways, it was great in the beginning. When we were dating we could travel and try all different kinds of unique and rare dishes. It was nice to bring him home for the first time and for him to dig in to my grandma’s kibbi with gusto. She’ll actually make it special just for him if he asks. However, now that we have kids, it’s not so fun. I find myself trying to cater to their likes and dislikes and also to appease a 36 year old man who has very distinct expectations in the kitchen. Many of the Japanese dishes I cook are not from his mom’s kitchen. She actually worked and was a single mom so he didn‘t really have the same childhood food memories that most of his fellow classmates in Japan did. In many ways it’s probably the reason he likes to be in the kitchen too. When I asked him to do a collaboration on his most favorite dish, shoyu ramen, his eyes lit up. Of course, I suffered silently through his schooling on how to do certain things in order to make the dishes. All in all, though, it turned out amazing and I have the recipe and videos to share with you so you can also try this mind-blowing ramen bowl!

Ingredients

(Chashu) Pork belly block 2 lbs

Green onions (tops only, not the bulb) 5

Ginger (unskinned and unminced) 1 chunk knob

Cooking sake 1 1/4 cup sake

Soy sauce 1 cup

Mirin 1 cup

Water (to add later) 1 cup

(Ajitama/Flavored Egg)

Eggs 4

Sandwich sized plastic bag 1

(Shoyu/Soy Sauce Ramen)

Noodles 2 packages

Menma (Bamboo shoots) 1/2 c

Nori 1 sheet

Green onion (sliced for plating) 1/4 c

First, you will need to fold your pork belly block lengthwise and wrap it with cooking twine. This allows the juices to remain in tact while cooking. Then you will place it in a pot of 8 c water with the ginger, 1/4 c sake and green onion tops. Do not place the top back on the pot as you want the water and sake to evaporate. Let the water reach a medium rolling boil for 30 minutes. After the water has boiled for 30 minutes, skim the fat that has floated to the top of the pot. Take the meat out of that pot and place it in a different pot where you will add the soy sauce, mirin, sake and water and let it slowly boil for another 2 hours. You can place the top on the pot for this part of the cooking process. IMPORTANT! Do not throw out the water in which you boiled the pork belly as you will use that for the ramen broth later.

Once the pork belly has finished boiling and marinating in the seasoned pot, let it sit until it gets cool and then place in the refrigerator so it will be easy to cut later. You can taste a little but don’t cut it as it will just fall apart. IMPORTANT! You want to make sure that you also save this seasoned broth as well. This has now become “tare” or the soy sauce stock that you will use for the ramen and also the “ajitama”.

Now that the different stocks and broths have been made we can make the “ajitama”. Boil about 3-4 eggs for 8 minutes. Do not let the shell crack when boiling normally as this will make it too salty when you marinade it in the “tare” later. After the eggs have become hard boiled remove the shells and place the eggs in a plastic bag with some “tare” completely covering them. These will need to be marinated for 12 hours or overnight.

Unfortunately, this dish is a two day process so you can’t really enjoy your bowl of ramen until the next day. In the meantime, try to refrain from snacking on the chashu in the fridge. Although, if you have some old rice you can make “chahan” or fried rice with it to satisfy the craving. If the chashu has cooled enough in the fridge you can dice 1/3 cup and make a fried rice with 1/4 cup of “tare” as the base.

The Next Day...

It’s now ramen time! Start by laying out your prepared ingredients so the bowl is easy to assemble. You should have slices of chashu, the “ajitama” cut in halves, nori sheet separated in to 1/4s, ”menma” (bamboo shoots), sliced green onion, minced garlic (if you like), rice vinegar (if you like), “tare”, water broth from the chashu cooked yesterday and noodles.

Start off by heating up the water broth from the chashu you cooked yesterday. This is the broth that was not yet seasoned with the soy. Overnight it may have developed a thick layer of fat. This fat can be skimmed and used for cooking with or frying with later. Also heat up a pot of water to cook your noodles. The noodles can be bought in the frozen section of your local asian market. You are free to use dry noodles if you prefer or if the other noodles are not available. In the bowl you are going to use, place a 1/4-1/3 cup of cold “tare”. It doesn’t need to be heated because you are placing the hot broth on it later. Boil the noodles for 4-5 minutes, making sure you check so it doesn’t get too soft. As soon as the noodles are almost ready, pour the hot broth on to the “tare” in your ramen bowl. When the noodles are ready, place them in a colander and shake off the excess water (like a real ramen restaurant). Then place the noodles into your bowl. On top of the noodles, place 3-4 slices of chashu, 1/2 of the “ajitama”, 1 tbs sliced green onion, 3-4 “menma” and stand up the 1/4 nori sheet on the side. You can add whatever else you like to the bowl. I enjoy minced garlic and some vinegar. Although, I’ve seen some who like to throw a dash of rayu (chinese spicy chili oil) or corn.

This is a dish you can just have fun with! It was a leaning experience for me and I enjoyed having the fun chance to enjoy making a food video with my husband. Next, I want to try miso ramen which is, actually, my favorite!

I’ve included a link to our two part YouTube video here👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Part 1

https://youtu.be/5zhRPNlRcqg

Part 2

https://youtu.be/vJJUVvJFZrM

I hope that you all enjoy the video and are able to try out the recipe. Comment here or on my YouTube Channel to let me know how the recipe went or suggestions on what you’d like me to try next. お召し上がれ！！！！