"Homemade Ramen with Bacon & Soft-Boiled Eggs

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• Toppings:
• Yield: 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
• Red pepper flakes, to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon white miso paste (or more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (or to taste – the miso already adds quite a bit of salt)
• 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 cups ramen noodles (use fresh if you can - dried work in a pinch, just make sure to discard the included seasoning packet)
• 2 cups stemmed and chopped baby spinach leaves
• 1 shallot, very thinly sliced
• Soft-boiled or poached eggs (I usually do 1 egg per person)
• Chopped scallions
• Sriracha hot sauce (optional)
• Soy Marinated Soft Boiled Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago):
• For the tare sauce:
• 240 ml Japanese soy sauce see notes below
• 1 piece kombu
• 120 ml mirin
• 120 ml cooking sake
• 1 leek
• 1/2 cup bonito flakes
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 inch ginger thinly sliced
• 8 cloves garlic crushed
• 6 extra large eggs about 65g each

Details

Adapted from yestoyolks.com

Preparation

Step 1

To prepare the ramen egg:

In a medium saucepan, add all the seasonings and bring it to a boil. Switch to lowest heat and gently simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve. Let it cool and set aside.

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Make sure you have enough water to fully submerge all the eggs.

if you take the eggs straight out of the refrigerator, place them in a bowl of warm water (104 F / 40 C) for 1 minute. The water should be a little warmer than body temperature.

Use a slotted spoon to lower the eggs into the boiling water gently. Cook for exact 7 1/2 minutes over medium-high heat. If the eggs are room temperature, boil for exact 6 1/2 minutes.

Prepare a bowl of ice-water. Drain the hot water and transfer the eggs to ice-water and let them sit for a few minutes. Peel the eggs under running water.

Transfer the eggs to a zip top bag and pour the tare sauce over them. Squeeze out the air from the bag to marinate the eggs evenly.

Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Discard the sauce and transfer the eggs to a sealed container. Consume the eggs within 3 days.

Recipe Notes:
Any regular/ gluten-free soy sauce from Kikkoman, Yamasa or other Japanese brands is fine. I love Chinese soy sauce, but it tends to be saltier than Japanese soy sauce in general.
Most recipes commonly suggest 6 1/2 minute for the soft-boiled egg. While this cooking time works for me, do remember that it may vary depending on the size of the egg, egg's temperature, egg-to-water ratio, cookware, and even altitude. So do a few test runs and adjust the cooking time.
You can re-use the marination for 2-3 times or use it for ramen broth or chashu. The eggs would extract some liquid after marination. So the flavor is not as intense as the first time. I made a video for shoyu ramen a while ago and used the same sauce for the broth.

Place a pot over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Render until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside (this will be used as a garnish).

To the drippings, add the ginger, garlic, and lemongrass and sauté for 1 minute. Add the red pepper flakes and stock and bring to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Simmer for 30 minutes and then strain out and discard the aromatics (garlic, ginger, and lemongrass). Stir in the miso paste, soy sauce, vinegars, and toasted sesame oil and keep warm until ready to serve.

Make the soft-boiled/poached eggs at this point but do not drain the water when finished. Instead, return the water to a simmer and cook the ramen noodles for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

To serve, divide the baby spinach, shallot, and the cooked noodles between two bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles and top each bowl with the crisped bacon, soft-boiled eggs, scallions, and hot sauce. Serve immediately.

Ingredient notes:

If you cannot find fresh lemongrass in your grocery store, check the Asian/International aisle for jarred lemongrass in water. Works in a pinch!
Miso paste can be found in the produce or refrigerated section of most grocery stores. You can also order it online. It has a strong flavor with a super salty punch, so start out with a little bit and add more as needed. I found that 1 tablespoon was perfect for me.
The original recipe called for Chinese Black Vinegar, which I could not find anywhere for the life of me (except on Amazon). Not needing a millionth bottle of something in my pantry, I made do with a mix of balsamic and rice wine vinegars. While not as authentic, it still tasted great!