Takashi’s Shoyu Ramen

By RoketJSquerl

I was searching in vain for the perfect ramen noodles. While I briefly flirted with the idea of making the noodles at home, I took the advice of many commenters and purchased some rather remarkable frozen ramen noodles from Super H Mart in Niles. It couldn’t have been easier.

There is, however, no shortcut for the stock and the pork, two elements that really do take a couple of days to make, and yet are worth every single minute lavished on them. As I noticed a few weeks ago, the broth isn’t simply dashi. That would have been too easy. Instead it is a combination of a chicken stock and a shoyu base. All told, 16 of the ingredients are used just to create the broth.

The same care and attention is also given to the toppings, especially the pork. It is slowly simmered in water, and is then transferred to its own decadent braising liquid spiked with soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon and ginger. I could have simply stopped at this step and eaten the pork by itself. But I stayed strong, and braved the rest of the recipe.

Again, it’s best to think of this as a two day process, or you will possibly drive yourself insane. That said, once everything is prepped and ready to go, the actual construction of the soup takes minutes.

That’s also why I’m recommending you make the entire batch of each sub recipe. You’ll definitely make more broth, pork belly, and shoyu base than you’ll need for the final four-person recipe. But since you’re going to trouble of making ramen at home, you might as well make more than one batch. I just stuck all the extras in the fridge, and was able to quickly whip up batches of ramen for lunch for nearly a week. Plus, the stock and base can be frozen. But the pork is so good you’ll probably finish it off later that night.

Ingredients

• Make Ramen Chicken Stock:
• Day 1
• 4quarts4 quarts water
• 4pounds4 pounds chicken bones
• 1 3/4cups1 3/4 cups peeled and chopped carrots
• 1 1/2cup1 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1cup1 cup chopped leeks, white parts only
• 1/21/2 green cabbage
• 1/2head1/2 head garlic, halved horizontally
• 1-inch piece1-inch piece fresh ginger, smashed
• one10 xone 10 x 4-inch piece kombu, wiped with a damp cloth
• 1/2cup1/2 cup sake
• Make Braised Pork Belly:
• For the Pork Belly Simmer
• 1/2tablespoon1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 9ounces9 ounces pork belly
• 4cups4 cups cold water
• 1/2cup1/2 cup sake
• 1-inch piece1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
• For the Pork Belly Braising Liquid (Step 2)
• 1 1/2cups1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1cup1 cup Japanese soy sauce
• 3/4cup3/4 cup sugar
• 1piece1 piece star anise
• 1/2teaspoon1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 11 cinnamon stick
• 1-inch piece1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
• Start with the pork belly. Place a large skillet over high heat. Pour in the 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil. When it start to smoke, carefully add the pork belly fatty side down with a pair of tongs. Cook until golden brown, about two minutes.
• Repeat this process on all sides of the pork belly. Turn down heat if it starts to burn.
• Place the seared pork belly in a large pot. Add the 4 cups of cold water, 1/2 cup sake, and 1-inch piece of smashed ginger. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine all of the braising liquid ingredients in a 4-quart saucepan.
• Day 2
• Prep Ramen Ingredients:
• 1/2cup1/2 cup marinated bamboo shoots (available at most Japanese grocery stores)
• 8thin slices8 thin slices fish cake (naruto)
• 11 scallion, both white and green parts, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1sheet1 sheet nori, sliced in quarters
• Make Hard Boiled Eggs:
• 22 eggs
• 1tablespoon1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 4cups4 cups pork belly braising liquid
• When cool enough to handle, peel the eggs and discard the shells.
• Rinse out the small saucepan, and then set back on the stove. Add the peeled eggs and the pork belly braising liquid. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat, and let the eggs hang out while you finish the rest of the recipe.
• Make Shoyu Base (To be Combined With Chicken Stock, Above):
• one10 xone 10 x 4-inch piece kombu, wiped with a damp cloth
• 1 1/2cups1 1/2 cups white soy sauce (shirojoyu)
• 2cups2 cups water
• 1tablespoon1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1cup1 cup Japanese soy sauce
• 1 1/2cups1 1/2 cups dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
• Place all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. The reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain this mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.
• Make Ramen Broth:
• 4cups4 cups ramen chicken stock
• 1 1/2cups1 1/2 cups shoyu base
• Combine both mixtures in a medium-sized saucepan. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low and cover.
• Warm Pork Belly, Cook Ramen Noodles
• 4ounces4 ounces braised pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• four7-ounce piecesfour 7-ounce pieces frozen ramen noodles
• Turn the heat back up to high and bring water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to the directions on the packaging. Drain and immediately divide noodles between four bowls.

Details

Adapted from thepauperedchef.com

Preparation

Step 1

Build Your Ramen


Remove the eggs from the pork belly braising liquid and slice each in half.


Ladle 2 ¼ cups ramen broth into each bowl. Time to garnish!


It’s more photogenic to arrange these items in a circle on top of the noodes, but that’s really up to you. Either way, garnish each bowl with half an egg and a quarter of the of the pork belly slices, bamboo shoots, fish cake slices, scallions, and nori. Serve.