MY BEST RAMEN
Ingredients
Broth
1 Onion, quartered
2 Sticks Celery, chopped small
1/2 Bulb Garlic, crushed
1 Leek, chopped small
2 Carrots, chopped small
250g Shiitake Mushrooms
2 Tomatoes
2 Sticks Lemon Grass, bashed
1 Chilli, halved
Thumb-sized Piece Ginger
1/4 cup/60ml Chinese Rice Wine
3 tbs Soy Sauce
3 tbs Tomato Puree
6 cups/1.5L Boiling Water
1/2 cup/20g Dried Mushrooms
2 Sheets Nori
1 Star Anise
1 cup/250ml Coconut Milk
1 tbs Miso Paste
Mushroom Mince
300g Mushrooms, of your choice, I used oyster
6 Spring Onions
1/4 cup/60ml Ponzu (Lemon infused Soy Sauce)
1/4 cup/60ml Maple Syrup
3 Cloves Garlic, sliced fine
1 tbs Gochugaru (Chilli Flakes)
My Dad’s Chilli Oil
5 cloves Garlic
1/4 White Onion
2 cups/500ml Flavourless Oil, like sunflower
Thumb-sized Piece Ginger, minced
2 cups/150g Dried Chilli Flakes
1 heaped Tbs Dried Garlic
1 heaped Tbs Dried Onion
1 Tbs Fermented Black Soy Beans, chopped small (optional ingredient)
1 tbs All Purpose Seasoning
1 tbs Brown Sugar
2 tsp Sea Salt
2 Cardamon Seeds
Serve with
Seared Pak Choi
Seared Asparagus
Spring Onion, chopped
Sesame Seeds
Noodles, tossed in chilli oil
Method
Broth
For the broth, place a large saucepan over a medium heat & add a little oil followed by the whole tomatoes. Let the tomatoes cook away for 5 minutes, letting them go golden. Next add the onion, celery, leek, carrots & mushrooms. Sauté for 15 minutes or until they’re all golden brown & everything has melted down. Add the lemon grass, chilli, garlic, ginger & a pinch of sea salt. Keep sautéing for a few minutes before deglazing the pan with the rice wine, tomato puree & soy sauce.
Cook the mix for another two minutes before adding the boiling water, star anise, dried mushrooms & nori.
Let the broth bubble away for at least 90 minutes over a low heat, stirring every now and then.
Strain the broth through a fine sieve into another saucepan & just before serving stir through the coconut milk & miso paste.
Mushroom Mince
For the mushroom mince, sauté the mushrooms in a large non stick pan until they are golden & slightly crisp. Meanwhile grill or roast your spring onions (scallions) until lightly charred.
When the mushrooms & spring onions are cooked, place them onto your chopping board & chop finely. Place them back into the pan, this time over a high heat. After a couple minutes of cooking add the ponzu (lemon soy sauce), maple syrup, garlic & chilli flakes. Stir fry for a further 5 minutes before serving.
My Dad’s Chilli Oil
Heat the oil gently in a small saucepan over a low heat with the garlic & onion. Leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile add all the rest of the ingredients to a mix bowl and stir well. When the oil has infused, carefully pour it into the bowl & stir really well.
Transfer the chilli oil to a jar once cooled & store in your fridge for up to a month.
To finish the ramen
First toss your noodles in a little chilli oil and sesame oil then bowl up. Pour over lots of broth, then top each bowl with lots of mushroom mince, grilled vegetables, chopped spring onion, sesame seeds & more chilli oil.
