I am one of those people who just loves noodle soups. Honestly, I could probably eat them almost every day. I really enjoy the slight chew of a good noodle and the richness of a well-made broth. Throw in a couple slices of juicy and tender meat with a bit of vegetables, and I am in a happy place. Thankfully my family also gets really excited about noodle soups, because that gave me many opportunities to refine my efforts on a slightly smaller scale. 

Of course, I had to understand ramen. I think it was two, maybe three, years that I had broths and stocks bubbling, boiling and simmering 24 hours a day. The house smelled wonderful, if you enjoy those aromas, which I do. I might have had to replace the stove twice those years as I wore them out beyond repair. But the great part about that was I upgraded each time. At first, I worked on clear Japanese style broths, as they were not much of a stretch from the French methods I had been using for decades.

As I learned more, the methods almost became contrary. Western stocks were always delicately cooked at barely a bubble, whereas Eastern stocks sometimes are at a rolling boil for several days in a row. Another major difference is in the beginning. In many Eastern stocks, you boil the bones for five-20 minutes, then discard the liquid and scrub the bones and pot before returning everything to the cleaned pot with fresh water. In Western stocks, you would never discard even a drop of the stock unless you were skimming off fats and other bits of surface scum. 

You should never put salt in stock, as you never know how much you may reduce and concentrate it. In ramen, you make a tare, which is an almost salty and flavorful concentrate that “finishes” the seasoning of the broth. Often, a good ratio to start is one part tare to 10 parts broth. 

There usually are delicious pieces of meat that are tender, juicy and sliced thin. And of course, the ramen egg, which can be a six-minute egg that is peeled and marinated in often a soy sauce-based liquid. Other toppings include corn, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, squares of toasted seaweed, scallions and whatever you like to put in a delicious noodle soup. That is maybe the best part about ramen, besides how delicious it is; there are so many possible combinations of ingredients. I have found that a smaller number of ingredients is often better, too many flavors can be pleasant maybe, but at a point they just get lost in each other and nothing stands out. 

Noodles. I mentioned how much I love noodles, or any pasta in general if I am being honest. In its simplest form, pasta is just flour and water. When making ramen noodles, the major differences, as far as I have come to appreciate them, is you use a high protein flour, it is a drier dough, and you add alkaline. For the alkaline I have baked baking soda which increases the alkalinity of the soda. 

If you are willing to prepare all the pieces, it is worth the effort. Once you know how to make ramen, it is not too difficult to translate those efforts and knowledge into one of the vast types of noodle soups from Eastern cuisines. 

Here is a version of Tonkotsu, a rich milky white pork broth with a delicious combination of toppings. My students served this recipe at Bistro Verde at Lincoln Land Community College, last fall as part of their menu. 

Tonkotsu

Ramen broth

Ingredients

• Pork bones 
• Pig’s feet 

Directions

1. Boil for 30 minutes 
2. Drain 
3. Clean bones thoroughly 
4. New water, boil for 4 days, refilling with cold water as needed

Ingredients

• Shitake mushrooms 
• Kombu (a type of seaweed) 
• Katsuobushi (bonito flakes) 

Directions

1. Add mushrooms 
2. Cook for 3 hours 
3. Turn off heat 
4. Add kombu and katsuobushi 
5. Let steep for 45 minutes 
6. Drain carefully and slowly.  
7. Do not press 
8. Strain and reserve 

Tare 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Soy sauce 
• 1 cup Mirin 
• 1 cup Sake 
• 1 cup Brown sugar 
• 4 inches, sliced ginger 
• 8 cloves garlic 
• 4 each Scallions 
• 1 t Salt 

Directions

 

1. Combine all ingredients.  
2. Simmer 
3. Strain, reserve 

Noodles

Sun Noodles is a great brand to purchase

Ingredients

 

• 400 grams bread flour
• 6 grams baked, baking soda
• 170 grams water

Directions

 

1. Knead everything together
2. Roll out on a pasta machine, or by hand
3. Cut to desired size
4. Toss in flour to avoid sticking, and reserve until needed

Pork belly 

Ingredients

 

• Pork belly, 1-2 pound piece 
• 1 cup Soy sauce 
• 1 cup Mirin 
• 1 cup Sake 
• 1 cup Brown sugar 
• 6 inches, sliced ginger 
• 10 cloves Garlic  
• 1 bunch Scallions 

Directions

 

1. Roll and tie pork belly 
2. Combine all ingredients 
3. Sous vide @ 167 degrees for 24 hours 
4. Chill and reserve
5. Slice thin, broil to caramelize for serving

Poached egg 

Directions

 

1. 6 minute boil 
2. Shock in ice bath then peel
3. Marinade-Soy, mirin, sake, brown sugar 
4. Place a clean paper towel on top to make sure eggs evenly marinade

Blanched bok choy

Directions

 

1. Blanch bok choy 
2. Shock 
3. Reserve 

Scallions

Ingredients

 

• Sliced scallions
• Scallion oil

Directions

 

1. Combine scallions and vegetable oil.  
2. Cook until scallions are very caramelized, not burnt- but close. 
3. Strain and reserve oil. 

Seaweed squares

Purchase locally

Assembling

1. Cook noodles
2. Pour 1 ounce Tare into bowl
3. Pour 6-8 ounces hot broth
4. Add noodles, make them look nice
5. Add all the toppings and enjoy immediately

About

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.