Nuts for Noodles: Simple Homemade Ramen
I’ve been wanting a good bowl of ramen for a while now. Like since my last good bowl of ramen, which was way back in late August as I was traveling through DC. And by ‘traveling through’ I mean ‘I took the train from NYC to DC’s Union Station and then took the metro to Chinatown just to have a bowl of noodles at one of my favorite ramen shops and then continued on the metro the end of the line in Northern Virginia for a wedding rehearsal’.
I really, really like ramen.
But alas, there’s not a single decent (or even not decent) place to get it where I live, here in the dining desert that is the Lehigh Valley. And not being able to have something I want makes me want it even more.
So yesterday I was like: screw it. I’m just going to make ramen. How hard could it be?
It is actually pretty damn hard. Even the ‘simple ramen at home’ recipes I found online were overly complicated and ingredient-prohibitive. You see, first you need to make the broth. Do do this, you need kombu, which is a kind of dried seaweed sold exactly nowhere near me. And then you need to make the tare, or flavoring mixture. Which requires sake and/or mirin, neither of which I had. Then there’s the whole issue of the noodles, which can be difficult to find fresh. And the whole soft boiling and then marinating an egg issue. Oh–and I didn’t have any pork.
One would think that at this point I’d just give up and make a ham sandwich or something. But one would only think that if on didn’t know me. I wanted ramen, and ramen I was going to have. And do you know what? Even without most of the required ingredients, it was a darn good bowl of noodles. Behold how simple it can be:
Ingredients (General)
stock
protein
eggs
noodles
veggies
If that seems simple, that’s because it is. All you need to do to have something ramen-like is get ramen-like noodles, cook them, and place them in a bowl of hot broth. Then cover them with your choice of protein and veggies, and you’ve got a perfectly filling, warm bowl of noodle-y goodness.
If you’d like more detailed instructions, here’s what I actually did:
Actual Ingredients I Used
Serves 1 (because I am a lonely, sad human being who makes single bowls of soup)
3 cups turkey stock (from Thanksgiving turkey, frozen and then thawed)
1/4 pound ground turkey
1 egg
soy sauce
garlic vinegar
dry curly Asian noodles
fresh ginger
3 baby portabella mushrooms
1 green onion
half of a jalepeno
Directions
Eggs
-bring a small pot of water to boil.
-add eggs. Cook for exactly 7 minutes.
-remove eggs from boiling water, place in a bowl of ice water.
-peel eggs.
-cover eggs with soy sauce, vinegar, and water in equal amounts. Wait as long as you can. I gave it an hour; overnight would be ideal, but who can wait that long?
Broth
-bring frozen stock to a boil, adding one whole mushroom, a few large pieces of ginger scraps, and an inch or so of the green onion bottom.
-simmer for as long as you have. I simmered for about 45 minutes, because I was hungry.
-add about a tablespoon of soy sauce.
Protein
-sautee ground turkey (or sliced pork or chicken or tofu) in a hot, oiled skilled until cooked through.
-add finely diced ginger and green onion.
Noodles
-cook according to package directions.
Putting It All Together
-ladle hot broth into bowl.
-add noodles.
-top with cooked protein and raw, sliced mushrooms and jalepeno.
-add egg, sliced in half, runny side up.
-enjoy
Substitutions
If you don’t have leftover turkey or chicken stock, you can use any other kind of broth or stock you have on hand.
The eggs are absolutely not necessary. Of course, I love them so it was worth the extra effort needed to make them. But they are not required. You also don’t have to to marinate them. If soft boiling and peeling is all that you are up for, that’s fine. Put them in un-marinated. It’ll be ok. I promise.
Ground pork would work just as well as ground turkey, if not better. As would sliced roast pork. This would be a great use for any kind of leftover protein. Rotisserie chicken, marinated grilled tofu, even shrimp from an unfinished holiday shrimp cocktail ring.
Any raw veggies will work. I used mushrooms and jalepeno because I love them. You could also use shredded raw carrot or raw red or green peppers. You’re looking to add a crunch and some freshness, so anything crunchy and fresh will work.
***
The reason ramen is so complicated to make is because it really is quite simple. It’s a bowl of noodle soup, for goodness sake. If you keep that in mind, it can’t be intimidating. Who can’t make noodle soup, right?
So was this identical to the ramen sold in my favorite shops across the country? No. But it was as good, just in a different way. And I didn’t have to drive or fly anywhere to get it. Thus, it wins.
Happy slurping!
