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Ramen




Source of Recipe


Dave


Recipe Introduction


You can buy ramen noodles at most grocers (in the Asian section) or in an Asian market. For variety, try using Udon or Soba noodles (we love the buckwheat with yam noodles we get at the Asian market). You can make a very tasty soup on your own following a few basics. Here are the ingredients
you'll need to have around:


List of Ingredients





For the soup base:
Kombu (or Konbo - a lot of things are phonetically brought to our language, so spelling varies) - a dried kelp or seaweed), and/or Instant Dashi - a powdered soup base much like the granulated broth mix. You can find non-MSG varieties, or Vegetable broth.

Noodles
Udon, soba, ramen, or other type of Asian-style noodle. Don't fear the Asian markets. If you've never been in one, it's a real treat. We find the freshest produce and the widest variety there. It's also fun to walk through the international section (and look at what little American foods they offer!). We can buy brown rice for about 1/5th the price of a 'regular' grocer, and chose from about 10 different varieties.

Add-ins:
Mushrooms - standard button sliced thin. Use one per person
Scallions - white and green parts, one-half per person sliced thin, and added just prior to serving (so it's a bit crunchy still)
Tofu - firm, sliced into little cubes about 1/4-1/8th inch, about 1 oz per person
Miso paste - light or dark, one tablespoon per person. The secret here is to mix the paste with a little water to get it creamy, then add that mixture to the soup after removing from heat.
Wakame - a dried, flaked seaweed. about a teaspoon per person.

Technique:
Add one cup of water for each person plus one for the pot. Add one inch of konbo for each person, plus one for pot. Add one sliced mushroom per person.
Heat to boiling and then simmer for 20-30 minutes. You can cheat here and use the instant dashi or broth mixture if you like, but let that go with the mushrooms for the 20 minutes in order to get the flavor of the mushrooms into the base.

Heat water in another pot for the noodles. You'll need 50g (about 1 3/4 oz) of noodles per person for a decent serving - adjust for your own taste (our daughter likes mostly noodles and our son likes mostly broth, while mom & dad like equal amounts of each).

Add tofu cubes to the broth when the water boils for your noodles (and put your noodles into the boiling water). Have all other ingredients prepared (slice the scallions, cream the miso, and measure out the wakame. The noodles go for about 8 minutes, so at 6 minutes past (2 minutes left), add
the wakame to the broth.

With 1 minute left to go on the noodles, turn the heat off the broth. Remove the konbo (toss it, or cut it into small strips and add back to the soup or save for a salad). Stir in the creamed miso and add the sliced scallions.

Dish the noodles directly from the pot into the bowls. Ladle in the miso soup on top of the noodles. Serve with sake or green tea (or both!).

Recipe