Category: Asian

Traditional Japanese Ramen

This is not the ramen you had in college

Okay, the bad news first, but don’t skip: This takes two days to make.

The good news is that it’s probably only a couple hours on Day 1, and a couple hours on Day 2. Mostly, you just have to plan ahead and commit – but it’s actually not that much work, and leaves a fair bit of room for creative interpretation.

It does have quite a few steps, but again, it’s not difficult; it just requires a little planning ahead. And the results speak for themselves.

Ingredients

For the Shoyu Pork Broth

  1. 2 tablespoons high smoke point oil, such as avocado
  2. 1 – 2 lbs Rando, cheap-ass pork products with bones (think hamhocks, pork knuckles, that kind of stuff – whatever you can get your hands on)
  3. 2 carrots, unpeeled, cut in half or thirds
  4. 2 dried chili peppers, found in the Mexican or Asian section of your grocery store
  5. 1 bunch scallions or green onions
  6. 2 large shallots, halved
  7. 1 head of garlic, halved
  8. 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock (32oz boxes x 2)
  9. 2-3 inch piece fresh ginger root
  10. Pinch bonito flakes (optional, can substitute 1 tablespoon fish sauce)

Dashi

  1. 3 or 4 pieces kombu (that’s seaweed)
  2. 5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms

Tare

  1. 2 tablespoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
  2. 1 tablespoon mirin
  3. 1 tablespoon sake (optional)
  4. 2 teaspoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar

Toppings

  1. Marinated eggs (1 egg per serving, so in this case, 6)
    • 6 eggs
    • 2 cups tea, room temperature
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • Pinch sugar
  2. Bamboo Shoots (canned is fine)
  3. Grilled Bok Choy
  4. Ramen Noodles (duh, about 8oz per person)
  5. Scallions or green onions, chopped
  6. Fresh shiitake mushrooms, sautéed
  7. Sesame oil (not the chili kind)

Protein

Can be your choice, but I like grilled chicken thighs or grilled pork shoulder

Instructions

Day 1: Prep

  1. Make the Shoyu Pork Broth:
    • Preheat the oven to 400°
    • Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray
    • Toss ingredients 1 – 6 (pork products, carrots, chili peppers, scallions, garlic and shallots) in 2 tablespoons oil, and arrange in a single layer on baking sheet
    • Roast 20 – 30 minutes (or longer) until nicely browned.
    • Combine roasted ingredients with chicken stock, ginger and bonito flakes and
      • in a large stock pot and simmer over low heat for 8 hours, skimming any scum off the top occasionally… or
      • Use the Instant Pot Stock Method (which, once you figure this out, why anyone would do the other thing, I have no idea).
  2. Make the marinated eggs
    • Bring 2 quarts water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan
    • While water is coming to a boil, prepare an ice bath (basically, just a large bowl filled with ice water, and lots of ice)
    • Carefully lower 4 – 6 eggs into the boiling water
    • Boil for 1 minute, then turn off the heat and cover tightly.
    • Allow to sit for 15 minutes
    • After 15 minutes, remove eggs and immediately transfer to the ice bath
    • Allow to sit in the ice bath for around an hour
    • Peel eggs under cold running water
    • Transfer peeled eggs to a tupperware or other lidded container, and combine with tea, sugar and soy sauce.
    • Refrigerate over night
  3. Make the tare
    • Combine all ingredients in a lidded container (a small tuperware container or mason jar is perfect here)
    • Shake to combine
    • Refrigerate over night
  4. Make the dashi
    • Combine dried kombu and shiitake mushrooms with 4 cups water
    • Refrigerate over night
  5. Marinate protein
    • Combine protein of choice with marinade of choice (say, 4-6 chicken thighs with 3 tablespoons mayo, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mirin, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a pinch of chili flakes for a teriyaki marinade)
    • Allow to marinate refrigerated over night

Day 2: Cook (begin about 90 minutes – 2 hours before you want to eat)

  1. For the Pork Broth
    • Remove the pork broth from the fridge and skim off any remaining fat or scum off the top
    • Reheat on the stove top and bring to a simmer, maintain a bare simmer until ready to serve (literally, it can just sit there)
  2. Remove dashi from the fridge
    • Allow to come to room temperature
    • Warm slightly on stovetop or in microwave
  3. Remove tare from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature
  4. Cook marinated protein, either on the grill, in a grill pan, or on the stovetop
    • I’m going to figure that you know how to do this. If you don’t, God help you. Just kidding. If you don’t, read this.
    • Slice into bite-sized strips
  5. Sauté bok choy, shiitake mushrooms and scallion
  6. Cook ramen noodles according to package directions

Final Assembly (Congratulations, you made it)

  1. Build the ramen base. In a large soup bowl:
    • Begin by pouring about 2 tablespoons of tare in the bottom
    • Add about 1.5 cups pork broth to tare
    • Add about 1/2 cup warm dashi
    • Stir in about 4-6 oz cooked ramen noodles
  2. Top your ramen:
    • Add protein to the bowl first
    • Next, add bok choy, mushrooms and bamboo shoots
    • Garnish with eggs, scallions and sesame oil

Thai Red Coconut Curry with Chicken

This delicious Thai dish is full of fresh, bright flavors and is the perfect balance between spicy, sweet and savory.  It also comes together in about 30 minutes, making it the perfect dish for a busy weeknight or some time when you don’t want takeout but aren’t wanting to spend a ton of time in the kitchen either.  Enjoy!

Time: 30 minutes
Level: Easy
Cost: About $4/plate (depending on which pantry essentials you have on hand)
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  1. 2-3 lbs chicken breasts, cubed
  2. 2 TBSP red curry paste
  3. 1 small onion, diced
  4. 1 small shallot, diced
  5. 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  6. 1 orange bell pepper, sliced
  7. 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  8. 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  9. Zest of 2 limes
  10. 1 TBSP fresh ginger, grated (or 2 tsp dried powdered)
  11. 1 TBSP anchovy paste or 2 TBSP Thai Fish Sauce (because umami!)
  12. 2 TBSP sweet Thai chili sauce
  13. 2 TBSP soy sauce
  14. 1 cup cheap saké (or chicken stock, if you don’t want to use alcohol), for deglazing
  15. 2 cans full-fat coconut milk
  16. juice of 2-3 limes
  17. 1 TBSP brown sugar
  18. 1 cup fresh basil, leaves roughly torn
  19. Garnish:  Freshly squeezed limes and cilantro (optional)
  20. White rice, for serving

Mise-En-Place

  1. In a medium bowl, mix curry paste and cubed chicken and set aside
  2. Prepare ingredients 3-7, combine, and set aside in a medium bowl (this is your base)
  3. Prepare ingredients 8-10, combine, and set aside in a small bowl (these are your aromatics)
  4. Prepare ingredients 11-13, combine, and set aside in a small bowl (this is your umami bomb)
  5. Measure out saké or chicken stock
  6. Open cans of coconut milk
  7. Measure out brown sugar and lime juice and mix together in a small bowl
  8. Prepare basil and set aside

Cook

  1. Add about 2-3TBSP coconut or olive oil to a large saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.  Add chicken with curry paste and sauté until chicken is ever so slightly browned (it doesn’t need to be cooked through) and fragrant.  Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve (it’s fine to put it back in the same bowl, you’re going to finish cooking it in the sauce later anyway).
  2. Lower heat to medium.  Add your base (ingredients 3-7) and sauté until onions are translucent and peppers have become quite soft, 3-5 minutes.
  3. Add your aromatics (ingredients 8-10), and continue to sauté until very fragrant, 1-2 minutes
  4. Add saké or chicken stock (flambé if you like), and bring to a boil, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer.
  5. Add umami bomb (ingredients 11-13) and stir well to incorporate
  6. Stir in coconut milk and brown sugar/lime-juice-mixture, and continue to stir until sauce is well incorporated.  Bring sauce to a boil and allow to reduce by approximately 1/3
  7. Add chicken (and any juices) back to the sauce and stir in.  Allow to simmer, 8-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
  8. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, stir in the fresh basil and cook for 1 minute.  Off the heat, cover, and allow to sit for 5 minutes to give flavors a chance to marry.
  9. Serve over white rice and garnish with a few squeezes of fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro.

Butterless Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

This dish preps in about 20 minutes, cooks all day, and then awaits you when you get home from work (or whatever you are doing).  The addition of yogurt makes it a bit healthier than the traditional all-butter-and-cream method, and adds a zesty tang to the final product.  Serve this over a bed of white rice and brighten it up with a garnish of fresh cilantro and a few squeezes of lime just before serving.

Time: 20 minutes (active prep), 6-8 hours (in the slow cooker)
Level: Easy
Cost: About $3 per plate
Serves: 4- 6

Ingredients

  1. 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  2. 1 medium white onion, finely diced
  3. 2 tsp garam marsala
  4. 2 tsp yellow curry powder
  5. 2 tsp cayenne powder (less if you can’t handle a bit of heat)
  6. 1 tsp cumin powder
  7. 1/2 tsp ginger
  8. 1 6oz can tomato paste
  9. 1 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
  10. 3 TBSP heavy cream (or coconut cream if you want it super healthy and you like the flavor)
  11. Optional:  If you like it a bit more “soupy”, you can add a cup of water or stock to the mixture.
  12. About 3 lbs chicken breast (or boneless thighs), cubed into 1 – 1.5 inch cubes

Instructions

Coat the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray.

Combine ingredients 1-7 in the slow cooker and stir well to combine.  Add ingredients 8-10 (and 11 if using) and stir well to combine again.  Add chicken and stir well to combine a third time.  Cover, and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

That was easy, wasn’t it?