Straight-forward Ramen

I absolutely love ramen; along with Mala xiang guo, this became an absolute staple of my dinners when living in Singapore, and it's been something I've been intent to add to my repertoire ever since being back.

However, a full, traditional Tonkotsu ramen requires a lot of ingredients that many of us are not likely to have in our homes all the time, not least the pork bones.

This first blog post is being written the day after I've moved into my new apartment, and as such, I thought it would be very fitting to make a recipe without using too many niche ingredients, or at least ingredients that I feel are key to always have in the cupboards.

Recipe (2 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 servings of ramen noodles (preferably soba, but any noodles will do, providing you follow package instructions

• Splash of sesame oil

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 knob ginger

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper

• 3 tbsp soy sauce

• 700ml chicken stock

• 1 tbsp rice wine (optional)

• 1 tbsp sriracha

• Splash of vegetable / sunflower oil

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into strips

• 1 tsp Chinese five spice

• 1 small carrot

• 2 eggs

• 2 spring onions

• Sesame seeds

• Knob of butter

Alternative toppings (if you can source them)

• Nori seaweed

• Sweetcorn

• Daikon

• Shredded leeks

Method

1. Finely chop garlic and ginger, thinly slice spring onions and cut carrot into thin matchsticks (or use a Julienne peeler).

2. Heat sesame oil on a medium-low heat and add ginger and garlic, cooking for a few minutes until fragrant but not browned.

3. Add stock, soy sauce, rice wine, sriracha, pepper and sugar, and bring to the boil

4. Whilst the base is simmering away, fry the chicken strips in the oil with the five-spice until cooked through, then add the chicken to the broth.

5. Add noodles to the broth and simmer for 3-5 minutes depending on brand, making sure that they don't clump together

6. Meanwhile, boil the eggs in a pan of water for 4 (soft boiled) to 6 (hard boiled) minutes, then peel and slice down the middle

7. Spoon noodles, chicken and broth into bowls, and top with egg, sesame seeds, shredded carrot and a small knob of butter