LOS Global Kitchen: Shoyu Ramen

The pandemic has slowed down travel for most of us and while we’re stuck indoors, it’s forced us to be creative and come up with other ways to keep travel alive. I’ve decided to start a new series on this blog: the LOS Global Kitchen! In this series I’m going to try recreating many of the delicious dishes I’ve tasted around the world and share simple, easy to make recipes here, so you can try them at home too!

Let’s keep the travel bug alive! The first recipe from my LOS Global Kitchen is spicy shoyu ramen, inspired by my trip to Japan!

What is Ramen?

Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup with a broth that has been seasoned. It is often served with a variety of toppings and garnishes such as pork, bean sprouts, corn and seaweed.

There are three basic ramen flavours: Shio (salt), Shoyu (soy sauce and Miso (fermented soybean paste). If you’re in Tokyo, Shoyu Ramen is the most popular kind you will find.

Let’s break it down further. Ramen consists of three basic ingredients: Noodles, broth and toppings.

The broth is what brings your ramen dish together and gives it the deep flavor. For the noodles, you will usually find the curvy, wavy, thin noodles in ramen dishes. The best ramen dishes are usually made with freshly made noodles.

The toppings are where you get creative! You can put on whatever you like and this ranges from pork to menma (bamboo shoots) to negi (green onion). We’ll talk more on these later in this post.

Cultural Context

Ramen is one of Japan’s most loved dishes. There are countless ramen shops all around Japan, with each region having a different version!

It is thought that ramen originated in Japan somehow from China.

Some say that Chinese cooks set up a little noodle shop in Tokyo sometime in the early 20^th century while others say a famous scholar brought back a ramen recipe with him after escaping. Either way, we love ramen in Japan!

The best place to eat ramen in Japan is at ramen-ya, better known as ramen restaurants. These ramen-ya are usually located at busy train stations or road sides.

Don’t be surprised if you see a vending machine when you enter a ramen-ya! Vending machines are common in busy Japanese restaurants for ordering and paying.

Here’s how to make Shoyu Ramen at home!

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Ingredients

Makes 1-2 large servings

For the broth:

• 100g pork (ground or diced)
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1-2 grated garlic cloves
• ½ tsp. grated ginger
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce (or miso paste)
• 1 tsp. doubanjiang (a type of chili bean paste, a 1 tbsp. if you like extra spice)
• 1 diced negi (green onion, this can be substituted with shallots or leeks)
• 2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth
• White pepper, salt, sugar, sake 2 servings of ramen noodles (this can be replaced with angel hair pasta if ramen noodles aren’t readily available close to you)

Toppings:

This is where you get creative! You can put on whatever you like really or whatever is available to you at home. The most important part is to have variety! I would highly recommend boiled egg, green onions, corn and sliced cooked pork.

• Boiled egg (the best ramen has a boiled egg on top with a runny yolk)
• Corn kernels
• Green onion
• Pickled ginger
• Pork belly
• Seaweed slices
• Bean sprouts
• Menma (or seasoned bamboo shoots)
• Sesame seeds
• Black pepper
• Chili oil

Recipe

Preparation

Let’s start with preparing all the ingredients beforehand. The kitchen can get a little crazy after you begin! If you’re using ground pork then rinse and have it ready for cooking. If you’re using pork belly in your broth, dice some of the belly up and have that ready.  

Lay out all your seasonings so they are readily accessible when making the broth.

Chop up your green onion. I like to chop up the base of the green onion for the broth and tips for the garnish.

Set out all your toppings in different bowls so they are easy to grab when you are assembling.

Making the broth

To make the base for your ramen broth, start by pouring one tablespoon of sesame oil in a pot and turn on a medium heat.

Add in grated garlic, ginger, finely cut green onion (or leeks), soy sauce and doubanjiang to the pot. Mix well.

Add in your ground or diced pork and cook until the meat is cooked through. This should take about 5-8 minutes.

When pork is cooked and everything is combined, add in the chicken stock and let simmer for 5 -6 minutes.

Season the broth according to taste with white pepper, sugar, salt and sake.

Getting the ramen ready

While the broth is simmering, let’s get the ramen going.

Set a separate pot on the stove with water and cook the ramen as per the instructions on the packet. I used the medium egg noodles from the Asian selection at Woolworths. They took about 5 minutes to cook properly.

Strain them well and set aside until you’re ready to assemble.

Preparing your ramen bowl

Start preparing your ramen bowl by putting your noodles in first.

Next add in the broth.

Assemble your toppings

Now for the toppings. Prepare your pork belly – you can fry it on a separate pan with sesame oil and in some soy sauce for flavor. Slice up into thick slices.

Assemble your toppings by adding in the corn, boiled egg, chopped spring onion, pork belly slices, picked ginger, dash of black pepper and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. 

Tips and Tricks

Cook your ramen noodles in a big pot of water and do not salt the water like pasta. Ramen noodles cook pretty fast so make sure to prepare everything ahead of time.

Slurp your ramen! In Japan it is considered polite to slurp when eating. It’s a way to show the chef that you really are enjoying the meal. Some say it even enhances the flavor of the dish!

Ramen is sometimes served with sides such as gyoza (Japanese dumplings) or a bowl of rice.

Final Thoughts

Creating this dish at home was like taking myself back to the streets of Tokyo! The broth was so flavorful and the pork belly on top was delicious. I would really recommend trying to find proper ramen because the texture is quite different to normal pasta. Have fun with your toppings and lay them out so they look pretty! This is the best part of the dish!

Sit down at a table with a loved one and enjoy your bowl of Japanese warmth!