Barton - Ramen Cookbook: Quick and Easy Japanese Noodle Recipes for Everyday to Made with Local Ingredients

Ingredients for 4 portions

• 1 Pork loin (pork fillet), in one piece, approximately (approx.) 500g
• 1 Soup chicken (frozen)
• 1 piece of Ginger root, approx. 8 cm
• Water
• 100ml Soy sauce, Japanese
• 100ml Rice wine or sake
• 500g of soup noodles
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 bar of leek
• 4 Carrots
• 1 Nori sheets
• 100g of Bean sprouts (fresh)
• 3 Eggs
• 3 Spring onions
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon (tbsp.) of sugar

Preparation

Total time: approx. 5 hours 45 minutes

The broth:

1. Mix the soup chicken with a stick of leek, an onion, three to four cloves of garlic, five centimeters of ginger, a pinch of salt, three to four carrots and a handful of algae (optional) in cold water. Add enough water to cover the chicken completely. (Choose pot size so that everything plus two to three liters of water fits in well - a five-liter pot is ideal).
2. Bring to a slow simmer, and let it simmer for at least 3-4 hours. The broth becomes even more delicious with cooking times of 6 - 8 hours. If there is foam, you can skim it off, but its unnecessary.
3. The broth should not boil too much - just simmer gently. The longer this broth cooks the better. Then sieve the broth. I do not use boiled parts. It is better to use a good real soup chicken, not a chicken.

The loin:

1. Briefly sear the pork loin in a pan on all sides until it is slightly brown. Don't fry too long - just lightly brown. Then put in a saucepan and pour in 100ml soy sauce (I use Kikkoman because it is naturally brewed) and 50ml to 100ml rice wine (I use Chinese rice wine). Add 1 tablespoon of sugar, a sliced spring onion (with the green and only a little of the onion) and 3cm of grated fresh ginger. Pour in a little water so that the loin is almost completely covered with liquid. Then bring the liquid to a simmer. Let it simmer again slightly.
2. After 40 minutes, take the loin out of the liquid and set aside. Then cut the loin into slices (approx. 2 - 3 mm thick) before it comes into the soup.
3. The loin should come from a good butcher - there are amazing quality differences. A good loin is very tender and juicy after this procedure, not tough and dry.

The eggs:

• Cook four eggs hard and peel them. Put the eggs in the loin broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn again and again so that they are evenly browned by the brew. When they're done, cut them in half and set them aside.

The pasta:

1. You can make your own noodles while the broths are cooking (recipes for this can be found in this book) or use Chinese soup noodles from the Asian shop. I've had very good experiences with quick noodles, and even spaghetti in them tastes very good. If you have a well-stocked Asian shop, you may even get ramen noodles or fresh ramen noodles.
2. According to the instructions, always cook the pasta strictly hard, not too soft.

The soup:

• When the chicken broth is ready, put it in a saucepan with the loin broth and season with a few tablespoons of soy sauce and another shot of rice wine. You can add salt, but the soy sauce should actually provide enough salt. Then let everything boil again. You can also add water, depending on how strong or diluted you want the soup. I leave the broth pure without adding water. When the soup cooks, all other ingredients should be ready for the next step, especially the pasta.

Garnish:

• Scald the bean sprouts with hot water in a sieve. Cut the green of two spring onions into rings. Cut small strips (approx. 2 x 3 cm) from the nori sheets.

The finish:

1. Put the soup in a bowl and add enough pasta, so that the pasta reaches just below the surface.
2. Add two or three slices of the loin. The loin can be sprinkled with coarse pepper.
3. Place half an egg on the edge of the shell with the egg yolk facing up.
4. Sprinkle a small handful of sprouts and spring onions over it and then add the nori leaf.
5. Enjoy the sight of the soup. Eating with chopsticks and sipping the broth loudly - it tastes best this way.

Recipe:

• The cooked loin can also be placed on a bowl of rice and poured over with the loin broth. Also very tasty as an alternative dish.

The soup is actually not complex, but it takes a lot of time because all the ingredients have to be cooked for a long time to develop a unique taste. It really pays off not to get hectic with the broth, and allow it the necessary cooking time. The recipe is a kind of basic recipe. The broth can be further refined (e.g. with algae or dashi) or pork bones can also be cooked alongside the chicken. A whole lot is also suitable as an inlay for the soup - just experiment or check out what others are doing online.

The soup is very invigorating and also amazingly filling.