I had wanted to make homemade ramen for about 2 years after Laurie had mentioned that she made it once, but the effort involved as she explained making the broth for two days always deterred me. Nevertheless one day I just decided to go for it but instead of taking two full days to curate the broth, I wanted to expedite it using the Instant Pot.
Personally, I like shio (salt based) broth the best, and scouring the internet I found Lovely Lanvin’s recipe that seemed to be the easiest and the most flavorful sounding.
Ingredients
Soup Components
Chicken Stock Ingredients
- 4 pound whole chicken or cut up pieces
- Coarse Sea Salt (Maldon)
- 1 large onion, peeled & cut in half
- 1 2-inch piece fresh Ginger peeled
- 1 head of garlic cut in half lengthwise (no need to peel)
- Enough cold water to cover the chicken
Instructions
- Salt the chicken all over, inside and out, with coarse sea salt.
- Place chicken uncovered in the refrigerator at least 12 hours or overnight.
- The next day place Chicken and vegetables in the Instant Pot with enough cold water to cover the chicken.
- Cook on soup mode with an additional 10 mins.
- Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer after cooking.
- Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large container. You can store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months.
Katsuo Kombu Dashi Ingredients
- 4 cups Water
- 1 4 x 4 inch piece of Kombu (Kelp)
- 1 1/2 cups, or one big handful, of lightly packed dried Katsuobushi (Bonito flakes)
Instructions
- Combine the Kombu and water in a pot over medium-low heat.
- The water should be approaching a boil after about 20 minutes (adjust the heat if the water looks like it’s coming to a boil too soon or too slowly). Once the water comes to a boil, immediately turn off heat and remove the Kombu.
- Add the dried bonito flakes all at once. Wait until they absorb the water and sink to the bottom of the pot, about 20-30 minutes.
- Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve (You can also line a regular strainer with two layers of cheesecloth or paper towels). Do not squeeze the excess liquid from the bonito flakes, this will make the Dashi cloudy and bitter.
Shio Tare Ingredients (the flavor base for the Ramen)
- 2 Tablespoons Maldon Sea Salt (or your favorite sea salt)
- 2 Tablespoons Sake
- 1 Tablespoon Mirin
- 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Soy Sauce
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
- Since the broth and dashi take so very long to make, I make the toppings super simple. I might do some soft boiled eggs, fishcake sliced thinly, green onions, a couple pieces of dried seaweed, corn or bean sprouts.
Shio Ramen Soup Ingredients
- 5 cups of Chicken Stock
- 3 Cups of Katsuo Kombu Dashi
- Shio Tare
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large pot making sure all of the Tare ingredients dissolve in the soup.
- Keep warm on the stove until noodles are boiled and ready to serve.
Toppings
Soft boiled eggs
- Wait for the water to boil, then add in eggs and time for 4 minutes.
- Immediately remove from hot water and rinse briefly with cold water and set aside.
Fish Cake
- I just buy this at the super market.
Marinated Scallions
- 3 bunches of Scallions (white parts and light green parts), finely chopped diagonally, rinsed thoroughly in cold water and dried
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
Thoroughly mix all of the ingredients above in a bowl. Set aside.
Noodles
For the ramen noodles, I decided to make it fresh since I purchased a Philips Pasta maker. Again consulting my ultimate sous chef (Google), I found this recipe for the ramen noodles which I can no longer find online. It said to use 2 parts low gluten flour to 1 part high gluten and add a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (this gives it the chewiness). After reading this I realized I’d need to look up what low and high gluten flours were.
Normal Japanese noodle flour is considered low gluten (red bag), while Japanese bread flour is considered high (green bag).
I measured out a 2 to 1 ratio of the flours, allowed my Philips pasta maker to tell me how much water to add, then added a teaspoon of the sodium bicarbonate to the water to mix in once I set the machine up.
Sometimes I also add some flavoring to my pasta, so you can add a teaspoon of squid ink, curry powder, or other spices to increase the flavor profile of the noodle.
Mixing it all Together
Once all the soup items are done, I keep them on warming and begin heating up a pot of water that is seasoned with salt and begin making the noodles.
It takes ~ 5 minutes to make the noodles al dente, and then it’s ready to serve.
