The path to the marvelous ramen. I have tried many ramen recipes and have spent many years trying to develop the perfect recipe and taste for me. This is a great broth flavor that I have achieved after plenty of efforts to create ramen. To balance the taste, it would be good to pour in mirin. This will add sweetness and a little sourness. If you do not have mirin, add a spoonful of sugar and rice vinegar. I’m making ramen with nori and wakame. You can also add combi seaweed, a small piece, about 5×5 cm. One chef has revealed the recipe for his perfect ramen, the taste of which I could not guess. It was lemongrass: it’s lovely, try it! Just go fresh or frozen. Not dried!

The tendency to cook Asian dishes becomes more and more popular among various groups of people worldwide. Authentic Japanese, Chinese, and Korean restaurants and bars are great ideas for start-ups: they are incredibly fashionable, unique, but pricey. Why not try to cook spicy chicken ramen at home? It will take around two-three hours, and the results will be delightful for you and your beloved ones. Learn how to make spicy ramen; it’s possible for all cooking levels!

Ramen: fun facts. The origin of ramen is one of the issues that interest a vast majority of people. So, where is ramen from? To be honest, ramen’s history is super complicated, and no one certainly knows where it originated. The debate is still going on if it is a Chinese or Japanese dish. The reason for that is noodles were called ‘Chuka soba,’ which is a Chinese term. However, Japanese people adopted it and gave their name – ‘ramen’. It is up to you to decide to which cuisine the ramen belongs.

How do you pronounce ramen noodles? The only correct way to pronounce ramen is “rah-men”. Webster’s Dictionary says that the correct pronunciation is “ra·men” – /ˈrä-mən/. The Cambridge Dictionary also reports that /ˈrɑː.men/. Therefore, the question of how to pronounce ramen should no longer arise.

How much does ramen cost? The price of the ramen is directly connected with the quality of its ingredients and the chef. The dish varies in price around the globe. For example, the cheapest spicy chicken ramen is $3, whereas the most expensive one is $400. Serve the most expensive ramen in a Sydney restaurant Gumshara. The broth is made from lobster heads and pork bones. Topped with a full tempura lobster and a golden lobster head. Of course, there are noodles, soft egg, bamboo shoots, green onions and nori.

The most expensive ramen in Tokyo costs $120 in Noodle Stand Tokyo, topped with 300 grams of Japanese wagyu, truffle oil, and gold flakes! I would love to try it!

Ramen Vs. Aspirin. Surprisingly, spicy chicken ramen noodles can cure the most severe hangover you can suffer from fun nights out with friends. The secret is that this spice mixture includes sodium, which recovers the salts you may lose due to dehydration. Ramen hangover is better and more delicious than aspirin for sure!

The etiquette of eating ramen. How to eat ramen? How to eat ramen with chopsticks? How to eat ramen noodles? These are the most asked questions by people who see the dish for the first time in their life! According to the etiquette standards, you should eat ramen as fast as possible. In Japanese culture, slurping is more than welcomed; it means the food is delicious and perfect! The only cutlery you should use are chopsticks and a soup spoon: just gather some noodles with chopsticks and put the spoon under the noodles to collect the rest.

Ramen calories. How many calories in ramen? Well, it depends on which type of ramen you are eating. Ramen is a high-calorie dish. 100 grams of ramen usually has about 400-470 kcal.

The other question is how many calories in ramen noodles? 100 grams of ramen noodles have about 450 kcal. From the dish, you should be full enough for an extended time.

How many carbs in ramen noodles? 100 grams of dry ramen noodles contains 60 grams of carbs, 15 grams of fat and 10 grams of protein.

How to reheat ramen? One of the specifications of ramen is that you need it as soon as it is served. What if you are in a situation where you have to reheat Picante chicken ramen, and there is no other option? No worries, we have a solution to this issue! You should strain the broth and reheat it on the stove or in the microwave and refill all of the ingredients. It is most likely for the noodles to absorb a decent portion of the broth. Therefore, you can dilute the broth with water and add soy sauce.

The other essential thing to know is how long does ramen last. It’s only about broth, right? The finished ramen cannot be stored. The broth must be filtered and stored for up to 4-5 days. The other option is to freeze the broth, then it is perfectly stored for several months.

How to prepare bok choy for ramen? It is super easy to prepare the bok choy for ramen! It is an excellent ingredient for hot chicken flavor ramen, as it adds more taste! Cut lengthwise into 2-4 pieces and rinses. Place in boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Bok choy should remain crispy.

I’m a big fan of all Asian food, I especially love Vietnamese cuisine. And I plan to cook the perfect Pho BO soon. How I would like to visit Vietnam! But unfortunately it’s not possible now due to the coronavirus. But I hope in the near future I will visit Saigon and use these recommendations for delicious places (уou can easily translate them using google translate).

All the photos of ramens below are mine. And you can see how many filing options you can make. I have signed all photos for convenience.

About main & additional ingredients

I don’t like ramen that is too thick and rich. I like ramen that you can eat every day.

EGGS. If you are lazy, you do not need to pickle them.

MEAT or SHRIMPS. I love it with chicken or shrimps. I cut out the bones from the chicken thighs and cook the broth from them (along with the wings). I bake the thighs with the skin just before serving and put them in the finished ramen. Nevertheless, you can cook all the meat in the broth at once. You can serve shrimp ramen as well. To do this, cook ramen on chicken broth. Peel the shrimps separately and boil them until they are ready and tender.

NOODLES. Egg or wheat noodles. I hate ramen with flat noodles; round noodles are much better. In the worst-case scenario, you can replace it with rice noodles. If there’s nothing at all at your home, you can even take Barilla spaghetti.

WHAT ELSE? Fresh spinach leaves or bok choy. If spinach, then it should be fleshy. But choose a young and small bok choy. Cilantro, green onions, and chili are desirable to add. Additional ingredients

MISO PASTE. I don’t like miso ramen, but if you do, add a spoonful of good (preferably light) miso paste at the very beginning of cooking before the broth boils.

KIMCHI. It won’t hurt to add some delicious kimchi. If you manage to get a high-quality one, cut and serve quite a bit separately so that everyone can add it to the broth (if they want)

SOY SPROUTS. It adds freshness to ramen. Add them quite a bit on top. Serve with nori slices or ready-made chips. Some people like to add corn kernels. I love corn very much, but I think that it is inappropriate here and adds extra sweetness. Edamame beans, on the other hand, are excellent.

So, the recipe. Let’s start cooking!

Spicy Chicken Ramen

Recipe

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

For broth

2 chicken wings + 2 chicken thighs
4 cm of a ginger root
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of dried wakame seaweed
1 nori sheets
1 fresh lemongrass stem
½ tsp of dry Hon Dashi stock
⅔ tsp Five-spice powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp of good quality and spicy sauce Sweet Chili
1,5 tbsp of mirin or (1 tbsp of rice vinegar + 1 tsp of sugar or honey)

For serving:

80 g (3 oz) of dry round wheat or egg noodles
4 chopped nori leaves ≈5×5 cm (optional)
Spinach or bok choy (4 spinach leaves or 1⁄2-1 bok choy per serving)
1 tbsp of cilantro leaves
1 tbsp of chopped green onions
Fresh chili (optional)
1 tsp of sesame

Marinated eggs:

2 eggs
2 cm of a ginger root
1 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of dark soy sauce (optional, it just stains the egg very quickly)
2 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of mirin (or 2 tbsp of rice vinegar + 2 tsp honey or sugar)
2-3 tbsp of water

INSTRUCTIONS

Broth:

1. Cut out the bones from the thighs. Set aside the meat. Cut the wings into 2 pieces at the joint.

2. In a saucepan with a thick bottom, pour 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil and lay the wings and bones. Fry quickly. Let the chicken turn golden; this will give the broth additional flavor and aroma. Pour a glass of water and scrape off with a spatula anything that is stuck to the bottom.

3. Crush lightly and peel the garlic, wash the ginger and cut into slices in the peel. Crush the lemongrass with the flat side of a knife and cut lengthwise into 3-4 pieces.

4. Add the Five-spice mix, lemongrass, ginger and garlic to the broth. Pour in 2 liters of cold water until it boils. Keep it on a low heat so that the broth does not boil too much..

5. Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil on a pan. Cut the nori leaf and fry with the wakame in a pan, stirring for about 30 seconds. This will reveal their taste. Gently, the algae begin to burn quickly.

6. When the broth boils, add Worcestershire, Soy, and Oyster sauces, Hon Dashi, wakame, and nori. Cook over very low heat about 2 hours. Try the broth; it should be slightly salty.

Now is the time to pickle eggs.

7. Return to broth after 2 hours. Add Sweet Chili, fish sauce, and mirin to it. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Marinate eggs for ramen:

1. To prevent the egg from cracking, before throwing it into boiling water, it must either be heated to room temperature or pierced with the tip of a knife. It’s not scary! Just place the egg on the surface with a towel or napkin, take a small knife and pierce with the tip of the knife until it clicks.

2. Place eggs in boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Put in cold water for 5 minutes. Peel the eggs.

3. Prepare the marinade. Grate ginger and garlic. Place in a small saucepan, cover with soy sauce, and heat to almost boil. Remove from heat, add remaining ingredients, and pour over eggs. Leave on for at least 2 hours. During this time, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Chicken:

Start cooking the chicken thighs for serving 30-40 minutes before the broth is ready.

1. Preheat the oven 230°C (450℉), or use the grill setting at full power.

2. Salt the chicken thighs sprinkle with cooking oil. Place skin side down into the oven-tray. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over and keep in the oven until they are golden brown (15-20 minutes).

3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds 3 minutes before they are ready. Alternatively, you can simply fry the thighs in a skillet or grill until they are cooked.

Noodles:

1. Place the noodles in boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain water and rinse if not using immediately. Place on plates.

Bok choy or Spinach:

1. If you are using spinach, sort out the leaves, rinse well with water to remove the sand, cut off the stems.

2. As for bok choy, cut it lengthwise into 2 parts if it is enormous by 4. Rinse well to get rid of any dirt between the leaves. Place in boiling water for 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Greens:

1. Pour cold water over the cilantro leaves. They will absorb water and become fresher and juicier. Slice green onions diagonally and slice chili thinly.

Putting ramen all together

1. Strain the broth, remove the meat from the bones, and place on plates. Keep the broth simmering over the small fire.

2. Place chopped and baked thighs on top.

3. Divide the noodles, bok choy, halved eggs into bowls. Put the nori leaves (optional). Pour in broth. Pour gently over the noodles. Add cilantro leaves, green onions, and chili (add to taste optional). Serve immediately!

Bon Appetit!

You can find a video recipe on the my channel