I was sending noodles to friends of friends in California, and they asked for a real, start to finish, traditional ramen recipe. For the most part, we’ve included various recipes for broths, but almost always they include shortcuts, nontraditional ingredients, and other tricks to make them less work and more approachable. But that’s not always what people want! Some people want a big cooking project, the kind that takes planning and several days of effort. They want it because they love cooking and they know that the reward, even if it presents as a single bowl of soup, will be worth the effort. And we know exactly who to turn to for just such a recipe: our dearest friend Naomi Molstrom.
Naomi is the master of inspiring from-scratch cooking. She isn’t posting the same dishes as the rest of the internet. She is following her specific appetite and opening up our minds. Case in point: her recipe for cold ramen, which was something I never imagined, and is truly unlike most anything I’ve ever eaten, but is very special and worth the effort. Chicken ramen is among Naomi’s favorites, and so we asked her to share recipes for her favorite variations. She shared two, both built with the same shio-dare—the intense salty flavor base that seasons the broth. What follow is her chicken paitan broth and instructions for how to build a bowl. The word paitan means “white soup,” a reference to the cloudiness of the broth. This in intentional, as fat is emulsified into the broth, creating a rich, creamy mouth feel. The second recipe is for a shio chicken ramen made with a clear chicken broth, or chintan, which is lighter, cleaner and also wonderful. This recipe calls for both chicken backs and chicken wings, as the wings provide necessary collagen to build the body for a classic paitan broth.
As Naomi tells us, making broth is time consuming, but once everything is ready to use, making ramen is super quick. The secret is to do each step one at a time over a few days. This recipe requires your scale, measuring cups, pressure cooker, immersion blender or table top blender, and determination. But boy, and wow, is it worth it! Please report back. Did you make it from start to finish? How was it? I cannot wait to hear!
Step 1: Shio Ramen Base (aka Shio-dare)
1 dried shiitake
1 2x2-inch piece dried konbu (kelp)
180 milliliters water
10 grams bonito flakes
10 grams grated ginger
10 grams grated garlic
32 grams sea salt
10 milliliters mirin
10 milliliters soy sauce
3 milliliters rice vinegar
2 gram brown sugar
Soak dried shiitake and konbu in 180 milliliters water overnight. Pour water, shiitake and kombu into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove konbu and add bonito flakes. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
While it’s still simmering, add ginger, garlic, salt, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar and stir well to dissolve. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain into a clean glass jar and store in the fridge.
Step 2: Chicken Paitan Broth
5 dried shiitakes
100 grams dried konbu (kelp)
500 milliliters water
4 chicken backs
2 pounds chicken wings
1 bunch green onion, rinsed clean
3 carrots, rinsed and scrubbed clean
2 yellow onion, halved
150 grams ginger, cut into thin slices
5 cloves garlic, crushed
100 milliliters sake
Soak dried shiitake and kelp in 500 milliliters of water overnight in the fridge.
Clean chicken backs with cold running water to remove blood. In a large pot of boiling water, poach the cleaned chicken backs and wings until they become white (about 1 min). Drain the chicken and rinse well with running water. Place the chicken, shiitake and konbu water, and all vegetables in a large pot. Add additional cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and remove konbu. Reduce heat to simmer and cook on low for two hours. Skim to remove scum carefully. Do not boil.
Remove all vegetables except garlic and transfer to a pressure cooker. Add sake and cook under high pressure for one hour.
Using an immersion blender, or a countertop blender, blend all contents, breaking the bones into small pieces the size of small pebbles (blend in a batches if using a countertop blender). Then boil over high heat for 30 minutes to emulsify the broth. Strain the slurry broth with a fine-mesh strainer while it is hot. If not using immediately, cool and store in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to assemble your ramen bowl.
Step 3: Ramen Toppings and Assembly
The following toppings can be prepared in advance, much like the shio base and paitan broth. This description is for 3 ramen bowls as Naomi would make at home. Divide quantities by 3 if you are preparing a single bowl for yourself. I also love a chicken broth with braised pork belly, and this classic recipe from Momofuku works for me every time. I usually make a whole belly, slice it up, and then freeze it so I can have pork belly with my ramen whenever I want. If I had pork belly on hand, I would omit the tofu, but pan fry it until it sizzles before adding it to the bowl.
1 package (12 ounces) Umi Organic ramen noodles
2 green onion
Chili oil
Either:
1 blocks medium firm Ota Tofu
1 tablespoon neutral oil
or:
Momofuku pork belly
4-1/2 cups Chicken Paitan Broth (above)
6-plus tablespoons Shio Ramen Base (above)
3 jammy ramen eggs
1 piece dried nori seaweed, cut into two-inch strips
Optional: Handful wakame seaweed, soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes until rehydrated and then drained
Ground white pepper to taste
Optional: Crispy fried onions (available at many Asian groceries)
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.
While the water is coming to a boil, cut off green tops of green onions and set aside for another use. Slice white bottons into long threads and toss with chili oil to coat.
Cut tofu into thin 1/2-inch rectangles. Heat oil in a sauté pan until glistening. Add tofu pieces in a single layer and cook until golden brown. Flip and cook on other side until golden. Set aside.
Tease apart noodles and add to boiling water. Cook for 1 minute 30 seconds. Use a timer so you don’t cook them too long! Drain in a strainer. Rinse briefly under running water to remove any excess starch.
Heat 4-1/2 cups of broth to a near boil. Pour 2 tablespoons of shio ramen base into each ramen bowl. Pour 1-1/2 cups hot broth into each bowl and stir well. Taste. Add more shio base if you want a stronger flavor.
Divide noodles between ramen bowl. Swish around slightly to loosen. Add tofu, egg, nori, wakame, green onion whites tossed with chili oil, and sprinkle some ground white pepper and crispy onions on top. Eat while it’s hot!
