There’s only one way to improve upon the pure culinary genius of birria ramen: use Umi Organic noodles. And you don’t have to use take-out birria consomé (broth) or spend hours making it. By using a pressure cooker and boneless stew meat, this pared-down version of the exquisite Mexican stew makes it a more weeknight-friendly endeavor without sacrificing any of the complexity. There’s a lot of variation in the birrias made in different regions of Mexico, but this version, with its earthy, less-tomatoey adobo, is probably most similar to birria from Jalisco. This recipe makes enough birria for 6 bowls of ramen plus at *least* 6 birria tacos, but it would be a ton of food for one meal — feel free to spread the love with leftovers! Like all stews, this is even better the next day.
Serves 6
2 each guajillo and ancho chiles
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 pounds lamb, goat, or beef chuck stew meat or a roast cut into 2” cubes
2 teaspoon kosher salt (plus 1 tsp MSG, optional)
2 teaspoons oil
1 medium white onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, smashed
½ cinnamon stick (or ¼ tsp ground cinnamon)
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon ground coriander seed
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1-inch ginger root, peeled and grated
1 quart unsalted beef stock
1 15-ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 12-ounce packs of Umi Organic Noodles
Toppings: Minced onion, chopped cilantro, and your favorite hot sauce for serving (we love Marshall’s Haute Sauce red chili lime with this!)
Directions:
In a small pan over medium heat, toast the chiles and the cumin seed until fragrant, about 2 minutes, shaking the pan and flipping the chiles midway through cooking. When they’re cool enough to handle, remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and transfer the chiles and cumin to a spice grinder. Process to a fine powder.
Season the meat with the salt, then heat the oil in the pressure cooker. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, brown the meat on all sides (using the browning function if using a countertop pressure cooker), removing the meat to a bowl with tongs in between batches. Add more oil if necessary, and stir-fry the onion and garlic for about 2 to 3 minutes, until they begin to caramelize on the edges.
Add the ground chiles and cumin along with the remaining spices, and stir them around for a second before adding the beef stock. Scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, then return the meat to the pot. Add the tomatoes and vinegar plus enough water that the meat is covered by about an inch of cooking liquid. Affix the lid of the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the pressure cooker to depressurize on its own, then carefully remove the lid and adjust the seasoning to taste. Keep the consome at a steady simmer while you prepare the noodles.
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. 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. Divide into six bowls. Ladle the consomé into the bowls, then top each bowl with a generous scoop of birria, as much onion and cilantro as you like, and a splash of hot sauce.
Heather Arndt Anderson is the author of four books about culinary history and the former garden editor of Sunset Magazine. If she could only eat one thing for the rest of her life, it would be noodles.
