Shoyu Pork Ramen Noodles

In our last free issue of Bon Appetit magazine (September 2013), they're featuring a recipe for pork shoyu ramen. Shoyu is a type of soup base made with soy, and their version sounds wonderful. The only thing is, it takes 3 days to make.

We are crazy about authentic ramen dishes, but not so crazy that we'd plan ahead to start making the broth one day, cooking the meats the next, and assembling the soup on the third day before serving. Granted, it's not a whole lot of work, it's just that we're a bit more spontaneous about dinner than that. So we took their recipe, made a few short-cuts, and loved the results.

If you start this recipe in a crock pot, final touches and assembly at the end will take only about 10 or 15 minutes. This makes a quick and easy restaurant-quality dinner for a weekday meal!

I'd made chicken stock the week before because I had boiled some chicken thighs with vegetable scraps to make Cranberry-Chicken Pasta Salad. Chicken broth from powdered bouillon or canned broth works, also. If you can't find kombu, the thick dried Japanese kelp that flavors the broth, or dried Bonito fish flakes, drop in a fish bouillon cube from Knorr or Better Than Bouillon. The flavor boost is fantastic.

Crazy about ramen too? Try our Spicy Chili-Chicken Ramen.

Ingredients

For the soup

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
2 4x2" pieces of kombu
1/4 cup bonito flakes
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sake
2 tbsp rice vinegar
6 cups chicken broth or bouillon
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 5-oz can bamboo shoots
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" coins

For the garnishes

3 large eggs

Six 5-oz packages fresh wavy ramen noodles, or 3-oz. packages dried wavy ramen noodles (try to find ones that haven't been fried)

About 3 tbsp chili-garlic paste

About 3 tbsp sesame oil

Directions

Tie up the pork shoulder in kitchen twine so that it doesn't fall apart during cooking. In a large stock pot, brown the pork on all sides in the oil. Place the kombu, bonito flakes, soy, sake, vinegar, chicken broth, garlic, half of the green onions, and ginger into the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until the meat is tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Note: this part can be done in a crock pot on low heat, simmering hands-free all day.

Remove the pork from the stock pot and allow it to cool. Strain the broth through a sieve and return to the pot; if there are less than two quarts of stock, add more water or broth. Place the bamboo shoots and carrots in the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a separate pan, cook the noodles according to the package directions, then drain and set aside. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then gently add the eggs, and boil for 7 minutes. Rinse them in cool water, then peel them and slice them in half. Slice the pork into 1/2" circles.

To assemble the bowls of soup, divide the noodles between six deep bowls, then divide the pork between them. Ladle the soup and vegetables over the noodles, then add an egg half to each bowl. Sprinkle with the other half of the green onions. Bring the chili-garlic paste and sesame oil to the table, and let each diner drizzle over the soup as much as they choose.

Serves 6.