Reheating time: 10-15 minutes- boil water!

Today is a good day. Many of you are new, (welcome, it’s great having you here!), so you may not know this- but ramen is my favorite thing to eat. Living in NYC gave me a window into the pursuit of the perfect bowl of noodles- and I was so dedicated to finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, that I ended up working at Mr. Taka (one of the best, in my opinion) for about 6 months while I was in between jobs. Needless to say, I spent most of my time there skimming stock. A worthy task for such an inexperienced newcomer to the scene. Skimming stock takes discipline, breeds consistency, and cultures a serious respect for the cuisine. Three things that I had not yet learned were important for crafting the perfect bowl. Now, don’t get me wrong- tonight’s dinner is nowhere close to the perfect bowl of ramen. I am still decades away from figuring that out. But it’s pretty damn good, and certainly hits the spot. Constant pursuit of perfection is important when you’re cooking anything, especially a cuisine that you respect and revere. So, with an open mind, and an empty stomach (totally ripping off Iron Chef every time I say this, but that show was also a formative part of my youthful passion for cooking)…

Get in there!

For the ramen- boil some water!

I’m gonna make this as simple as possible for you guys, but it’s still a bit of a process to get everything ready. It’s not that bad! Just bear with me. 

First things first, let’s caramelize the chicken breasts a bit. We don’t necessarily need to heat these through, cause the broth will help with that. But we do want to get some color on them, and bloom the flavors. I would recommend slicing before broiling. Starting at the wing joint, slice into ½” thick strips, at a steep angle, and keep the pieces shingled together. On a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil, arrange the chicken breasts for a quick broil under high heat. Broil, for 4-5 minutes, till the skin is caramelized and fragrant from the hoisin glaze. Once hot, set aside till you’ve built everything else for the bowl!

For the broth:

Warm all the broth over medium heat until it’s simmering happily. Equip yourself with a ladle, for scooping/portioning the broth once everything else is ready.

For the beans and peas:

Don’t need to do anything to these- they are cooked, and dressed, and will be warmed through by the broth. Or, keep them on the side, like a fresh bean salad!

For the noodles/building the bowl:

Best way to fire up these beautiful fresh noodles from Sun noodle co. is to quickly boil them, one parcel at a time, for 2 minutes. Get your water on, and equip your station with a scoopy-strainey-apparatus so that you can easily remove the noodles from the boiling water. Once everything else is good to go, drop in a bundle of noodles, cook for 90 seconds, scoop them out, give them a shake, and pop them right into the bottom of your bowl. Top with the beans + peas, pickled mushrooms, egg, scallions, sliced chicken, and finally, 12-16 fl oz of hot broth ladled over everything. Add some miso paste depending on your preference, and sit back to revel in the beauty of your one-bowl dinner! Enjoy 🙂 <3 WECO