In early 2000s, I told my husband that ramen would be the next big thing, and that I should start a ramen shop. Now with the abundance of successful ramen shops all around me, I just mope over what could have been.
My husband loves ramen so when we get a chance to go to San Francisco, we head to the Westfield mall food court and have lunch at Ajisen Ramen. Their spicy miso ramen is one of my favorites. Whenever I have their ramen, I try really hard to perfect the ramen and broth ratio for each bite so that no liquid-gold-miso-broth would ever be left behind.
Unfortunately, San Francisco is quite a ways out. If we don’t head to San Francisco, we get no ramen and that doesn’t sit well with me. I figured it was about time to make my own ramen. I googled a bunch of recipes beforehand, took a few notes from different recipes and combined them into a recipe that I thought would be good. Since it was my very first attempt at anything, I was certain that my family would run for the door. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case. The miso broth came out perfectly and the bowl of ramen with all the fixings looked absolutely gorgeous! For my very first time, I had to high-five myself.
What made the broth so good was 1, the fat from the pork stock and 2, the butter! Yes, there was butter in this ramen dish. I have never added butter to a noodle or ramen dish before. But that layer of pork fat and butter (I can never go Vegan!) worked so well together with the miso flavor.
The broth for my miso ramen was made of pork neck bones. I see that other people use ground pork but I really love having a piece of pork neck bone in my bowl of ramen. The meat is moist and flavorful from soaking up the spices and seasoning in the broth.
The pork stock was slowly simmered with garlic, ginger, scallions, Shitake mushrooms, and seasoned with sake (or cooking wine), spicy fermented bean paste, miso paste, soy sauce, sugar, and chicken stock powder. Yes, I know, chicken stock powder is cheating but it’s makes the pork stock so much better and full of umami flavor so sue me.
For the topping, I added a soft boiled egg, sweet corn sauteed with a generous amount butter (flavor!), sliced barbecue pork, sliced shitake mushroom (from the stock), a piece of pork neck bone (also from the stock), and and a sprinkle of black pepper.
For the noodles, I simply used store-bought fresh Japanese ramen. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Miso Ramen
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This miso ramen recipe delivers a rich, umami-packed bowl of Japanese comfort food. Featuring a savory miso broth, tender noodles, and a variety of flavorful toppings like sliced pork, soft-boiled eggs, and green onions, it’s a satisfying and delicious meal.
Ingredients
Ramen Noodles & Broth:
- 1 package fresh Japanese ramen noodles (2 lbs)
- 3 lbs pork neck bones plus 1 tablespoon salt for cleaning
- 4 liters water for stock
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots
- 6 whole scallions
- 10 large whole Shiitake mushrooms (about 0.5 lbs)
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon sake or Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1/2 cup miso paste
- 1 tablespoon chili bean sauce (Toban Djan)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
Ramen Toppings:
- 6 soft boiled eggs
- Small sheets of roasted seaweed (nori)
- 3 green onions (slice thinly)
- Shiitake mushrooms from stock (slice thinly)
- White or black pepper
- BBQ pork (Xa Xiu)
- 1 15–oz can whole corn kernels (sauteed or microwaved with 2 tablespoons unsalted butter)
- Roasted nori (seaweed)
Instructions
- Clean the Pork Bones: In a large stock pot, add pork bones and 1 tablespoon salt. Fill it up with water and heat on high. Wait for the water to come to a rolling boil then cook for about 5 minutes. Place a colander in the sink and drain the bones into the colander. Rinse the bones clean with cold water.
- Start the Stock: Clean the stock pot and return to stove. Add sesame oil and heat on medium high heat. Then add minced garlic, ginger and shallots. Saute until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Simmer the Broth: To the pot, add cleaned pork bones, water (4 liters), scallions, and Shitake mushrooms. Simmer on medium low heat for about one and a half hours.
- Remove all solids from stock: Bones, shitake mushrooms, scallions, etc. Don’t waste the bones or shiitake mushrooms! Reserve them for ramen toppings.
- Season the Broth: Season stock with sugar, sake/cooking wine, miso paste, chili bean sauce, soy sauce and pork/chicken stock powder.
- Prepare Toppings: Slice Shiitake mushrooms. Soft boil the eggs and peel them. Sauté or microwave corn with butter until warm. Slice green onions and BBQ pork.
- Assemble the Ramen Bowls: Cook ramen noodles according to package instructions. Divide cooked noodles into serving bowls. Ladle hot miso broth over the noodles. Add toppings: soft boiled egg, buttered corn, sliced Shiitake mushrooms, BBQ pork, roasted nori, and green onions. Sprinkle with black or white pepper.
- Serve: Serve immediately while hot. Enjoy with chopsticks and a soup spoon!
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Japanese
