In case you wonder, the Chinese "中華料理" in the heading means "prepared or managed by Chinese". In Japan one very often see this qualification on the store signs at ramen shops that is ran by Chinese Japanese.
There are many time saving shortcuts I have developed form decades of cooking. The key is to prepare these items in big batch and keep in the refrigerator. This works very well even for one person.
While it is nice to stay true to the must have ingredients when preparing bowls of ramen for a photogenic presentation, I sometimes skip one or two for the sake of expediency. I also use various noodles often what I have on hand, so most of the time my soup noodles are not ramen for the sake of authenticity. In odd occasions I do prepare more the less true ramen, when ingredients, mood, and time permit.
This weekend I went look for ramen noodle made by Sun at my local Asian supermarket Uwajimaya. Finding the noodles took some work. I have looked for them many times at the sections where the store keep countless brands and types of noodles.
i also picked up a pack of unseasoned menma from Japan
A note on the trick to prepare great chashu in a bowl of ramen. Once you and your sous chef Chronos both done your job resulted in a melt in the mouth piece of chashu, the challenge is cutting it into photogenic slices. Put the braised pork in the refrigerator for a few hours uncovered. The piece of pork will slice easily with a sharp knife and the excess liquid would have evaporated. When plating the bowl, put the slices of chashu on top of the noodles before pouring the hot broth over it.
i seasoned up small batch of menma (right in photo) with some dashi powder and soy sauce; it is important to squeeze out the liquid of the menma before seasoning them so they will take on the flavor
I didn't feel like spending time to preparing a batch of half-boiled eggs ahead of time. I did make some freshly toasted nori but they are not in these photos. I already have a big pot of pork broth made with pig neck bone so that is the soup broth base. I prepared the broth for ramen in shoyu flavor.
i took the liberty to add a fair amount of boiled spinach - for a healthier meal
Any reasonable amount of vegetable added to a bowl of ramen ruins the presentation so most vegetable does not work. Spinach is unique that a good amount will wilt and reduce significantly in volume. They also soak up the flavorful broth. One technique that Japanese cook would do is to lightly squeeze the spinach into a clump to make for nice presentation. I generally am not too fussy on the presentation for making a meal for myself. The proof is in the taste, mouth feel, and textures.
Preparation of ramen has evolved in leaps and bounces in recent years and almost anything goes. It is very hard now to judge what is authentic, and I have very little hang up on the notion of authenticity, as long as the basic spirits are there.
so delicious with very hearty (as opposed to weak) broth - i recently like to add a drizzle of good sesame oil; note to self - next time roast some sesame seeds
The biggest challenge for making a good bowl of ramen for me is sourcing good quality noodles. Even here in Portland where there is a good size Japanese American population it is next to impossible to find. I really hope Sun would one day sell a big box of ramen noodles to consumers as they do for restaurants. I see no reason one cannot store the noodles in the freezer.Unfortunately the company currently only sells to businesses.
May be one day, I would decide to make my own fresh noodles as a challenge.
this time remember to add the nori for the photo op
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