Recipes
Japanese
Kagoshima Ramen

Kagoshima Ramen

Name: Kagoshima Ramen
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 4 h 25 min
Total time: 4 h 50 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 250 g pork neck bones; 1 chicken wing; 1.2 litre water; 2 cloves garlic; 10 g ginger; 2 spring onions; 1 dried shiitake mushroom; 1 green cabbage leaf; 100 g pork belly; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp mirin; 1 tbsp sake; 1 tsp caster sugar; 110 g fresh ramen noodles; 2 tsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp sesame oil; 3 g dried wood ear mushrooms (kikurage); 40 g beansprouts; 30 g menma (seasoned bamboo shoots); 3 slices takuan (pickled daikon); 0.5 tsp salt

The southern Kyushu bowl: a milky but gentle pork broth softened with chicken and vegetables, medium-thick straight noodles, soy-braised chashu, wood ear and a drizzle of garlic oil, with a slice or two of sweet takuan pickle on the side.

Mains 25g+ protein 8g+ fibre

290 min25 prep · 265 cookMedium1221 kcalper serving

Instructions

Put 250 g of pork neck bones and 1 chicken wing in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil hard for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse the bones under running water, scrubbing off any dark scum, this is what keeps the Kagoshima broth pale rather than muddy.
Return the bones to the clean pan with 1.2 litre of water, 1 garlic clove, 10 g of sliced ginger, the green tops of 1 spring onion, 1 dried shiitake and 1 cabbage leaf. Boil uncovered over high heat for 30 minutes so the fat emulsifies, then lower to a steady simmer for 3 hours 30 minutes, topping up with hot water to keep the bones covered. Strain through a fine sieve; you want about 500 ml. Discard the solids.
While the broth simmers, roll 100 g of pork belly into a tight cylinder and tie it with string. Put it in a small pan with 150 ml of the strained broth (take it once strained, or use water and swap later), 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of mirin, 1 tbsp of sake and 1 tsp of caster sugar. Cover and braise at a bare simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes, turning twice, until a skewer slides in with no resistance. Leave the chashu to cool in its liquid, then untie and cut 3 slices about 5 mm thick. Reserve 2 tbsp of the braising liquid as tare.
Soak 3 g of dried wood ear in warm water for 20 minutes until swollen and soft, then drain and shred finely. Slice the white of the remaining 1 spring onion thinly on the diagonal and rinse in cold water.