Italian Ramen
About a decade ago, ramen was seen as nothing more than those $1 instant packets that had more sodium than a jar of pickles. Nowadays, ramen has evolved into a culinary icon that Japanese chefs all over the country cook up in their own unique way.
So that’s what I wanted to do, I wanted to figure out a way to incorporate the classic components of ramen but with some Italian flavors for a hopefully unique and delicious dish. Noodles in broth, or pasta in brodo, isn’t exactly a new thing in the pasta world, but of course I wanted to do this my way.
Coming up with what I wanted to do for this Italian ramen was quite the challenge for my creativity and palate. What I first needed to do was break down what makes great ramen so great.
The noodles: Those chewy, dense ramen noodles that grab onto the broth and give you the starchy goodness many of us crave. Ramen noodles are a bit different from pasta because they tend to be made with an alkali solution, often lye water or sodium carbonate, and that adds to the texture. How I can use that with my knowledge of pasta, we shall see.
The broth: The other half of what makes a classic ramen. That rich, flavorful broth is like butter to bread, gravy to Thanksgiving turkey, cheese to macaroni, it’s that flavorful liquid gold that would otherwise make it a bowl of dry noodles.
The flavorful oil: The unsung hero of the ramen world, this aromatic oil sits on top of the broth to give a nice aroma and also grabs onto the noodles for an extraordinary bite.
Toppings: As good as a bowl of noodles and broth is, there’s something satisfying about the textures and flavors you get from ramen toppings. There’s a lot of things people use to garnish ramen such as soft boiled eggs, pork belly, nori seaweed, pickled ginger, mushrooms, and much more so there’s a lot of room for possibilities there.
Ok, here is the plan, for pasta I’m going to choose bucatini as it is a long type of pasta that’s ideal for slurping up broth. I’ll make a really deep flavorful broth, a garlic-shallot flavor oil, and as for toppings I think I’ll use some of my favorite things like braised short ribs, egg, and some herb.
If it’s anything like I have in mind then it should be something very special.
How to perfectly soft boil eggs
To me, one of the best things you can put on top of ramen is a delicious soft boiled egg as the jammy yolk mixes with the broth to add even more richness and a bit of flavor. Soft boiled eggs can seem daunting as you want the whites to be set but the yolks to still be custard-like, but they’re actually quite simple and easy to make.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add just a splash of vinegar.
Use a slotted spoon spoon to gently lower the eggs into the water. As soon as the water comes back up to a boil, set a timer for exactly 6 1/2 minutes.
(It helps to put one or two extra eggs into the water, one to check for doneness and the other…for a snack)
Once 6 1/2 minutes are up, take the eggs out and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
(By the way, if you’re more of a hard-boiled egg fan then 11 minutes is golden.)
Once cool enough to handle, you can carefully peel off the skin and see if they’re done.
Serves 4 (Plus some extra broth)
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 8 hours (Most of that time will be spent letting the broth simmer)
For the Broth:
2 pounds chicken wings
3 pounds stewing beef. (oxtails, eye of round and beef back ribs are good for this)
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
1 whole head of garlic, cut in half
Vegetable oil
3 whole cloves
3 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt
For the Red Wine Braised Short Ribs:
3 pounds boneless beef short ribs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
4 whole garlic cloves, cut in half
Chopped leaves of 1 rosemary sprig
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine
For the Aroma oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Pasta and Toppings:
1 pound of bucatini or any long pasta (dried or fresh)
5 oz baby spinach leaves
4 eggs, soft boiled (see above)
Torn basil leaves, for garnish
Step 1: Make the broth
(This broth needs a long time to simmer, so you really want to get it going first.)
Place the chicken and beef into a stock pot, add just enough water to cover then bring to a boil. Let the bones boil for about 10 minutes to remove any impurities. You’ll see lots of scum form at the top of the water.
Meanwhile, rub the onion and garlic with vegetable oil, then add to a dry nonstick pan and cook for about 10 minutes on high, or until they are charred all over. You could also do this under the broiler or, if you’re daring, a kitchen blowtorch.
While the veggies are charring, place the whole cloves, rosemary, bay leaves and peppercorns into a small piece of cheese cloth. Fold up the corners of the cloth then use a piece of kitchen string to tie the corners together. (This creates a sachet, which is just a fancy word for herbs and spices wrapped up in cheese cloth)
Once the meat has boiled, remove from the water then drain and rinse out the pot to remove the impurities. Add the charred veggies as well as the sachet, tomato paste, and a pinch of salt. (Don’t worry about perfectly seasoning the broth now, because the flavor will concentrate as it simmers.) Cover everything with about 2 inches of water, then bring to a gentle simmer and let everything cook together for at least 6 hours, although the longer you simmer the better.
Make the Red Wine Braise Short Ribs
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper, then add to a hot oiled Dutch oven and cook over medium-high, turning now and then, until the beef is browned on all sides.
Add the garlic, rosemary and tomato paste, then cook for another minute to cook out the tannic flavor tomato paste tends to have. Add the red wine and use a spoon to scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Add the beef broth, ensuring there’s enough to cover the meat, then transfer to the oven and cook for 3-4 hours, or until the short ribs are very tender and the liquid has reduced.
Make the Aroma Oil
Place the garlic and shallots into a small saucepan, then cover with the olive oil.
Heat until the veggies just start to shimmer, then cook over low until the garlic and shallots are golden, but certainly not burnt. Remove with a slotted spoon or pass through a mini fine-mesh strainer, then set aside to cool.
Cook the pasta and assemble
Once the broth is flavorful, the short ribs are tender and the oil is made, add the pasta to salted boiling water and cook until slightly under al dente, the broth will cook the pasta a bit more.
Meanwhile, remove the bones and large chunks of meat from the broth, then pass through a fine-mesh strainer into a waiting pot. Use the back of a ladle to press on the solids to ensure every flavorful drop is extracted, then keep that warm over low heat.
Spoon a few tablespoons of the short rib’s braising liquid into the bottom of wide soup bowls. Add on the noodles and spinach leaves, then pour on enough of that delicious broth to cover.
Thinly slice the short ribs and lay those on top along with the eggs, basil, some of the reserved garlic and shallots, and finally a drizzle of that flavorful oil.
