Chicken Ramen

You mean, you *don't* match your bowl and chopsticks? Casual.

What to do the day after nomming a massive roast dinner into you? Get those chicken bones in a pot and make some stock, and use it the next day to make yummy chicken ramen soup! No? Just me?

Well, that is what I did and it was spectacular.  Full disclosure, the stock could have been better, I added a bit of water to the broth when cooking and I think that took away from the depth of flavour a bit. So don't do that. See, I'm making the mistakes so you guys don't have to!

You all know, I love ramen. I could very happily live in one of those little noodle shops in Japan and never leave it. Pork ramen is classic and delicious and I love it a lot. Chicken ramen is something I hadn’t considered until I was staring at my picked-clean chicken bones/leftovers.

This is a little bit lighter than the pork, and I think it handles itself a little better with unconventional flavours, like the jalapeno toppings. Any of your favourite veggies really will do here, it is one of those special soups which is infinitely customizable.

Serves 2

Ingredients for the stock

• 2 small onions, quartered
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 leeks, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, whole
• 1 bay leaf
• sprinkling of thyme
• Salt
• 1 tbsp of peppercorns
• 2 litres of water
• Leftover chicken carcass from a roast (bones, skin)

Ingredients for the broth

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• A thumb of ginger, minced
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 litre of chicken stock (above)

To serve:

• 2 eggs
• 120g ramen noodles
• Leftover roast chicken, roughly shredded
• 4 scallions, diced
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• Sesame seeds
• 1 handful of sweetcorn, optional
• Nori, optional

Method

Begin by making the stock. Chop all the veggies and place them in a large pot, with the herbs and seasoning.

Add the chicken pieces.

Pour over the water.

Bring to the boil, then simmer for 3-6 hours, depending on how much time you have. Skim off the fat that develops on top as you go,

I then strained the stock, discarding the meat and vegetables. I poured the smooth liquid stock into tupperware and refrigerated overnight. The stock will last a  few days in the fridge, a few months if frozen.

Then. when you're ready to start the ramen soup: heat the sesame oil in a non-stick pot, and when hot, add in the garlic, ginger and shallot. Have you ever wondered what the best smell in  the  world is? It is at this point of cooking this dish. YUM.

When fried for a few minutes, pour in the soy sauce and mirin and cook for a few more minutes.

Pour in the stock, bring to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. I put the cooked, leftover chicken in to reheat 5 minutes before it finished.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs – heat some salted water to boiling, and when bubbling plop in the eggs and cook for 7-8 minutes to get a soft but not runny yolk. Place the egg in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process and cool it down enough to handle and peel.

Cook the ramen noodles in the same eggy pot, or clean it out and heat up some new water, according to packet instructions.

The base of all good ramen soups

Prepare the toppings you are using – slice the jalapenos, scallions etc.

Assemble: in a bowl, place the noodles first, then spoon over the ramen broth until it covers most of the noodles. Place the chicken on top of that, and slice and place an egg in each bowl. Scatter over your chosen toppings, I went for scallions because I love them, sesame seeds because they are yum, and jalapenos for a kick. I really hate the traditional nori, so I left it out.

Then get your slurp on!