An easy homemade traditional Japanese broth recipe made with kombu and bonito flakes is the key to this delicious bowl of ramen noodles.
Ingredients
Broth:
3large pieces kombu
1ozshiitake dried mushrooms
4clovesgarlic, crushed
3inginger, chopped
10c.water
3-4dried bird chilis, opt.
⅔c.dried bonito flakes
3tbspsoy sauce
3tbsprice wine vinegar
Quick Pickles:
1large cucumber, sliced thin
⅓c.rice wine vinegar
1tspsugar
1tspkosher salt
Pinchof red pepper flakes
Other Ingredients:
Ramen Noodles, 4-5 ounces/bowl
Seared Tofu, 3 ounces/bowl
Seared baby bok choy, 1/2 head/bowl
1poached egg/bowl
Chopped scallions
Instructions
For broth, bring water to just under a simmer. Add kombu, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and chilis. Let steep for about 20-30 minutes.
Remove kombu, add bonito flakes and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then strain broth.
Bring strained broth to a simmer and simmer until the broth is reduced to about half it’s original volume. Season with soy sauce and vinegar. It will take around an hour for the broth to reduce.
For the quick pickles, just slice cucumbers thin and stir in a bowl with other ingredients. Make sure they are coated evenly and let them sit for at least an hour. Drain and serve with ramen.
Sear tofu in a large skillet over medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil for about 5 minutes per side until it’s nicely seared. Also sear bok choy in the same skillet. Cut the baby bok choy in half, drizzle with oil and sear cut side down for five minutes over high heat.
Cook ramen according to package right before sering.
Immediately serve hot noodles with chopped seared tofu, bok choy, pickles, a poached egg (see previous post), and chopped scallions.
Ladle simmering broth over the whole bowl and eat immediately. Feel free to season with extra soy sauce or any other sauce.
You can store the broth in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it for months.