Speedy Chicken Ramen
Lively, uplifting and packed with fresh, fresh flavour: ramen rocks!
I’ve used chicken in this recipe but griddled salmon, prawns or tofu all work really well as alternative toppers. Or… just go it alone with the broth, the noodles, extra-added vegetables (courgettes, red peppers, broccoli, etc) and a couple more eggs; sorted!
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the chicken marinade
2 plump, skinless chicken thigh fillets
30ml low sodium soy sauce
30ml mirin (or Japanese rice wine)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
For the broth
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
1 thumb-sized chunk of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
2 tbsp white miso paste
1 tbsp peanut butter
1l vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 head of pak choi, chopped
100g shiitake mushrooms
For the bowls
300g pack ramen or udon noodles
6 spring onions, finely sliced
2 soft-boiled eggs
Handful fresh coriander leaves
Gochujang sauce (optional)
Method
Put the chicken, soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil in a bowl and set to one side to marinate while you make the broth.
For the broth, put the chilli, garlic, ginger, grated carrot, miso paste, peanut butter and stock into a large saucepan. Simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes, then strain and return the liquid to the pan (discarding the solids).
Return the pan to the heat, add the mushrooms and pak choi and simmer for another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened and the pak choi wilted. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, drain and rinse well and set to one side.
Remove the mushrooms and pak choi from the broth with a slotted spoon and set to one side. Reduce the heat under the broth to a very low heat to keep warm while you heat a griddle or frying pan over a high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until charred on the outside and thoroughly cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan and chop into thick slices.
Assemble your ramen! Arrange the noodles, pak choi, mushrooms and spring onions across the base of 2 bowls. Ladle the hot broth across the top followed by the chicken and the eggs (peeled and halved), and generously garnish with drizzles of toasted sesame oil, soy and gochujang sauce (if using) and handfuls of fresh coriander.
