CHICKEN MISO RAMEN.

Took a fun class with city cooking west end, and we made chicken ramen, but i added a few more ingredients of my own to spice it up a little :) .

Prep time

1hr-1 1/2 hr

All you need :

Chicken marination:  marinate for 10-20 mins        

2 chicken breasts     

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp gochujang

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp hot water

1 tsp Shaoxing wine

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Ramen & Soup:

2 eggs

2 Scallion [sliced finely: 1 scallion for garnish, 1 for soup]

Seaweed [Nori for garnish]

Ramen noodles

1 shallot

1 tsp minced garlic

1 inch ginger minced

1 tbs sesame oil

2 tsp gochujang ( korean chili paste )

1 tbsp mirin

1 cup water ( optional )

3 tbsp white miso

chicken stock 32 FL Oz (1QT)

shitake mushrooms or enoki mushroom

½ tsp brown sugar or honey

white sesame seeds (toasted)

vegetable options: bak choy, cabbage ,spinach

Directions : 

1. We are going to start with cooking the eggs. Bring the water to boil, add eggs and let it simmer for 7 mins.  After 7 mins, soak the unpeeled eggs in cold water to stop cooking. Let them cool down completely before peeling. ( Timing is very important here as we want a jammy consistency. )

 2. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Now to prepare the chicken marination, in a bowl add soy sauce, oyster sauce, gochujang, garlic powder, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine and 1 tbsp hot water and mix well. Make a couple of slits on the chicken breasts, add to the mix and marinate for 10 mins.

 3. In a pan on medium heat, add olive oil and add the marinated chicken breast and give it a good sear on both sides till you get a nice color. Then place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Cut the 1 tbsp butter into half, and place it on each chicken breast and bake for 26 mins. After the chicken is done, cover with foil loosely and let it rest before slicing. ( I normally slice my chicken at the very end while plating; the resting helps retain moisture.)

 4. In a pot on low heat, add 1 tbsp sesame oil. Low heat is necessary cause sesame oil tends to overheat very quickly, and make food taste bitter. Add the garlic, ginger, onions, and sauté till onions are translucent. We don’t want any coloring to the onion.

 5. Maintain low heat, and add the miso paste with 1 tbsp hot water and loosen miso till you get a nice smooth paste. ( Miso can over heat quickly, so low heat is the best.) Add 2 tsp gochujang, sugar, and sesame seed. I prefer spicy gochujang as it gives a nice kick, but you can adjust the heat according to your palate. [You can also substitute for any chili paste desired, but avoid hot sauce because it has vinegar in it; we don’t want that vinegar taste as we are adding mirin, a Japanese rice wine.] Stir the gochujang and miso together, add the mirin and giving it a good mix.

 6. Add in the chicken stock one cup at the time while stirring the miso paste to make sure everything is combined nicely. ( Add the entire 32 oz that is about 5 cups. ) There is no salt needed here because miso is naturally salty.  Continue stirring and taste the soup. If you think it is too salty, add 1 cup of water. Add the mushrooms and sliced scallions and bring to boil on medium heat. you can also add your vegetable options here. If you are using spinach add at the very end when platting, as spinach tends to wilt easily.

 7. While the soup is boiling, start peeling the eggs and keep it aside. In a separate pot, add water and bring to boil. Add your ramen noodles and boil for 3 mins. ( Depending on the noodles you use, cooking time can vary; best to see packaging for boiling instructions. ) Take out the noodles and run under cold water to stop from cooking further. After 15 mins the soup should be done boiling. Reduce the flame to low heat.

 Let’s plate:

Slice the chicken and the eggs.  Place noodles in a bowl, add the miso soup and top with the sliced chicken, egg, and seaweed on the side. Finish it off with sliced scallions. (You can add any garnish to make it your own. )