AMEN to RAMEN

I didn’t buy into the craze for Ramen until a few weeks ago when Lucy came down to London, we decided to try out Bone Daddies in Soho. It is headed up by Ross Shonhan of Zuma and Nobu and with a CV like that he can’t fail to make some baddass noodle soup. The place is always rammed, we queued for around a quarter of an hour at 4 in the afternoon but it is so worth the wait. 

The starters are delicious – the fried chicken is great, if a bit unnecessary once you see the size of the bowls, but Ramen is undoubtedly the main event. 

Two vats of steaming noodles were swiftly delivered to our table and even more swiftly devoured.  On our waitress’s suggestion Lucy went for the Soy Ramen, which was good:

I preferred my choice - the T22 - although I'm not sure Luce would agree.

It is all about the bones and this place has mastered the art of stock – the broth is rich and almost creamy. 

They pile in spring onions, beansprouts, mizuna and crispy chicken skin and it was totally delicious – a simple idea done perfectly.

Someone thoughtfully had the idea of providing hair ties and plastic aprons along with garlic crushers and chilli to add to the mix  - it is no date food!

Ever since, I have been dreaming of chicken soup. So this weekend, Cat and I made our own simplified Ramen recipe.

Miso Chicken Ramen with Griddled Corn and Kale

This soup is easy peasy, although it does need a bit of time and the ingredients can be changed or pared down at will. It is filling, warming and delicious.

Serves around 6

For the broth:

1 chicken

1 onion

2 thumb size pieces of ginger peeled

2 sticks of celery

2 carrots

1 lemon

4 cloves garlic

S & P

30g miso paste or miso soup paste

Additions:

Beansprouts

2 Handfuls Kale

6 spring onions

Handful Chives

2 corns on the cob

2 sheets sushi seaweed divided into 4

6 eggs (boiled for 6 minutes and peeled)

200g Buckwheat Ramen noodles (I used clearspring noodles from waitrose)

Chilli Oil:

200 ml sesame oil (can be substituted for a flavourless oil)

1 tsp chilli flakes (depending on how fiery you like it)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Soy sauce to season

First, place the chicken in a casserole dish, stuff the chicken with the halved lemon. Cut the onion into two and pop into the casserole along with the ginger, celery, carrots, whole garlic cloves and ginger. Season with salt and pepper, fill the pot with water until the chicken is almost covered and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for an hour and turn off the heat. Check whether the chicken is cooked – if not put back on the heat for a little longer. Once cooked, take the chicken out of the pot and strip all the meat off the bones. Put the bones back into the pot with the liquid and veggies and carry on simmering gently for another 30 mins. I also took the skin off the chicken, laid out on a grill pan and grilled until crisp. Then chopped it up and sprinkled on top of the soup for a bit of savoury crunch.

Meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients. Griddle the corn until slightly blackened, then cut off the cob. Blanch the Kale in some boiling water for a couple of minutes and refresh in some cold water. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet and set aside. Slice the spring onions and chives.

For the chilli oil, mix together the oil, chilli flakes and garlic in a small saucepan, bring to the boil and turn off. Leave to Cool.

Back to the stock – strain off the bones and vegetables and discard making sure to reserve the broth. Place the liquid in a pan and reduce for a few minutes, whisk in the miso paste or miso soup paste and taste for seasoning.

To assemble, share out the noodles amongst the bowls along with the chicken, kale, beansprouts, corn, spring onions, chives, an egg and a piece of sushi seaweed, which adds an interesting savoury edge. Ladle over the hot stock, drizzle with chilli oil and a dash of soy sauce.