Making Ramen At Home

Ramen was big this year.  Most of us remember experiencing it, usually in college, when you would buy those dessicated packets for pennies and scarf them down because we were starving and biting the financial bullet.  Maybe that is why most people are amazed when they have a fresh noodle ramen bowl in a rich broth.  So, we decided to make some at home and it's easy.  We began by chopping fresh vegetables and some seared beef strips.

Luckily, there is an Ebisuya market right around the corner which provided us with the basics needed.  This soup base is what we used for the broth.  Don't ask what they call it because it has no label in English other than "Soup Base For Noodles".  It's basically umami in a bottle.  You mix it with four parts of water (although we used beef broth for half of that to add even more depth of flavor).

We added half a diced onion, chopped carrots and celery, brought it to a boil then covered and simmered it for an hour.

We also picked up some fresh ramen noodles.  They do come with a sauce packet which we did not use.  I may try that at some point but we wanted to make our own broth.

Layering the noodles in a bowl, we poured the broth over it and added the beef, fresh vegetables, a boiled egg and sprinkled it all with fresh green onion.  The broth was salty and sweet with a robust umami tang as we slurped our way through it, moaning with satisfaction.  So easy.  So simple, filling and so very satisfying, especially on a cold night.  If you've never tried making a bowl of fresh ramen we highly encourage it.  You'll wonder why you waited so long and it will easily become a regular on your dinner table.