Chicken chashu shoyu ramen
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- More effort
- Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken thighs
- 2 chicken breasts
- thumb-sized piece of ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp dashi powder or 1 piece of dried kombu (5cm square)
- 1 whole small garlic bulb, cloves peeled
- 150ml soy sauce
- 4 tbsp saké
- 4 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 litres chicken stock
- 100-130g fresh ramen noodles (or 80g -100g per serving if using dried ramen noodles)
For the toppings
- 3 soft-boiled eggs
- 1 sheet of nori (seaweed sheet)
- 2 spring onions
- shichimi (Japanese seven spice) (optional)
Method
- STEP 1
First make the chashu. Wrap the chicken thighs around the breasts and secure with toothpicks or string to make a cylindrical shape – you may need to flatten the thighs a little by bashing them with a rolling pin. In a very hot pan, sear the chicken on each side until golden brown, around 25 mins in total.
- STEP 2
Transfer the chicken to a medium pan with a lid and add the ginger, dashi powder, garlic, soy sauce, saké, mirin and sugar, plus 150ml water. Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 30-40 mins. Remove the lid and leave to cool. If you want to make it ahead, chill the chicken and sauce overnight, or at least for a few hours. It will improve the flavour. Once cooled, remove the chicken from the sauce, slice it and set the sauce aside.
- STEP 3
Pour 240ml of the sauce into a large pan (freeze the rest to use another time), bring to the boil, add the chicken stock and heat through.
- STEP 4
In a separate pan filled with boiling water, cook the noodles following pack instructions, then drain.
- STEP 5
Divide the chicken stock and noodles between six bowls. Put the sliced chicken, half a boiled egg and any other toppings you're using on top. Serve immediately, otherwise the noodles will go soggy.
