Many people think of ramen as a cheap meal for college students, but it is an incredibly cosy dish when made from scratch and is perfect to make as some hearty comfort food.
A homemade ramen bowl is easy to make without much effort as it takes less than 30 minutes to cook from scratch.
Dana Sandonato, a cook and founder of Killing Thyme, has revealed that her recipe for ramen is simple to make but you can enhance it by using sesame oil.
She said: “This brings a wonderful nutty flavour to the broth that is familiar with Japanese foods. You could use olive oil instead, though. Or half and half!”
It is not an essential ingredient, but sesame oil tends to be the best for cooking ramen as it adds more flavour to the dish and compliments the umami taste already in the dish.
Cooking ramen ingredients with sesame oil will make it more authentic and give it a rich, toasty and slightly nutty flavour to your broth.
How to make a ramen bowl
Ingredients
- One tablespoon of sesame oil
- Two cloves of crushed garlic
- Two teaspoons of grated ginger
- 120ml of shredded carrots
- 120ml of sliced shiitake mushrooms (optional)
- 950ml of chicken or vegetable broth
- One tablespoon of rice vinegar
- Three tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce
- One tablespoon of sriracha sauce
- Two portions (85g) of ramen noodles
Recipe:
To begin, heat the sesame oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger, then cook for two to three minutes until fragrant. Try to avoid overcooking the garlic and do not let it brown otherwise it can become bitter.
Add the grated carrot and sliced mushrooms (if using) to the pan. Cook them for roughly one minute until they soften.
Pour in the broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce and Sriracha sauce. Stir and allow the mixture to simmer for around five minutes. Taste and add more sauce if necessary depending on your preference.
While the broth is simmering, cook the ramen in a separate pot filled with water. Follow the packet instructions for how long to cook the noodles and drain them once tender.
Once the broth is ready, spoon it over the noodles and your tasty dish is ready to serve. If you wish, you can also make a soft-boiled egg to garnish your ramen with.
A simple way to make your ramen more flavourful is to add sesame seeds, shredded carrots and sliced scallions as a topping.
