Easy Restaurant *Homemade* Ramen

On days like today - ok, any day that isn't hot - I want ramen. I've tried (so far unsuccessfully) to make my own noodles, but thanks to Nona Lim (made in Oakland!), I can now create a bowl of excellent ramen at home with very little effort, AND FOR ABOUT $4. 

How is this magic possible?? This may seem like a lot of steps, but it's pretty basic. Make the eggs the night before, and when you get home, all you need to do is heat the broth, cook the noodles, assemble and garnish. You can eat in 20 minutes. 

You must, at all times, have the following ingredients in your home:

A box (or two) of Nona Lim Tokyo Ramen
A box (or four) of Trader Joe's Miso Ginger Broth
Eggs
Fresh Corn (but if you must, Del Monte canned No-Salt Added Corn will do)
Mirin
Soy Sauce or Tamari
Green Onion
Ginger

Whole Foods and Rainbow Coop Carry These

Trader Joe's Miso Ginger Vegan Broth

Eggs Marinated in Mirin and Soy Sauce 

These are the fundamentals for how I like basic ramen, but feel free to branch out and add whatever you like. 

First, let's marinate some eggs. 

This blog has simple instructions. I like an 8 minute simmer for a yolk that's creamy. Don't leave eggs in the ice bath more than 5 minutes or the whites can get tough. Peel the eggs carefully, because the eggs are soft boiled, and can tear easily. I recommend 24 hours in the marinade, and up to 2 days is ok. 

Assembling Your Ramen

The ramen comes in tidy individual serving packets (2 to a box). 
Here are instructions for two:
Boil a large pot of water. 
In a smaller pot, heat up the broth (one full box for 2 people). Add kernels from one ear of corn. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. 
Take two eggs out of the fridge. Thinly sliced some green onion and set aside. Peel a piece of ginger (you'll grate it right over the bowl before serving). 
Once the large pot comes to a raging boil, scoop out some of the water and add it to your serving bowls to warm them up. 
Add the ramen to the pot. I prefer to cook them one at a time so they don't clump. They cook in about 3-4 minutes, so this is doable. Use tongs and a sieve to scoop out the cooked ramen. Pour out the water from your serving bowl, and add the noodles to the warm bowl. 
Gently pour half the broth over the ramen. Add half the corn to the bowl. Slice an egg in half and gently place it on the mound of noodles (you don't want it to drown). Repeat with the other bowl. Sprinkle both bowls with green onions, and grate lots of fresh ginger with a microplane. 

Serve immediately with chop sticks and spoon.

           いただきます

Пельмени

I believe my Yelp profile lists Пельмени as my last meal. There is nothing so comforting as dumplings, and since I have never found a store-bought or restaurant version that can top our family recipe, I now share it with you. 

It's more of a technique than a recipe. The dough is a very quick and easy pasta dough, and the filling is just seasoned ground meat. 

The devil is in the rolling, cutting, and filling. So get your friends together, get some beer, and make short work of the prep so you can get to the eating!

This recipe will make 60-70 pelmeni. If you think that's a lot, you've never seen a hoard of people devour 60-70 pels in a matter of hours. A decent serving is about 15 pels, so if you plan to feed a lot of people, and want to freeze some for later (YOU DO), double the following recipe. 

The Dough
2 eggs
2oz water
1t oil (olive or canola - just enough to make the dough easier to work with)
1/4t kosher salt
2C unbleached all-purpose flour

Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, crack in the eggs, add the water, and using a fork, whisk the eggs, water and oil together, then start stirring in the flour until a craggy ball is formed. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, dust with a bit more flour, and knead until smooth. Try not to add too much flour. You want the dough to be smooth and a bit on the sticky side, because you'll add more flour as you roll it out, and you don't want it to get tough & chewy.

Wrap the dough in plastic, and let rest in the fridge for at least an hour. This will relax the gluten, and make rolling easier. 

The Filling
1/2# ground beef
1/2# ground pork
2-3T finely grated onion (use a microplane, or VERY finely mince the onion)
1 clove garlic, finely grated (use a microplane, or VERY finely mince the garlic)
1t kosher salt
pepper
1/4C water
2t freshly minced dill (or 1t dried)

Combine the meats in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the onion, garlic and dill. Add half the water and mix well (use your hands). If it looks like it can take it, add the rest of the water. Keep the meat in the fridge while you roll and cut the dough.

Rolling & Cutting
Line a couple baking sheets or cutting boards with parchment or dust with flour. 

Take the dough out of the fridge. If you stick your finger in it, and the dent stays there, you're ready to roll! 

Dust a large work surface with flour, and find a small biscuit cutter (about 2" wide). Roll the dough out til it's thinner than a poker chip, but thicker than a guitar pick. 

Cut a zillion discs. Dip the cutter in flour to prevent sticking. 

Follow the steps below to fill and seal the pels. 

Gently stretch out the disc. 

Add a good amount of filling. You can stretch the dough to seal it in. 

Pinch the seam closed, tucking the filling in as you go.

Sealed in half

Pinch the end together to form a little "cabbage" shape.

Let's Eat! 
Boil enough chicken broth (2-3 quarts) for the pels to have room to cook (as you would boil ravioli). I really like the Trader Joe's Low-Sodium Chicken Broth, and always keep a few quarts on hand. Once the pels float to the surface, allow them to cook a few minutes more (about 5-7 minutes total - a bit longer if frozen).

Serve the pels in bowls with some of the broth. I like to add a dollop of sour cream and some soy sauce. Mom likes sour cream and a little vinegar. 

To freeze extra pels, freeze them on the sheet pan with room between them so they don't stick (see top photo). Once frozen, transfer to a ziploc freezer bag or seal in a food saver bag. Store up to 3 months. 

 На здоровья! 

Cool, Creamy, Tart: Perfect Lemon Bars

I recently had occasion to bake on the hottest day in San Francisco's recorded history. Though I believe I was hallucinating from the heat, I somehow managed to pull it off - as a Deadhead and former professional pastry chef, I was up to the task. Normally, I cut these into 2-3" squares, but these were for my punky sister's birthday party, so I cut them into bite-sized cubes, which served cold, were just right for a sweltering summer soiree. 

These can be made ahead and kept frozen for up to a month. You can also juice the lemons ahead of time, and keep it frozen in 1C portions. Then, when the mood strikes, you're one step closer to enjoying these bad boys (next time you're presented with a ton of lemons, think LEMON BARS!)

For a quick video on the technique, see Ina Garten's version. But I prefer my recipe, as it has less sugar and flour in the filling, and less butter in the crust, but you'll never miss it. Use meyer lemons for a more dynamic citrus flavor, but any lemon (or mix of citrus juice) will do.

This 9x13" batch makes 12-20 squares (depending on how big you want to cut them), or can be cut into minis as shown above. 

For the Short Dough Crust
6oz unsalted butter, softened but cold (1 1/2 sticks)
3oz sugar (3/4C)
1 egg
1/2t vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
9oz unbleached all-purpose flour (a bit more than 2C)
3/4t baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg til combined. Add the vanilla. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir into the wet ingredients until just combined.

Dump the dough into a 9x13 baking dish, and with floured hands, press the dough evenly to a 1/8" thickness, making sure to go up the sides a bit. Chill the dish for 30 minutes, or covered, overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 350'. Bake the shell for about 15-20 minutes, just until set and starting to get golden. Remove the shell, and set on a cooling rack. 

The Filling
2C sugar
5 extra large eggs
2T lemon zest
1C lemon juice
3T unbleached all-purpose flour 

Whisk together the eggs and sugar, add the zest and juice, then the flour. Pour the filling into the warm shell, and return to the oven. Bake for another 25-30 minutes until set (if you give the pan a little shake, it doesn't jiggle). 

Cool the bars completely in the pan. I usually freeze them to make cutting easier, but you can also keep them in the fridge overnight. Either way, wrap them well. 

I use a bench scraper or thin but sturdy metal spatula to loosen the edges. To cut even bars, use a ruler or measuring tape to mark 3-4 bars on the short side, and 4-5 bars on the long side (yielding 12-20 bars). 

Dust the bars with powdered sugar just before serving. Store extras in the freezer for up to one month. 

На здоровья! 

Curry Chicken Pasta Salad

Why did I wait so long to blog this? I think it's because it's not much to look at. I mean look at it. Bo-ring. But it tastes wonderful. Over the years I've shared the recipe with its devotees, and now, I share it with the world.

Do the Right Thing! 
For this recipe, I'm adamant about using specific brands of mango chutney and yellow curry powder. There have been times when I didn't have or couldn't find those brands, and made it anyway. Big mistake. I'm sure the original recipe from Cooks Illustrated (one for curry beef pasta salad) didn't specify brands, but I've been making this for well over 20 years, and it's just best this way. Trust me.

United Markets, Andronico's, Mollie Stones, and some Safeways carry these brands.

As for the pasta and chicken ratio, and the methods for cooking the chicken - those are up to you. Ideally, I poach 2-3 boobs in chicken broth, but have also grilled the chicken, or used the breast meat from a whole roasted chicken. 

A good ratio is 2-3 breasts (about 3C of shredded meat) to one pound of pasta. 

Boil 1# of good quality Italian fusilli, drain, and rinse with cold water to stop it from overcooking. 

Shred the chicken into a large mixing bowl. 

The Sauce
1 jar Crosse & Blackwell major grey's mango chutney
2 eggs
3-4T Sun brand madras yellow curry powder
1/2t cayenne pepper
S&P to taste
grapeseed or canola oil 

In a blender or mini-prep, puree the chutney, add the eggs and seasonings, and blend til smooth. Slowly drizzle in 1/2C+ oil to create a mayonnaise. Adjust the seasoning to taste, and pour over the chicken and pasta. The sauce will absorb in the fridge, so use all of it, even if it looks like too much. 

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or overnight. Finish it within 3 days, as it contains raw eggs. 

На здоровья!