Miso Base for Ramen - みそラーメン

Miso Base 

To Make in Advance: Ramen Noodles, Chashu, Marinated Half-Cooked Egg

Recommended Toppings:

Negi (green onions), sweet corn, chashu (pork belly), butter, half-cooked egg, garnish with a nori (seaweed) square.

Winters in Hokkaido in Northern Japan are severe and the comfort and warmth of a good Miso Ramen have made it a daily staple. The quality of the miso makes all the difference here, so shop around and taste a variety of miso to find one that will add more depth.  

Here, I've made a super flavorful Miso Base or misodare that can be enjoyed any time. Store it in the refrigerator and when needed you can make individual servings or enough to feed your whole family - this base offers the convenience of a one-person portion or a meal for many – all according to the base to stock ratio (3 tablespoons Miso Base to 1 cup/235 ml chicken or vegetable stock). Whether you're taking it to work for lunch or preparing a family meal, it will be worth the labor because once you make it, it’s practically instant. The Miso Base can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for one month.

Miso Base for Ramen

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Yield: 12

Author: Amy Kimoto-Kahn

Prep time: 45 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized carrot, peeled and cut into large dice
• ½ onion, peeled and cut into large dice
• ½ apple, cored, peeled and cut into large dice
• 1 celery stalk, cut into large dice
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ bacon fat (recommended), ghee or coconut oil
• 2 tbsp sesame oil, divided
• 1 ½ cups ground pork
• 2 tsp fresh ground ginger
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp kelp granules (optional but recommended)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground sesame seed paste or tahini
• ¾ cup Shiro miso (white miso, which is lighter and sweeter)
• ¾ cup Aka Miso miso (red miso, which is darker and saltier)
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock, per serving based on the number of servings

Instructions

1. Add the carrot, onion, apple, celery and garlic to a food processor. Pulse into a fine chop. It’s better to use a food processor but if you don’t have one, finely chop these ingredients by hand.
2. Add bacon fat and 1 tbsp of sesame oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the finely chopped fruit and vegetables and cook until onions are translucent and apple is tender, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes. When done, turn heat down to medium-low.
3. Add your ground pork to the cooked vegetable mixture. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the ginger, sriracha, soy sauce, kelp granules, apple-cider vinegar, and salt. Incorporate well.
4. Return the entire mixture to the food processor and pulse until pork is finely ground. It is better to use a food processor, but if you don’t have one, then use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break the mixture into very small pieces in the skillet.
5. Add the sesame seed paste and miso to the ground pork mixture and mix well. It should have the consistency of a thick paste. Your base is done.
6. Bring the Miso Base and chicken or vegetable stock to a boil (depending on the number of people you are serving, use the ratio of 3 tbsp Miso Base to 1 cup (235 ml) chicken or vegetable stock). Lower heat and let simmer until it’s ready to serve. Use about 2 cups (475 ml) soup per serving. Right before serving, crank the heat backup to boil the soup.
7. Boil the noodles—if fresh, boil for about 1 minute; if packaged, boil for about 2 minutes. As soon as they’re done, drain well and separate into serving bowls.
8. Pour 2 cups of soup over each bowl of noodles. Top each bowl with desired toppings.

Notes

Tips!

• I like to freeze my base in ice cube trays and pop them out whenever I need them. 1 use 2 ice cubes per cup of stock.
• You can omit the bacon fat if you don’t have any but I wouldn’t recommend it because it adds flavor. Next time you are cooking bacon in the morning, simply save your fat in a jar and refrigerate it!  
• A trick to grating ginger: freeze your ginger in pieces with the skin on and take it out of the freezer right before you are ready to grate it.  No need to peel the skin off, it is edible. You can use a rasp or find a Japanese ginger grater online or in any Asian cooking store.

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Blue Apron Kahn Family Pork and Miso Ramen →

ORDER YOUR BLUE APRON BY NOON ON MAY 31ST TO GET OUR KAHN FAMILY PORK AND MISO RAMEN! Send me an email at epjoishii@gmail.com and I'll send you a free voucher to try! If you get a chance to order it for the week of June 5th, we hope you enjoy it!

This past August we entered the Blue Apron Kids Cooking Camp Contest and WON a trip for our whole family to go to NYC and help the Blue Apron team create a recipe! We had so much fun, week after week, following the rules of the contest and submitting our posts on Instagram. Here are some of our favorite posts:

WE HAD TO MAKE HOME MADE WHIPPED CREAM AND HOLD IT OVER OUR HEAD!

WE HAD TO TALK ABOUT OUR FAVORITE SUMMERTIME INGREDIENT AND HOW WE USE IT.

WE HAD TO TALK ABOUT WHAT OUR FAMILY DOES TO HELP OUT WITH MEALS.

WE HAD TO CORE LETTUCE, DE-STEM KALE, PEEL A CARROT AND SOME GARLIC.

WE HAD TO PLANT SOME PEA SHOOTS AND WATCH THEM GROW!

When we got the email from Blue Apron telling us we won, we were beyond thrilled. They arranged to fly us to NYC, put us up in a hotel and take us to their secret Blue Apron test kitchen where we would create a recipe with them. We had such a fun time seeing where they keep all of their many spices and ingredients, learning about their recipe creation process (how they are limited to 10 ingredients and 10 steps or less) and watching the photographer take pictures of the final recipe.

We had decided ahead of time that we would work on a ramen recipe. What was most challenging was the limitation of ingredients and steps. I really feel like the final result is one that gives depth and flavor in a short amount of time. I also had a new respect for Blue Apron and the recipes it sends me, knowing that they always have to follow the parameters of 10 ingredients or less and only 10 steps or less. Given those limitations, don't expect the best ramen you've ever had - but this is pretty darn good. Here's the description right from Blue Apron...

This summery take on ramen was developed in collaboration with the Kahn family of San Francisco, Calif., winners of the 2016 Blue Apron Kids Cooking Camp. A satisfying, earthy broth gets its savory flavor from three ingredients: miso paste, dried shiitakes, and kombu—a type of dried seaweed with a delicately briny flavor. It's the perfect base for fresh, springy ramen noodles topped with seasonal asparagus, cooked to retain its tender bite. Sweet-tart marinated cucumber, served on the side, adds a refreshing crunch to the dish.

Scroll through to see the epic day with had creating Pork and Miso Ramen with the Blue Apron team!

Fill your Japanese pantry with my faves!

Growing up, my mom always bought certain brands of Japanese products, mostly from small Japanese markets that weren't always that close to our house.  We've come a long way since exotic "sushi" was featured in the movie, "Sixteen Candles".  Now Japanese food and sushi are pretty common and ingredients are fairly easy to find in your local grocery stores.  I have continued to use the same brands my mom used to buy but I have also tried others. Now I know it was for a reason.  I did a bit of an "America's Test Kitchen" experiment with some of these products and my mom's picks won along with a couple of new ones (where I couldn't remember what she used).  Here are some great Japanese staples to stock your pantry with that will help you to get started on your Japanese cooking journey.  If you don't have a Japanese or Asian market near you, Marukai has a great e-store where you can find everything and it's fun to look around! http://www.marukaiestore.com/    No excuses now!

1. Furikake- (ふりかけ) – A condiment normally used to sprinkle on top of rice and usually contains a mixture of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, and seaweed, sugar, and salt.  Yes, ground fish, but the kids can’t tell, I promise! The brand name isn't on the front of the jar but on the back - made by JFC International.  Not available in most grocery stores but will be in an Asian or Japanese market.

2. Gohan (ご飯、ごはん) – Japanese rice.  Best cooked in a Japanese rice maker but can be done simply in a pot on the stove as well. My family has always used Nishiki and it always comes out fluffy and moist. There are more expensive brands out there but this one is a pantry staple. Available in most grocery stores.

3. Mirin(みりん) – Sweetened rice wine.  Used to make teriyaki sauce and for marinades and dressing in replacement of sugar.  Although this does contain low amounts of alcohol, it is safe for use in children’s dishes as there is normally a very small amount added.  Kikkoman makes the best Mirin - not to be confused with rice vinegar and cannot be interchanged!  Available in most grocery stores.

4. Miso (味噌、みそ) – Fermented soybean paste.  Most common types are red miso (used in salad dressings and soups) and white miso (used in marinades).  Miso paste should be refrigerated and stored in an air tight container. I like the Miko Brand because it doesn't have any GMO's in it. Not available in most grocery stores but will be in an Asian or Japanese market.

5. Nori(海苔、のり) – Japanese black thin sheets of seaweed used for wrapping rice balls or making sushi.  There are also great varieties that have been braised with sesame oil and sprinkled with sea salt or you can make your own (home made is better and better for you!).  My kids love these to eat with rice or just snack on like potato chips! I like this brand because it's Japanese and because it's available at most grocery stores.  If you can't find it locally, it's not a big deal to go with whatever they have.  I wouldn't consider nori to be something you have to be brand specific for. :)

6. Ocha (お茶、おちゃ) – Japanese green tea. I have a bias towards Japanese tea vs. other Asian teas.  I like the nuttiness of Japanese tea and a good tea has a very soothing and aromatic smell.  My favorite variety is Genmaicha and it is distinct from others in that it has tiny little popped corn pieces in it. YamamotoYama makes a good brand of tea that you might be able to find in a grocery store but if you can purchase Genmaicha from a Japanese store, then any of the Japanese brands are great.

7. Panko (パン粉、パンコ) – Prepared Bread Crumbs.  Most often used to coat a pork cutlet in tonkatsu (豚カツ、とんかつ) which is traditionally deep fried.  It doesn’t have to be deep fried - you can broil it and it comes out just as crispy without the oil!  I like the Shirakiku brand more than the organic home made varieties you find in upscale specialty stores.  It's light and flaky! Available in most grocery stores.

8. Sesame Oil -  I don't even know the Japanese name for sesame oil because growing up, we didn't call it by it's Japanese name, we just called it sesame oil.  But this brand Kadoya is the best by far!  I've tried others and they are either too oily or don't taste like strong sesame.  This one is better because you don't need much to season anything, it's strong flavor and thick consistency allow you to use very little to get that sesame taste.  Great in dressings, on fish or drizzled on top of steamed broccoli.  It's a Japanese pantry must-have!  Not available in most grocery stores but will be in an Asian or Japanese market.  It will be worth it, I promise!

9. Sriracha Sauce - This is actually Thai hot sauce so it's not even Japanese but most sushi bars use this sauce in their spicy tuna.  It's a staple in our house when we have sushi parties and make our own spicy tuna (the recipe is in my blog "just roll with it"). The red rooster brand is THE only brand to get. I've seen it at grocery stores but most Asian grocery stores carry it as well.

10. Shoyu (醤油、しょうゆ,) – Soy Sauce.  Available in light and dark varieties and salt content.  Japanese soy sauce has a milder flavor than Chinese soy sauce.  All the recipes in this cookbook call for the low sodium light variety that is available everywhere. Pronounced like I'll "show you". I've stuck to Kikkoman for years and like that they have the low sodium variety because it's still salty!  I also buy this big ole gallon size because I use it all the time to make teriyaki sauce and it has a very long shelf life.  They sell it in smaller bottles and you can find it in most grocery stores.

11. Su (米酢komezu, "rice vinegar" or simply 酢su, "vinegar") - Japanese rice vinegar is very mild and mellow and ranges in color from colorless to pale yellow. It is made from either rice or sake lees. These vinegars are used in making sunomono (酢の物, "vinegar dishes"), tsukemono (漬物, "pickles"), nimono (煮物, "simmered dishes"), as well as in marinades and helps things to not smell fishy!  Marukan makes the best Rice Vinegar and it can be found in most grocery stores.

12. Tofu(豆腐、とうふ,) – Soybean Curd that comes in several varieties.  It has little to no flavor but is great in soups or eaten like a steak.  Plus it’s full of protein! I'll admit, I'm not a big tofu user so I wouldn't consider myself the expert on this one but I do like this brand because it's organic and available at most grocery stores. Plus I like that it's actually made by a Japanese company.  If you know of a better one, let me know!

13. Wasabi(山葵、わさび) – Japanese horseradish.  You probably won’t use this much in the kid’s recipes but you never know, your kid may like spicy stuff!  Not too be confused with guacamole!!  This can be found in most grocery stores in the Asian section.  I prefer it to the powdered kind because then you don't have to mix with water and the consistency is just right. The brand is S&B. Have you ever tried wasabi mashed potatoes?  Those are awesome!