Never settle for boring ramen ever again. Adding a few simple ingredients: onions, egg, shitake, and chicken, will instantly up your Japanese ramen game.
Well guys, I just came back from 3 days in sunny San Diego. I had the awesome chance to attend Social Media Marketing World with a few of my co-workers from work. We got to experience 3 jam-packed days of social media goodness. Learning from the best of the best in social media (ahem…Darren Rowse!), partying to our hearts’ content and rubbing shoulders with other industry professionals. It was quite the experience. While we weren’t able to stay in Cali for very long, the trip was well worth it!
Now, if you’re someone like me who can’t usually afford to attend a $1,000+ conference like this, I was fortunate enough to have my work pay for the trip, I definitely recommend that you attend Everything Food Conference this May. I’m going to be attending for the second time and I AM SO EXCITED! I went for their first year last year and it was an absolutely fantastic conference! Definitely life changing, so of course I’ve decided to sign up to attend again. I will probably be an EFC attendee for life…just sayin.
So, I guess that’s enough of me and my conference soapbox. I just love attending amazing conferences, and I think they’re something every blogger should attend!
Today, I realized It has officially been a month since I’ve been home from my trip to Southeast Asia. Geesh! Where in the world does the time go?
All I can say is backpacking Japan and Thailand was amazing! I keep dreaming about the sights, people, culture. It was seriously so cool to explore a part of the world I’ve never been to.
Naturally, since I consider myself to be a foodie, one of my favorite parts about my travels is always the food. And the food on my most recent trip did not disappoint! Mango sticky rice, tonkatsu, Thai curry, beef buns, and the list goes on. Although I could talk your ear off all day about the fantastic food I tried, I’m going to focus on just one thing for now: Japanese ramen.
Unless you’ve either been to or have lived in Japan, you probably hear the word “ramen” and cringe at the thought of eating a twenty-cent bag of noodles in overly salty chicken broth. I know that that food doesn’t sound all that appealing, but I’m here to tell you that Japanese ramen is a completely different world than what you experienced in your college days.
I couldn’t help but buy a beautiful pair of chopsticks while I was in Japan.
In Japan, this traditional food is served on almost every street corner. The ramen shops are usually packed with people sitting around a counter slurping up fresh, hot ramen. Japanese ramen consists of ramen noodles in a broth and is traditionally topped with pork, shitake, onions, egg, bean sprouts, and a number of other combinations. And for only 700-1000 ¥ ($7-10) for a bowl of ramen, it makes for a pretty inexpensive and delicious meal after a full day of exploring temples and gardens.
If a trip to Japan isn’t exactly something in your cards right now, you can easily bring this traditional food to your own home. All you need are a few simple ingredients and you’ll be enjoying the tastes of Japan in no time. Although traditional ramen usually consists of pork, I decided to switch up this recipe to use chicken instead. But, you can easily swap the ingredients for whatever suits your fancy. The best part about this recipe is that it can be made in a matter of minutes, making it a great recipe to enjoy on a busy weekday.
It’s time to change up your ramen game with this EASY recipe. This is your excuse to finally use that bag of noodles that’s been sitting in the cupboard for who knows how long (that stuff never seems to go bad…)!
Never settle for boring ramen ever again. This recipe for Japanese ramen, with a few simple ingredients, will instantly up your ramen game.
- 2 chicken breasts cut into strips
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup fresh shitake mushrooms
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup green onions chopped
- 2 3 oz packages dried ramen noodles
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Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for 4-5 more minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Place cooked chicken on a plate and set aside.
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In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook for several minutes until fragrant. Stir in soy sauce and mirin. Cook for an additional minute. Add chicken broth, cover, and bring to a rapid boil. Remove the lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
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Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover two eggs. Bring to a boil. Place the cold eggs into the boiling water and reduce heat to a rapid simmer. Cook eggs for 7 minutes for a very runny yolk or 7 minutes for a more set yolk. While eggs are boiling, prepare an ice bath (a bowl of water and ice cubes). After boiling, gently place eggs in the bath. After a minute or two, peel the eggshell and slice the eggs in half, lengthwise. Set aside.
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In the same pan used for the eggs, cook the ramen noodles according to the directions on the package (omit the seasoning). Cook noodles until soft, and divide into two bowls. Add the chicken and broth. Top with green onions, boiled egg and salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Adapted from Fork Knife Swoon
If you're in a time crunch, try swapping out the chicken breasts for a few pieces of a rotisserie chicken instead.
You’ll also love Pork Tonkatsu!
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