I fell in love with the idea of ramen when I started watching anime as a kid, but it was hard to find anything besides the fifty-cent Maruchan noodles at the time. I had no idea what it was supposed to taste like, yet it somehow felt completely familiar. I finally tasted ramen at a few Japanese restaurants, and wanted to recreate the flavors at home. I started to play around with different ingredients to bring the instant ramen noodles closer to their namesake back in high school, and I’ve been chipping away ever since.

I had to search the farmer’s market for “real” ramen noodles, and got to test a rule of thumb I’ve used ever since I started traveling: if I can’t read the sign/label, it says “delicious”.  Of course, I don’t grab random things and expect them to all work together in a dish, but I like to figure out which ingredients I need (often things without English labels) and work backwards. I am proud of the way this batch of ramen tasted, but I’ve figured out how to make the stock even better: use chicken wings! There’s more fat than meat on the wings,  which helps make the stock richer.

Sear,  and make your stock with the wings,  and then you can add your preferred cut off chicken, and condiments for the perfect bowl.

Let’s cook.

You’ll need:

2 lbs Bone-In Chicken Wings

2 Chicken Breasts, sliced thinly

1/2 Cup Dried Shrimp

1/4 lb Dried Seaweed

3 Tbs Garlic, minced

3 Tbs Ginger, minced

4 Scallions/Green Onions, sliced thinly

1 Green Chili, sliced thinly

1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

4 Bundles Ramen Noodles

1 Egg, poached

4 Cups Chicken Stock

1 Tbs 5-Spice Powder

1 Tsp Ginger Powder

1 Tsp Chili Flakes

1 Tsp sesame Oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Season chicken with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Sear in a large stock pot, and add minced ginger, garlic and green onions. Stir vigorously. Add chicken stock, stir in dried shrimp, and bring to a boil.
2. Add 5-Spice, dried ginger, chili flakes, and seaweed, and continue to stir. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer the stock for at least 1 hour.
3. Boil 4 cups of water with salt and sesame oil in a separate pot, and add ramen. Cook until the noodles soften, then drain, and place in serving bowl.
4. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a separate pot, and add salt and two tablespoons of rice vinegar. Crack an egg directly into the water, and poach for one minute until the egg is partially cooked.
5. Pour hot stock over the noodles, and transfer chicken, and seaweed into the serving bowl. Transfer poached egg to the bowl, and serve.

Done.