Momofuku Ramen
Ok, I’ll admit, making Momofuku Ramen didn’t take weeks, or days. It really only took one day. I started just before noon and we were sitting down to steaming bowls of noodles by midnight. We had some hunger-staving snacks in between. Don’t make these noodles if you’re hungry, in a hurry, or expecting to eat anytime soon. They are a time investment, but it’s a sure thing.
One thing I didn’t make were the actual ramen noodles. Next time I’ll add 2 hours to the schedule and give them a whirl. I was really impressed with the fresh ramen noodles that I bought at T&T. I was a little skeptical, but they were chewy with a great bite.
I was also concerned with the bamboo shoots. First of all, we bought the wrong kind. The recipe calls for sliced shoots, but we bought strips. Second, Mike and I don’t actually like bamboo shoots. I find their flavour off-putting, or at least I used to. Maybe it had something to do with the shoots being strips instead of slices or maybe its because of Chang’s recipe for cooking them, but the bamboo was an awesome addition to the ramen. It added textural contrast with a subtle crunch.
Once you have all your components in place, putting together the ramen bowl is super easy. Noodles, broth, pork belly, pork shoulder, nori, green onions, fish cake, bamboo shoots, poached egg, done! The verdict? Maybe it was the anticipation, but these noodles were good. Really, really good. The broth was deep and flavourful, the meats tasty and the egg rich and creamy. My stomach did the happy dance.
I am so envious of you and your ambition. I have this book as well and can only dream of making some of the things in it. I will never had made as many as you. So much of a challenge. We are going to try the pork with the lettuce cups soon I think. That seemed to be a pretty simple one to start with.
Liz,
Good luck with the pork ssäm!
You should learn to make Ippudo ramen. Way better than that mainstream Chang stuff.
@fixinsbar,
Thanks for the suggestion! As a noodle lover, I think Ippudo ramen is delicious as well, especially the Akamaru Modern!
I just found your blog and love your cooking through the book!
I’m from Germany and just had a one week blogging project about the Momofuku Ramen, beginning at Feb 1. The product you can see here:
http://peho.typepad.com/chili_und_ciabatta/2010/02/projekt-momofuku-ramen-teil-5-das-endprodukt-aber-nicht-das-ende.html
Good luck and happy cooking!
Petra
Hi Petra,
Your photos of your ramen look super yummy! I think it’s really cool that you were able to find all the ingredients in Germany! I have trouble finding ingredients sometimes even though Vancouver has tonnes of Asian stores.
The Akamaru Modern at Ippudo is amazing. OK, girl, you’ve redeemed yourself. ;)
Hi,
I just made the Momofuku Ramen myself, and in the meantime I found your blog. I must say that you have a wonderful thing going on here. I tried to cook through a cookbook, but quickly found that I didn’t have the time to sustain it. It is amazing that you have the tenacity to keep it up! All of the non-momofuku recipes are good chooses as well. I must say, we have very similar tastes in fancy food!
Thanks! I’m lucky (and cursed) because I have an obsessive compulsive need to complete things. How did your ramen turn out?
It turned out great! I did a blog post about ti here: http://catastrophysicist.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/momofuku-ramen-bowl/
Looks awesome!
Hi,
I’m right in the middle of making a batch of the Ramen broth. I made the shiitake pickles out of the leftover mushrooms, and I’m crisping the bacon that I fished out as well, but I’m puzzled as to what I can do with the whole chicken that is now cooling on my counter. I’m curious as to what you did with it?
Love your blog! Chang’s recipes seem to be multi-layered and time consuming. You must be tenacious to undertake this challenge! I’ll keep reading your blog as I try some more Momofuku recipes myself!
I used the chicken meat in a chicken pot pie! I found that it wasn’t too heavily flavoured, so it was pretty good in a pot pie. After that time, I switched to using stewing hens instead of regular chickens.
okay, I have never really even had instant ramen before, but your site is fascinating. But here is a newbie question: what is the white and pink swirly thing?
It’s called naruto, it’s sliced fish cake.
Looks so easy no ? Happy dancing indeed.
Superb work
Ohmyword this ramen is so freakin delicious!! Thank you for making these recipes for 2– now my husband has no excuse not to make me momofuku on demand :-)
I ate at the new Momofuku in Toronto for the first time 6 weeks ago. And have been back twice since. I need this broth in my life and am inspired to spend a day making it thanks to your site. So often chef cookbooks are just too overwhelming that you don’t even want to get started.
Quick question – did you make the fish cake or is that something you can just buy? It seems too pretty to make easily at home.