Ramen

Ingredients

• 14⅛ ozRamen noodlescook briefly, keep al dente
• 4¼ cupsBrothpour hot over the toppings
• 10½ ozchicken breastbreaded or pan-fried in strips
• 1¾ ozPanko breadcrumbsfor the crisp coating (optional)
• 4Eggboiled or poached as topping
• 1 bunchspring onionfinely sliced into rings
• 2carrotcut into fine julienne or slices
• 5¼ ozcabbagepak choi, Chinese cabbage or red cabbage, finely shredded
• 5¼ ozMushroomsshiitake or button mushrooms, sliced
• ⅔ ozgingerpeeled, finely cut
• 1 clovesgarlicthinly sliced
• 2 tbspsoy sauceto season the broth
• togarashifresh, as flakes or as hot sauce
• 1 bunchFresh corianderfor sprinkling
• 2 tbspoilfor frying
• saltfor seasoning
• pepperfor seasoning
• 1 tbspsesame seedsfor sprinkling (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the vegetables: cut the carrot, mushrooms and cabbage into fine julienne or slices, slice the spring onions and chilli into rings, and finely cut the ginger and garlic. Keep everything in separate piles so the final assembly goes quickly.
2. Bring the broth to the boil with the ginger and garlic, then turn the heat down and let it steep. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper.
3. Either coat the chicken breast fillet in beaten egg seasoned with salt and pepper and then in panko, or cut it into strips. Fry in hot oil or clarified butter for about 6 minutes until crisp all over, then lift out and let it rest briefly. Slice the breaded chicken.
4. Boil or poach the eggs, cool them under cold water, peel and halve them.
5. Cook the ramen noodles in boiling water for 2 to 4 minutes until al dente and drain; if you cook them directly in the broth, lift them out with a slotted spoon and keep the broth in the pot.
6. Divide the noodles and vegetables between four bowls and pour the hot broth over them. Let them stand for a moment, until the carrot, cabbage and mushrooms have softened but still have some bite.
7. Lay the chicken and egg on top and scatter over the coriander, spring onions, chilli and, if you like, sesame seeds. Adjust at the table with soy sauce and hot sauce.

Tips and variations

For a vegetarian bowl, use silken tofu, shiitake and root vegetables in vegetable broth, with a poached egg on top. Instead of broth you can make a creamy sauce from noodle cooking water and peanut butter, with edamame and roasted peanuts, or go for a Mexican-spiced version with softened onions, pinto or black beans, oregano, cotija, radishes and lime. Without the soup, serve it as a bowl: drained noodles with steamed broccoli, raw carrot, red cabbage and chicken caramelised in honey and soy sauce. If you like the broth thicker, beat the egg into the simmering broth towards the end and stir it through; the broth itself can also be built from teriyaki seasoning paste with coriander stalks, or from duck stock cubes. Serve the bowls straight away while the broth is still steaming, with soy sauce, chilli and sesame on the table for topping up.