The cuisines of the peoples of the world count a considerable amount of fast food - fast food (it is called so either because it is easy and quick to cook, or because it is ready and waiting for passers-by on the seller’s counter). In this article, we will focus on a Japanese-Korean dish called ramen. Recipes, facts and history of origin “season” you familiarization with this type of Asian fast food.
A national dish
At every step in Japanese and Korean streets you can find such a simple and at the same time varied meal, like quick ramen. But such a dish can be prepared by any housewife. It is enough to know the various recipes of ramen, and there are many of them - for all occasions.
Using the tricks of cooking in everyday life, you can diversify the diet of loved ones and please them with new taste sensations. But first things first.
The history of ramen
So what is ramen? Many fans of Asian culture believe that ramen soup is a Korean or Chinese brainchild. But it is not so. The recipe was invented by the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, and not China, as some mistakenly believe.
Japan's aggressive aggressive policy has caused a territorial shift in the ramen recipe. Therefore, it is not surprising that, in addition to culture, food was also taken away from the Chinese. Hence the pronounced Japanese character of ramen soup at the present time.
What is ramen?
The name of this dish consists of two Chinese words: “lamyan” - “to stretch” and “pinyin” - “noodles”. The Chinese often call it “Japanese Lamyan”, because, having broken the tradition of making Chinese soup, the Japanese, in addition to the ramen recipes (Dungan and Central Asian) that existed in China, developed their own unique recipe, which, due to its uniqueness, earned the name “Japanese Lamian”.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the recipe migrated from Chinese to Japanese culture, as a result of which it was called “bale-soba”. At first, it was not very popular and was sold in small stalls with fast food called "ramen-i." Over the years, expensive ramen cooking technology was adopted by expensive cafes and restaurants.
Only this dish went on sale, as it instantly attracted the attention and interest of culinary naturalists who are simply obsessed with innovations in the field of food development. As you know, food in Asia rises almost on a pedestal, it is practically their god, because a Chinese or Japanese with an empty stomach is considered a miserable person. Therefore, parents from infancy provide their children with a magnificent, varied, imaginative Japanese table.
"Noodle raids"
Appearing first in a network of small cafes, over time, the dish moved to special vending machines for dispensing the finished dish - the principle of the same coffee stall. Today, the market and culinary research of talented chefs offer unusual options for a dish so loved by the whole world. True connoisseurs of oriental food are trying to create an extensive classification and write a description of many different options for cooking ramen. Home versions of ordinary people are also taken into account, because you can never be sure that something has been studied to the end - the people are much more imagined.
However, in Russia, despite the abundance of cooking options for this dish in accordance with Japanese tradition, it is difficult to find worthwhile flavor combinations. To taste real Japanese soup, it is better to go to restaurants of national cuisine. But no one claims that it is impossible to properly and tasty cook ramen at home. Recipes simply can not be counted. The presence of the Internet in people's lives brings people closer together - you can exchange not only cultural and literary heritage, but also ways to feed your family tasty and satisfying.
How to cook noodles?
Traditionally, ramen noodles are made from wheat flour, alkaline mineral water called kansui, eggs and salt. The Korean version of the recipe replaces Kansui with plain mineral water. The filling for noodles can be very different - here are shiitake mushrooms, pickled pork yashi, and bean sprouts, as well as bamboo shoots or komatsuna (Chinese cabbage). Now let’s dwell on the preparation of the ramen soup itself. Let's start with the traditional version.
Classic ramen recipe: we cook oriental soup at home
In any case, the main component of the dish is ramen noodles. Variations of the soup appear due to the inclusion of additional ingredients in its composition. You can experiment here endlessly, but for now let's focus on the classic recipe.
Of course, repeating the original version is quite difficult, since the dish needs to be prepared for a very long time, and the ingredients for it are not so easy to find. Therefore, here is a classic recipe for soup - with pork (a simplified version). If you wish, you can make ramen with chicken, but this is another recipe.
Components:
- ramen noodles - 600 g;
- boneless pork - 1 kg;
- melted pork fat - 25 g;
- soy sauce - 150 g;
- greens - 1 bunch;
- ginger - 25 g;
- salt, sugar - 1 tbsp. l .;
- cinnamon - 1 g.
Cooking
Pork is cut into medium-sized cubes, washed with the remnants of blood, then sent to a large saucepan and cooked for 30 minutes. It is necessary to remove from the surface the film formed during cooking. Then the meat is removed from the pan, the pre-salted broth is set aside for 15 minutes. Then it needs to be filtered into another container. At the bottom of an empty pan you need to spread cinnamon and ginger, and on top of them - finished meat, pour a small amount of strained broth. Next you need to boil these ingredients, add soy sauce and sugar.
The pot with meat will need to be covered with a smaller lid, using it as a yoke, put some kind of cargo on top. It is necessary to completely immerse the meat in the broth and in this state, boil it for four hours.
To cook the noodles, you will need a clean pan. Pour water into it, boil and then pour the noodles into the container. It cooks very quickly - no more than five minutes. After cooking, you need to drain the water, and divide the noodles into five equal portions. Again, take the pan, pour water (1 liter), put on fire. As soon as the water begins to boil, add pork fat to the pan and steam it for another minute. Then you need to turn off the gas, pour the contents of the pan into plates, add meat and ramen noodles there. An ornament made of fresh herbs will be useful here - so the soup will acquire a restaurant look. After all these culinary manipulations, you can safely serve an Asian dish on the table.
Tory ramen soup
The main difference from the classic soup is the addition of chicken and not pork to the dish. However, gourmets are not quite enthusiastic about such a combination. Still preferred pork.
The appearance of the tori ramen recipe is explained by the desire of people to reduce the fat content of the dish. However, Koreans, for example, consider such a substitution to be inappropriate, since in their understanding this negatively affects the nutritional value of the dish. This recipe is significantly different from the classic way of making Korean ramen noodles, because cooking this dish is much simpler and faster. A plus of this recipe is the fact that the beneficial substances that make up chicken meat more favorably affect the human body, and the taste and aroma of the chicken decorate the dish in the best way possible.
To prepare 4 servings of tori ramen, you will need the following:
- 300 g chicken wings,
- 500 g noodles
- 500 g chicken bones,
- 20 g grated ginger,
- 100 g of thick soy sauce,
- 1 bunch of fresh herbs (can be dried),
- salt to taste.
Chicken wings and bones should be placed in a pan and pour boiling water. Next you need to boil over low heat for about half an hour. After that, remove the meat from the broth and place in 4 equal portioned containers. The broth will have to be cleaned of impurities, pour soy sauce into it, add finely chopped ginger and salt. Steam it for a little while over minimal heat.
The noodles need to be cooked for about 5 minutes, then it is thrown into a colander and placed in bowls with meat portions. Noodles and meat are poured in broth.
When serving, the dish is sprinkled with finely chopped onions. Chicken ramen ready to eat.