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Pork Belly Ramen-esque Deliciousness

Pork Belly Ramen is my ultimate comfort food. Hug in a bowl.

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Rich broth, filling noodles, spicy, sour-y deliciousness, the nori sheets, kimchi, marinated egg, the whole ritual… yum, yum, yum!

It kind of reminds me of the traditional Polish chicken broth, just you know, Asian, and made with pork! The effects are the same though – it makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

The moment I discovered it, I was immediately hooked. Luckily, London has a wonderful selection of specialist Ramen restaurants and I proudly can say I have visited most of them! Since then, whenever I travel to a new city the search for a ramen haven begins.

The places I would wholeheartedly recommend (for when we can do the crazy eating out thing again) are:

London

Kanada-Ya (the truffle ramen! ? Also, they do takeaway!) and Bone Daddies (the atmosphere is to die for, you just need a little patience to get in. All traditional ramen places don’t offer bookings, which is definitely part of the fun).

Krakow

Akita Ramen (such a great find – again a little waiting time but so worth it!) and Ramen People (lovely location by the river and we had a fantastic orange wine which tasted like a cider ?).

The Hague

Momiji Ramen (small, but wonderful selection of traditional ramen bowls and ice-cold beer – my preferred partner to ramen for the full experience).

Barcelona

Ramen-Ya Hiro (went here for lunch during my hen do a couple of years ago, so the fact that I remember it speaks for itself!).

Most ramen places offer gluten-free noodles these days if you are choosing to go GF. I have relaxed my rules over the years and whenever I have a chance to enjoy traditional ramen I go full in, gluten and all.

Now we’re stuck at home again with lockdown here for foreseeable future, I decided to embark on a seemingly crazy task to re-create the ramen experience.

I don’t claim this is the actual pork belly ramen, but it’s pretty damn close. And it tastes ridiculously good, perfectly filling the ramen-shaped hole in my life (thanks a lot COVID).

You need some good quality pork belly, ideally organic from your local butcher. A quick tip – whenever cooking a high fat cut of meat, make sure you opt for organic variety as most toxins in meat are stored in the fatty bits! I get mine from Riverford alongside the veggies. It’s regularly added to my meat boxes – so convenient and the quality is excellent.

The cooking process takes a little while and it’s probably best left for a not-too-busy weekend. But the result… oh my, so worth it! The pork is divinely crispy and delicious and literally melts in your mouth. The slow-cooked broth is complex in flavour, rich and comforting.

Pork Belly Ramen

Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes
Total time

2

hours 

Ingredients

  • For The Marinade
  • 1 tbsp Honey

  • 1 tbsp Chilli Sauce

  • 2 Minced Garlic Cloves

  • 1 tbsp Fresh Grated Ginger

  • 2 tbsp Tamari Sauce

  • 2 tbsp Ginger Wine (or Shaoxing Wine)

  • Salt & Pepper To Taste

  • For The Broth
  • 4 Slices of Marinated Pork Belly

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil

  • 1 Medium Onion

  • 3 Cups Chicken Stock

  • 1 Litre Water

  • 1 tbsp Tamari Sauce

  • 1 tbsp Honey

  • Juice of 1 Medium Lime

  • Egg Noodles

  • Salt & Pepper To Taste

  • Rice Vinegar To Taste

  • Toppings
  • 1 Leaf Pak Choi

  • 1 Bird’s Eye Chilli

  • ½ Romano Pepper

  • Spring Onion

  • Optional (To Make It More Ramen-Like)
  • Medium Boiled Egg

  • Nori Sheets

  • Kimchi

Directions

  • Put the marinade ingredients and pork belly slices together, cover and marinade in the fridge for maximum one hour
  • Preheat a pan with the olive oil
  • Cut the onion finely and fry on a medium heat until golden
  • Add the pork belly with the marinade to the pan and let it simmer until the juices reduce by half
  • In the meantime, pour water and stock into a medium-sized pan, bring to boil and reduce to simmer
  • Add the honey, lime juice, tamari as well as the pork belly with all it’s lovely juices
  • Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for about 90 minutes with the lid on
  • Adjust the taste accordingly with extra seasoning, rice vinegar and tamari
  • Go and chill on the sofa in excitement and anticipation
  • With around 10 minutes of cooking time left, prepare your noodles, following the instructions on the pack
  • Prepare pak choi, pepper and spring onions by cutting them into chunky pieces/rings. Chillies should be sliced up too, but in smaller pieces/rings
  • Transfer the cooked pork slices to a plate and pat dry with kitchen paper
  • Heat up a skillet without any oil to a high temperature
  • Sear the pork belly slices for 30 seconds each side, until golden. Pay attention to the fatty bits on the side!
  • Transfer bok choi and pepper to the pan with the broth and let it simmer for around 2-3 minutes until it softens a bit. They are not meant to be cooked!
  • Cut the pork belly into strips and serve in your favourite big bowls with noodles, a generous serving of broth topped up with spring onions and chillies

Notes

  • For the Chilli Sauce, use whatever you have in the fridge, or make your own if you’re feeling adventurous!
  • For the Chicken Stock, you can use organic cubes, or again, try making your own!
  • The optional ingredients should be added to the broth upon serving

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