Cliff and I were brainstorming last week about recipes we wanted to try. Kara was taking Winnie to the Y so it was just going to be us manning the blog. Cliff suggested Ramen and I was soooo on board.
I knew from going to many Asian markets near my house that traditional Ramen was made with pork. So I really wanted to incorporate pork flavor. The problem was I didn’t know how to do that without spending hours in front of the stove. Pork tenderloin, ground pork, bacon? If anybody has any suggestions I am still open to hearing them.
So as a game time decision I decided to buy salt pork. The reason being…I saw one ramen recipe online where they actually made their own salt pork. I also saw several recipes using bacon and I thought this was similar given the fat content.
Cliff and Kara both thought I was an idiot. Why did you buy that? I have no idea how you’re going to cook that! yada yada yada. Click. Got hung up on.
I went with my initial plan and seared the salt pork on both sides before continuing to cook it while adding all the other layers of flavor to the pot. I knew that even if the pork didn’t end up how I wanted it, it would still add a ton of flavor to the broth and I could just discard the pieces.
Luckily the Ramen turned out fantastic! Take that!
If was full of flavor and it was a perfect fall meal. I can’t wait to make another batch and double the recipe.
Here’s what you’ll need
Sear the pork belly on both sides
Chop up the onion and carrot
Once the carrots and onion have softened add in 4 cups of broth
In go the shrooms. Also, the miso seasoning packet
finally the spinach and noodles
Serve with your fave toppings: we did nori, sprouts, chives, sriracha and toasted panko
- 1 pound salt pork, sliced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 ½ cups shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 package instant ramen (noodles only)
- handful fresh chives, chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
- Slice the salt pork and place in a large dutch oven. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side.
- Add the sesame oil to the pot and turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the garlic and ginger; and cook about 1 minute, just until fragrant. Add the carrots and onion and continue cooking until softened.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and the water. Add in the miso packet too.
- Bring to a simmer; add the mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened.
- Add the instant noodles and the spinach and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Break the noodles apart with a wooden spoon once you add them to the broth.
- Pour ladel fulls into bowls and top with any extras you want. We went with crunchy panko crumbs (see notes), nori, sriracha, bean sprouts and chives to taste.
- Sriracha, to taste
- bean sprouts
- Roasted Seaweed (Nori)
- toasted Panko (toss Panko in a bit of olive oil; bake at 350 degrees F until golden)
- chives, chopped
