The summer before this past summer I stumbled upon the PBS show The Mind of a Chef on Netflix. The first episode, with David Chang, focused purely on ramen, had me hooked to say the least. I insisted on playing it for my family, who appreciated it as much as I did, but were annoyed because it made them hungry and the options for ramen are limited in our neighborhood. This nonetheless sent us on a scavenger hunt to test out various ramen places around Manhattan.

We went to Totto Ramen, Ivan Ramen, Soba-ya, Setagaya Ramen and Yasha Ramen. Those excursions made it all the more tempting to try it at home, so we did a little research. We knew that we had to find the real “ramen” noodle. We discovered that a big supplier called Sun Noodle sells to Whole Foods. Once we had figured out where to buy them, we knew the rest was possible.

It was a bit of a production, with lots of slicing and dicing of veggies, and there were many dirty pots, pans, and colanders. Technically, this is not a traditional ramen recipe but the idea is the same: delicious soy-braised pork belly, medium boiled egg, a rich broth, fresh noodles, and a variety of fresh vegetables.

Presentation is paramount! The noodle bowls are important to the success of this ambitious meal. Ikea sells them but they aren’t available for shipping, and getting to an Ikea store would be a challenge. Instead, we decided to get large, simple white pasta bowls at Bed Bath & Beyond. We got the chopsticks there as well.

Serves 10, ready in 4 hours

Pork Belly

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
4 pounds of pork belly (skin removed)
4 tbsp sesame oil
6 stalks of scallions, sliced
8 stems from shiitake mushrooms
4 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
6 cups water
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp chili paste or sriracha
1 inch piece of ginger peeled and thinly sliced

Stir ingredients, except for the pork belly, ginger and mushrooms, together in a small bowl. Brown pork belly on all sides over medium high heat in an oven-proof covered pot or dutch oven. Cover with marinade, mushroom stems, and ginger slices, and bake for 3 hours. Remove pork from liquid (reserve liquid) and place in fridge until ready to use.

Broth

liquid from pork belly
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water

Strain any solids from the cooled cooking liquid. For the soup stock, combine pork belly cooking liquid with chicken stock and water in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and season to taste with salt, pepper, more chili paste for spice, ginger, garlic, water, etc.

Eggs

5 boiled eggs

For soft boiled eggs, place eggs in medium-sized pot, cover with water until submerged by ½ inch and place on stove over high heat. When water begins to boil, cover with lid and let sit on hot burner for 4 minutes. Rinse under cold water and carefully peel.

Veggies

3 medium carrots in 2” matchstick julienne slices
2 small zucchini in 2” matchstick julienne slices
2 handfuls of green beans, cut into 1" - 2” pieces
4 stalks kale ribs removed, torn into small pieces (spinach works too)
6 scallions thinly sliced
2 cup of shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced in long strips
1 cup of cilantro leaves, cleaned, stems removed

Noodles

Heat a large pot of water to boiling. When all garnishes are ready, cook the noodles according to package directions, usually 2 minutes is more than enough. It is best to cook each serving in a separate strainer.

Final Assembly

Assemble soup by placing ramen noodles in individual bowls. Then arrange the vegetables and slices of pork belly around the noodles, and the soft-boiled egg sliced in half, in a visually pleasing array. Ladle the hot stock to cover and serve. Garnish with cilantro and scallions. Add hot sauce to your liking!