How a Japanese cook ramen eggs and pork chaw siu at home

The history of ramen in Japan started with Shoyu（醤油）Ramen or Chuka Soba（中華そば）or Chinese noodles. This orthodox traditional ramen must have good Ajitama（味玉）ramen eggs and char siu（チャーシュー）

Today I will show you how to make Japanese ramen eggs and char siu at home. I used the broth to cook char siu to make all the way to the end of an authentic bowl of ramen!!

How to make ramen eggs and pork char siu

Ingredients

• pork shoulder/thigh...500~600g

• The top (green part) of the Japanese leak... 2~3 sticks

• ginger...few slices

• soy sauce...1~2 spoons

• Japanese sake...1 spoon

• eggs...I usually cook 10 and store in the fridge, lasts for a bout 4~5 days)

• minced garlic, minced ginger...1/ 2 cloves each

Instructions

• Poke a hole to the pork so it sucks in flavor well. If you have a meat softer, use it for tenderness. 
• Take a pot and place the pork. Completely cover the pork with water. 
• Put the top green part of the Japanese leak, sliced ginger, soy sauce, and Japanese sake, and cook in low heat for 90~120 minutes.
• While cooking, make sure the pork is covered. Add hot water if necessary.
• Scoop out the foam that appears on the surface of the soup.

*Star Anice, （八角）/ five spice powder, （五香粉）, Japanese Pepper（山椒）are also very nice seasonings for the pork.

*I use English Tea bag for a slight flavor and tenderness for the pork.

• While waiting for the pork to cook, make the boiled eggs, and the other toppings.
• Boil the egg in boiled water for 6.5~7 minutes, cool it with ice water and have the shell peeled.

• This is after100 minutes of cooking. Smells awesome!
• Take a kitchen bag/container and put the sauce ratio of 1:1:1 soy sauce, vinegar, mirin.

*mirin/sake should be heated to let the alcohol to evaporate on a different pan for better taste, cutting off the alcohol smell, and leaving only the umami(we call this nikiru=煮来) I like to evaporate part of the sauce to be thicker till it's close to burnt (kogashu=焦がす）so it's more smoky.

*Those that don't like the meaty smell you can add 1 tablespoon of green tea to cut off the smell and enhance taste.

Have the boiled eggs in the same sauce as the pork. Let the sauce blend for half day.

• boil the ramen noodles in a pot.
• Heat the broth you cooked the pork. Remove the top part of the leak, as it will not have any flavor left.

You will need some practice cooking the noodles.

• While boiling, prepare a bowl with 2 spoons of soy sauce and the broth. Add dashi, ginger, and garlic for flavor.

Drain the noodles. If you have a Tebo=（tebo）like the ones you see in the ramen shops, it will be best but as long as you can drain it does the job.

Put the noodles in the bowl with the broth, add toppings of sliced char siew, halved ramen egg,and your preferred toppings.

Japanese like to add white pepper for more pepper scent, and then 1 spoon of vinegar towards the end for refreshment and change in taste.

Key Points

• When you make the broth, it should be slightly salty/stronger in taste. When you add the noodles, it'll make the soup less salty as the noodles contain water.
• Ramen is always best hot and right after serve! Make sure you have the broth ready before you take out the ramen noodles.

Ramen is easy once you have the toppings prepared!

Ramen is not very difficult to make, BUT it involves a lot of time. The professional ramen shops work very long hours for their bowl, which I always give my deepest respect that they offer it for under 1000JPY...

However, I seldom eat ramens outside as I could top it with my favorite ingredients at home, and it's 60~300JPY cooked at home!!

• How to make the Best Maruchan Instant Ramen Noodles

In supermarkets in Japan, they will be selling better quality ramens.

I eat Saimi, very famous Ramen shop from Sapporo's packaged ramen. (200~250JPY)

Well known noodle brands like Maruchan or Nissin will have these packaged ramen that collavorate with famous ramen shops. A Japanese will first eat it from these packaged food, and go to the actual shops when they like it.

A good example for me was Tenkin from Asahikawa.

I liked the packaged version, and decided to give it a try in the actual shop when I went to Asahikawa.

The broth and the char siu are the most time consuming, but once you have these prepared and stocked in your fridge, it will take you 5 minutes to cook a satisfying ramen at home!!

My once in awhile Go To Ramen shop... there's a lot but I narrowed it doesn to 5!!

• The 5 ramen shops in Japan that I can't wait to go back 

Japan has a lot more things to eat than ramen. Here are my favorites!

• 10 of my personal favorite restaurants in Japan that hold a special place in my heart!

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In this blog, I post my food trips around the world, as insights into Japanese food in comparison to all the different cuisines I encounter through my trips. I have traveled to many places in Japan, so I will be sharing what I know to better plan your trip to my home country, Japan!
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