My Extra Special Chicken Ramen

(Prep - 30 mins, cooking time - 4hrs)

Serves 4

If you're like me and could eat noodles all day every day, then you'll love this ramen recipe! What makes this ramen 'extra special' is the delicious soup broth that we're going to make from scratch. By allowing the flavours in the soup to simmer and combine over a few hours, you'll produce a bowl of ramen so tasty you won't be able to put it down!

To make the 'extra special' broth - you will need:

• 1 x Roast Chicken Carcass (or 2-3 stock cubes of your choosing)

• 2 x Spring Onions

• 1 tbsp - Miso Paste

• 1 tsp - Oyster Sauce

• 1 tsp - Lazy Ginger (or a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger)

• 1 - 3 x Garlic Cloves (depending on your taste preference)

• 2 Litres of Water

Step 1 - Add your chicken carcass (or stock cubes), spring onions and garlic cloves to a large pan with a lid, and bruise with a rolling pin. This helps everything release more flavour... win!

Step 2 - Add the remaining ingredients, tip your water over & season generously with salt pepper and a pinch of sugar. Bring it to a boil over a high heat, stirring all the time to help those pastes and sauces dissolve.

Step 3 - Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and pop a lid on. This will need 4 hours on a low heat to really make the flavours sing. I recommend tasting your broth periodically to see if it needs a little more seasoning.

Top Tip! If you don't have a large pot with a lid, you could also throw everything into a slow cooker and leave it to simmer on a high/medium heat, it will taste just as good.

Fast forward 4 hours...

Once you're sure that your ramen broth is tasting delicious, you can strain it to remove all those bones and aromatics.

Pop it back on the heat to keep it warm while you assemble the other ingredients for your ramen. You'll notice that the broth has reduced down by quite a bit (maybe even halved), but don't worry, there'll be plenty to go around.

Top Tip! You can put this ramen broth in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge or freezer for a rainy day.

What to have with your ramen?

The beauty with this recipe is that your delicious soup base will go well with pretty much any noodles, meats, seafood or vegetables that you like.

For this version, I used:

• Udon Noodles

• Chicken Breast Marinated in Garlic, Ginger and Soy

• Mushrooms

• Peppers

• Sweetcorn

• Spring Onions

Top Tip! Traditional ramen usually come with a boiled egg. If you want to add one to your recipe, I recommend boiling it for 6 minutes, then plunging it into ice-cold water to achieve a nice runny centre.

Step 1 - Cook your meat/fish. I baked my chicken breast in the oven at 180°c for 25 minutes, then finished it off in a hot pan to give it a nice golden colour on the outside.

Step 2 - Prepare your noodles according to the instructions on the packet. My udon noodles needed 3 minutes in boiling water, but if you're using dried egg noodles, or rice noodles, this cooking time may vary.

Step 3 - Just before you plate up, give your finely sliced vegetables 2-3 minutes in a hot pan. You want them to keep a nice crisp texture, but this will help to heat them through.

Assembling your ramen:

Once your noodles are cooked, pop them in the bottom of your serving bowl. Lay your veggies, meat, fish (and optional egg) over the top, then pour your yummy homemade soup base over the top. Garnish with spring onions (and coriander if you have some, trust me it's amazing). Grab a pair of chopsticks, a spoon and enjoy!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Tag me on Instagram @lifewithlittle_l if you recreate your own version!

L x