Super Rich Garlic Miso Ramen With Marinated Eggs And Melty Pork Char Siu

I knew it was going to be a cold day when I woke up this morning and I was buried under blankets I didn’t want to come out of. When I stuck my toe out to test the air, I could tell that my wood stove had gone out some time during the night, and the house was sporting 60 or so degrees. Because I have kids, I wasted no time in gritting my teeth, taking a deep breath, and plunging myself out into the living room to restart the fire. Once that was roaring, I thought about what I wanted to make in order to stave off the cold.

And that was ramen.

Not just any regular old ramen though–garlic miso ramen with a deliciously thick broth, a beautiful marinated soft boiled egg, and some thick and hearty slices of charsiu melty pork. But, outside of the city, where was I going to get such a thing? I sure as heck wasn’t going to drive into the city just for a bowl, dragging two screaming children, no matter how tasty it might have been.

So I endeavored to make my own. I did it once before and while the end result was glorious, it was way too much work to be slaving over a hot stove for hours at a time, trying to make sure it doesn’t over boil or evaporate too much. Then I remembered–I got a pressure cooker and that meant a broth that would otherwise take at least overnight could be done in less than two hours.

I picked up some pork trotters and a thick slab of pork belly at the butchers–they didn’t have chicken feet so while I was at my local Aldi picking up scallions and a heck of a lot of garlic, I also picked up a small whole cornish game hen.

This was even better than last time, and I highly, highly suggest you make your own if you have access to either a crock pot or a pressure cooker. The broth full of gelatin and calcium and all those nutrients that leech into the soup.

Ingredients For Ramen Base Broth

• 3 Pig Trotters (about 2 lbs)
• 2 lbs chicken feet (or one whole cornish game hen)
• 1 Whole Onion
• 2 heads garlic, 1 head peeled, 1 head grated (I am aware this is a lot of garlic. You can use less but I like it garlicky.)
• 3 sprigs scallion
• 1 whole carrot, peeled
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 pieces of ginger, about 1/2 inch thick each
• 1 tablespoon mushroom stock (or a handful of mushroom trimmings)
• 1/2 cup sake
• As much water for the first boil and then enough to just cover everything in the pot
• 1 cup miso (for every half gallon of stock)
• 1/2 cup kombu stock (or 1 piece kombu kelp)