Broth
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic (grated-mini grater)
• ½ TBSP fresh ginger (grated-mini grater)
• ¼ red onion (thinly sliced)
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil

In large sauce pot sauté onions, garlic and ginger in oil until the flavor appears to the smell, then add the chicken broth and soy sauce and set on medium heat to a light boil.

Chicken
• 1 chicken breast (boneless and skinless)
• ¼ cup of chicken broth or white wine or sake
• ½ TBSP sesame oil

In a fry-pan, add the oil and place the chicken in hot pan and fry for 2 minutes exactly on each side. If you do this the chicken will not stick to the pan. Add the liquid (I used white wine) cover and steam the chicken several minutes. The idea is to lightly brown the outside and steam the inside to a pink color. The broth will finish cooking the chicken when added later. Use a plastic spatula to scrape the fond (brown stuff on the side of the pan) as the fond will be used in the broth. (Fond = “commonly refers to the browned bits and caramelized drippings of meat and vegetables that are stuck to the bottom of a pan after sautéing or roasting.”) Add the pan drippings from the fry pan to the broth. Center cut the chicken length ways and then cross ways into small ½ inch slices.

Seafood and Seafood Juice
• 6 shrimp with tails
• 1 Pollock filet (or any white fish)
• 1 cup of water

I use frozen fish here for many reasons. I will defrost the fish and shrimp in the same bowl in a cup of water so that when it defrosts I am left with a bowl of seafood juice, which I will add to the stock. Even in chicken or pork Ramen, the Japanese will use some sort of seafood flavoring back to include seaweed kelp (kombu) or a dried fish like skipjack tuna flakes (katsuobushi), dried baby sardines (niboshi) or my favorite dried Bonito (Hondashi). In this soup just the juice from the frozen fish will suffice. It is more subtle. If time permits, read up on how to make Japanese Dashi. Before adding to the pot, remove the shrimp shells and discard.  Cut the fish into bite size squares. (We use chop sticks to eat the solids so the meat has to be manageable)

In Pot Veggies
• Shiitake mushrooms (I use dried and then re-hydrate them in warm water)
• 3 Napa cabbage leaves (center cut length ways and then chopped cross cut 1/2 inch)

Garnish
• 1 hard-boiled egg (sliced in half)
• 1 carrot (cut into sticks) See trick below
• 3 scallions – green onions (chopped)
• cilantro (hand full chopped)

There is a trick to carrot sticks. I have a mandolin slicer. After peeling the carrot, I cut the whole carrot into 2” lengths. Then I slice them on the mandolin (setting 2) length ways and once more again to make perfect matchsticks. Place the carrots in a strainer and sprinkle with salt. The salt quickly makes them flexible and less crunchy. Rinse the salt off before adding to the bowl.

Ramen Noodle
You can use the noodles in the cheap Ramen noodle packs (do not use the seasoning that comes with it, too much MSG and will ruin the broth).  Maruchan Ramen noodle or I use Simply Asian Japanese Style Ramen Noodles (Walmart), which is separated into 4 packs. Boil in water 10 minutes separately from the broth then drain. If you place the noodles directly into the broth they will over swell and soak up most of the broth.

In stage one of the broth, cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes, then add the “In Pot Veggies”, the chicken and the seafood. Cook another 15-20 minutes on a lower setting. Turn off heat and let stand until the temp is right for eating.

In a large bowl, add the Ramen noodles, then ladle in the broth, veggies and meat, then place the garnish on top and serve. We use chopsticks for the solids and an Asian soup spoon for the liquids, or just crab the bowl and drink the liquids directly from the bowl.

All the ingredients for this dish can be purchased at Walmart.