Nikomi Ramen - stewed ramen noodles made in a pot. 煮込みラーメン
One type of Japanese cuisine is hot-pot cooking.
It is a dish in which soup stock is made in a pot called an earthenware pot and various vegetables are stewed in it.
We'll talk more about nabe-ryori in another blog!
This time it is not a nabe dish, but ramen.
These are two completely different dishes, but using the soup from the nabe to make ramen is very popular in Japan.
The most typical example of this is stewed ramen.
There is actually a product called "stewed ramen".
The product used today is this stewed ramen.
This product called stewed ramen comes with a set of soup, so all you need is some vegetables to put in the pot!
You may be a little surprised to find that this is not the same as the ramen in a bowl you often see.
Let's get on with cooking some stewed ramen!
The box contains two packets each of noodles and soup stock; one packet makes approximately two servings.
Use the whole box if you're eating with a lot of people!
First, bring the water to the boil!
Boil the following quantities of water ahead of time!
800ml for two servings.
1600 ml for four servings.
While the water boils …
First we cut the vegetables!
Cut up any vegetables you like! Generally, noodles are the main ingredient in ramen, but in the case of this stewed ramen, vegetables are also the main ingredient.
For this reason, you may want to add a little more vegetables in relation to the noodles.
Cabbage, carrots and onions can also be cut a little larger.
Besides that, you could add some of the classic potstickers, like meat, moss, or large cuts of spring onion!
Once the water is boiling, put the ingredients into the pot.
Add meat > noodles > vegetables in that order and cover.
Do you have bean sprouts in your country? Bean sprouts are recommended as they go well with ramen and yakisoba.
And,… these ramen noodles do not become soft even after simmering.
Cover and bring to a simmer.
Boil the vegetables until tender.
Don't worry! These noodles don't get too soft when cooked!
With regular ramen noodles, overcooking causes the noodles to become soft.
If pasta is also overcooked, the noodles become too soft.
But this stewed ramen is designed so that this does not happen.
This means that the noodles can be eaten with a firm, chewy texture even after being immersed in hot water for a long time.
Add soup stock.
When the vegetables are soft and wilted, add the soup stock.
Stir to blend everything together and it is ready to serve.
The only thing I did was cut up some vegetables!
It's remarkably easy!
Everyone should share this ramen.
The beauty of this ramen is that everyone can share it.
Nabe dishes are an ancient Japanese dining tradition, where everyone shares what is in the same pot.
Until now, udon noodles were commonly used as noodles in nabe dishes.
However, there are now many different types of soup stock (broth) for nabe dishes, and ramen is often added to nabe dishes.
You get to eat a lot of vegetables too, so why not try making some!
