Spicy Miso Pork Belly Ramen

Okay, so for those of you who have never been to Japan or to a ramen restaurant, real ramen is not Top Ramen.  While many of us may have been sustained by the packaged ramen during our college days or ate it as a kid growing up (it was a favorite of mine after swim team practice), you have not experienced real ramen if this is all you have had.  If you are lucky enough to be in a larger city with a ramen restaurant, make your way there now; cause while I am going to give you my recipe, modeled after one of my favorite ramen spots, Urban Ramen, it is just never quite the same.

But now that Trader Joe's carries this delicious already cooked pork belly, it makes this dish so much easier.  Of course if you want to make this veggie friendly you can sub in tofu or just load up on veggies.


Wanderer's Shopping List
1 TJs Pork Belly
8ounces Ground Pork
4cloves Garlic - finely chopped
2tsp Ginger - grated
8ounces Shiitake Mushrooms - coarsely chopped
4cups Chicken Stock
2tbsp Miso Paste
1tsp Chili Oil (more if you like things really spicy like me)
1package Noodles (Check out the asian food section in your grocery store; you will find all sorts of yummy noodles.  Best ones for ramen are either the package ramen noodles, don't use the flavor packet or yaki soba noodles.)
1can Bamboo Shoots
3heads Baby Bok Choy - coarsely chopped
1cup Bean Sprouts
2-3 Green Onion - finely chopped
Seasoned Soft Boiled Egg (see directions below; make ahead)
>4 Eggs
>4tbsp Soy Sauce
>4tbsp Rice Vinegar
>2cups Water

4 servings

Seasoned Soft Boiled Eggs - Place 4 eggs in medium pot and cover with water, bring just to boil; turn off heat and cover for 7 minutes.  Remove eggs and place in cold water.  Meanwhile, mix soy sauce, rice vinegar and water in zip lock bag.  Once eggs are cold enough to handle, peel carefully and place in zip lock bag.  Place in fridge for 24-48 hours.

Preheat oven to broil.  Slice pork belly into 1/4 inch slices; place on baking sheet.  Broil pork belly for 2-3 minutes each side.  Watch carefully, things can burn quick under broil.  Set aside once done.

While that is happening, add ground pork to large skillet or wok over medium heat, breaking up while browning.  Once meat is partially cooked, add garlic, ginger and mushrooms.   Cook until meat is browned and crisped.

Couple of tips for grating your ginger; first use a spoon to remove the peel, a lot safer than a knife and works amazingly well.  Once you have the peel removed, place a piece of plastic wrap over your grater (you want the really fine one)  and grate the ginger on top of the plastic wrap.  It is crazy, but the plastic will not break and you will have all of the ginger on top of it and can easily remove it.

Meanwhile, add chicken stock, miso paste, and chili oil to large pot.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.
While simmering, cook noodles to directions in separate pot, add to ramen.  Add pork belly, ground pork mixture, bamboo shots and bok choy.

Take seasoned eggs and carefully add one to each of the four bowls; carefully cut each egg in half longways.  The heat of the soup will warm up the egg and cook it a little more.  Add bean sprouts to each bowl.  Top each bowl with noodle/meat/veggie/broth mixture.  Be sure to get a little of everything in the bowls.  Top each with sprinkle of green onions.  Add chopsticks and you are ready to chow down!

Fried Chicken and Biscuits Eggs Benedict

These days every restaurant has a take on the classic eggs benedict; and while I do love the classic, some of these twists are quite delicious.  This fun play is inspired by a great little restaurant in West Hollywood called Fat Dog.  The place is great for brunch, has some fun drinks at good prices and a yummy selection of dishes(pic above) to pick from that they have put their mark on.  And true to their name it is dog themed and has a patio that is dog friendly.

Wanderer's Shopping List
1tbsp White Vinegar
4 - 8 Eggs (This can be served with 1 or 2 eggs each depending on how hungry you and your troops are)
4 Chicken Thighs
1/2cup Flour
1/4cup Parsley - finely chopped
Vegetable or Sunflower Oil
Salt
Pepper
8 Biscuits (My husband swears the best biscuits come from the back of the Clabber Girl baking powder can, so that is what I used.  You will need flour, shortening, butter, salt, milk and of course baking power)
Hollandaise Sauce (I used this recipe and it was delicious!  You will need egg yolks, lemon juice, butter, cayenne pepper and salt)

<4 Servings>

This recipe is a little bit of a juggling act, so if you have an extra set of hands offering to help, accepted.  You can do this on your own, you will need your oven to keep things warm for timing purposes.

First, start with a little prep for everything.  Go ahead and fully prep your biscuits so they are ready to bake; set aside.

Next, on a plate mix flour with salt and pepper, just enough to season the chicken, about a 1/4 teaspoon of each; set aside.   You want small to medium sized pieces of chicken, so you are going to pound it a little so it is not so thick and to even it out; this will help so that it fries evenly.  Great technique is to place the chicken on a cutting board (your raw meat designated cutting board) and place a piece of wax paper over it and then hit with your mallet until it at the desired thickness.  About 1/2 thick is good.  If you don't have a meat mallet, a rolling pin or skillet works great.    Once done, dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mixture; set aside.

Prepare your ingredients for your sauce; squeeze your lemons, separate your eggs and make sure your butter is softened.  Two easy ways to separate the egg yolks from the egg whites; both you will need two bowls:
1 - Crack the egg in half and tip the egg back and forth between the two half over a bowl pouring off the whites.  Once separated, place the yolk in the other bowl.
2 - Crack the egg in to your hand over a bowl, slowly let the whites go through your fingers until you have only the yolk left, place in other bowl.
Set items aside, you will want to make your sauce last.

Preheat your oven for your biscuits and cook to instructions.  Meanwhile, heat a 1/2 cup of oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Once up to temp, place chicken carefully in the skillet and cook 4-5 minutes each side.  If your skillet is large enough, you may be able to all 4 pieces at once; just be carefully not crowd the skillet, better to do this in 2 batches if needed.  When done, place on paper towel lined plate to drain of excess oil.

While chicken is frying; bring a large pot of water with the vinegar to a very low boil.  Crack eggs one at a time into a small bowl; holding lip of bowl at the edge of the water, slowly pour the egg into the water.  Cook 3-5 minutes, depending on how firm you like your yolks, then remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate.  You can have 3 eggs in at a time.

I know poaching eggs can be a little intimidating, if this is too much for you, there are a couple of work arounds.  You can use a poaching pan, usually 4 eggs at a time.  If you don't have the pan, there is this awesome trick my sister taught me.  Spray a skillet with a little non-stick cooking spray and bring to medium heat, drop eggs in (# depends on size of skillet) and cook until whites begin to firm, then add water, enough for inch in the skillet, continue cooking until done.

Now make your hollandaise sauce.  Keep everything else covered with foil while you do this and it should all stay warm.  The sauce cooks pretty quickly.

Assembly time.  Two biscuits per plate, top with piece of chicken, egg or two, pour sauce over the top and sprinkle with parsley(that you found time to chop somewhere in all this) and a dash of cayenne pepper for color.  

Enjoy with your favorite brunch peeps; we made this as a late mother's day breakfast and it was a hit.  Goes great with a bloody beer or bloody mary.

Just a quick note.

Okay...so let's start with the obvious.  It has been a really, really long time since I have posted anything.  All I can say is that a lot has happened in that time; which means there is plenty to say, plenty of recipes to be posted and lots of cooking to do.  In this time I have traveled much for work (was not home for more than 48 hours straight in a 3 month period), went on my first Asia trip, celebrated two dear friends weddings, experienced new love and a great loss, and of course, had many great meals and delicious great drinks.   I am looking forward to sharing new recipes and tips with you all!  Check back soon for the next post!