Sapporo Miso Ramen

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp red miso
• 2 tbsp white miso
• 1 tbsp sesame paste or tahini
• 1 tbsp doubanjiang chilli bean paste
• 2 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1.5 litres well-flavoured chicken stock
• 300 g coarsely minced pork
• 4 tbsp lard, or 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 onion, sliced 5 mm thick
• 1 carrot, cut into thin batons
• 150 g white cabbage, shredded
• 250 g beansprouts
• 4 portions thick curly ramen noodles, about 130 g each
• 150 g sweetcorn kernels
• 4 tsp salted butter
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 8 slices chashu pork, optional

Before you cook

• Stir the red miso, white miso, sesame paste, doubanjiang, sake, mirin and soy sauce together in a small bowl until smooth. This is your tare.
• Grate the garlic and ginger into a second small bowl.
• Slice the onion, cut the carrot into batons and shred the cabbage, keeping them together on one plate.
• Rinse the beansprouts and drain them well.
• Slice the spring onions finely and set them aside for the finish.
• Warm four deep ramen bowls with hot tap water and leave them to sit.

Steps

1. Bring the chicken stock to a gentle simmer in a saucepan and keep it there.
2. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil for the noodles.
3. Set a wok over the highest heat you have and add the lard.
4. When the fat shimmers, add the minced pork and break it up with a spatula.
5. Fry the pork without stirring much for about 4 minutes, until the edges are brown and crisp.
6. Add the grated garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds, until they smell sweet.
7. Tip in the onion, carrot and cabbage and stir-fry hard for 2 minutes.
8. Add the beansprouts and toss for 1 minute more, keeping them squeaky.
9. Push the vegetables up the side of the wok and spoon the tare into the bare centre.
10. Let the tare sizzle for 20 seconds, then stir it through everything.
11. Pour in the hot chicken stock and season with the white pepper.
12. Bring the soup to a hard, rolling boil and let it churn for 2 minutes so the fat emulsifies and the broth turns cloudy and glossy.
13. Drop the noodles into the boiling water and cook them to the time on the packet, usually 2 to 3 minutes.
14. Pour the water out of the warmed bowls and dry them quickly.
15. Drain the noodles hard, shaking the sieve several times so no water dilutes the soup.
16. Divide the noodles between the bowls.
17. Ladle the soup and vegetables over the noodles, dividing the pork evenly.
18. Top each bowl with sweetcorn, a teaspoon of butter, the sliced spring onions and the chashu if you are using it.
19. Serve immediately, before the butter fully melts.