Miso Pork Kassler Ramen Bowl
An easy weeknight noodle bowl with miso broth, bright crunchy veg and smoky pork kassler.
Ingredients
Soy marinated eggs
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sweet Indonesian soy sauce see note
Miso Broth
- 1 knob fresh ginger, about 3 cm, sliced into large slices
- 4 spring onion whites keep the green ends aside for serving
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped into large chunks
- 1 clove garlic, whole and peeled
- ½ tsp chiili flakes optional
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1250 ml good quality chicken broth see note
- 3-4 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- ¼-½ tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
Vegetables
- 150 g mixed exotic mushrooms, wiped clean I like to use a mix of king oyster, shiitake and shimeji
- 100 g baby corn
- 2 small bunches of Pak Choi, rinsed well
Pork
- 2 smoked pork kassler chops
Noodles
- 2 nests dried medium egg noodles or noodles of choice
To serve
- 1-2 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted
- 1-2 tsp chilli oil
- 2 tsp spring onion greens, chopped
Instructions
Soy Marinated Eggs
- Boil the kettle. Place the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with boiling water. Boil for 6-7 minutes or until cooked to your liking (I like to use an egg colour indicator timer). Once ready, immediately remove from saucepan and place in an ice bath.
- Peel the eggs and place in a ziplock bag along with ⅓ cup soy sauce and 2 tbsp sweet indonesian soy sauce. Remove excess air in the bag and seal. Leave in the ziplock bag to rest in a small bowl so that the eggs are well covered by the soy sauce marinade.
Miso Broth
- Place a medium to large pot on the stove. Ensure that a sieve, colander or steaming basket can fit over the pot with the lid able to close over it (for steaming the vegetables at a later step).
- Add the ginger slices, carrot, spring onion whites, garlic clove and chilli flakes with a drizzle of oil. Add one heaped tablespoon of miso paste and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes whilst preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Prepare the Vegetables
- Heat a skillet pan over medium-high heat until quite hot.
- Cut the stems off the shiitake mushrooms. Place the stems in the simmering broth. Cut out an "x" from the top of the shiitake mushrooms (optional) and fry, top down, in the hot skillet for a minute or two until browned. Remove and set aside.
- Slice the king oyster mushrooms into thirds lengthways, and score one side in a criss-cross pattern with a knife (optional). Place in the hot skillet, scored side down, and fry for a minute or two until golden. Remove and set aside.
- Slice half of the baby corn into quarters lengthways. Fry in the hot skillet for a few minutes until charred. Set aside. Slice the rest of the corn into round discs and set aside.
- Slice off the base of the Pak Choi. Slice each leaf in half from the stem side to the end of the leaf.
Pork Kassler
- Heat the skillet from the previous steps on medium-high heat until hot.
- Fry the Pork Kassler chops for a few minutes per side until charred (because the Kassler chops are smoked they only need to be briefly grilled) . Set aside to rest. Slice into strips at a slight angle.
Final steps
- Remove the ginger, garlic and vegetables from the chicken broth using a slotted spoon and place the broth back on the heat.
- Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce and sugar to taste.
- Add the noodles directly to the simmering broth.
- Place the Pak Choi, baby corn discs and shimeji mushrooms in a seive or steam basket and place over the simmering broth. Cover with the lid and steam for 3-5 minutes until brightened in colour.
- Check that the noodles are cooked and take off the heat.
Plate up
- Dish up noodles. Place the pak choi, mushrooms and corn to the side of the noodles.
- Top with the sliced Kassler chops and a marinated egg sliced in half. Spoon over the broth.
- Top with your choice of toppings: chilli crunch, toasted sesame seeds, spring onion, strips of nori, chilli oil - and enjoy!
Notes
Sweet Indonesian Soy Sauce (Kecap Manis): I like to use this to marinate the soy eggs simply because it's a bit easier than mixing a marinade together. If you are unable to find some, simply mix 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce with 1 tsp rice vinegar or mirin and 1/2 tsp sugar.
Chicken broth: a good bowl of ramen is all about the broth, but this is meant to be a quick, no fuss, weeknight dinner so we will be taking a few short-cuts. Because this recipe calls for quite a lot of stock, I like to combine a good chicken bone broth or chicken stock with a concentrated stock cube/sachet/pod. I find Woolworths Liquid Stock Concentrate Sachets and Knorr Stock Pots work well, along with a homemade chicken bone broth from our local deli. I find that mixing two stocks adds a bit more flavour complexity, but feel free to use what you have.
Noodles: I have made this with dried ramen wheat noodles, I just prefer the chunkier medium egg noodles here.
Mushrooms: I like to use a mix of king oyster, shiitake and shimeji mushrooms like the Woolies Exotic Mushroom mix. Feel free to mix it up and use whatever you prefer.
Vegetables: this recipe is very flexible! Feel free to mix up your choice of veg here. Julienne carrots, sweetcorn, edamame beans and bean sprouts all work well.
Pork Kassler: The use of smoked Kassler chops here came to me by accident. We wanted to make a ramen noodle bowl for dinner one night and it was the only meat we had in the freezer (yes this can be made vegetarian but my husband insists on meat for satiety). But the smoky (bacon-esque) flavour worked so well that we continued to make it this way. If using smoked Kassler chops like these, don't cook them into a dry little slither worrying about the pork - they are cured and smoked already so only need a good char on each side. If you want to substitute the pork Kasslers for pork belly, chicken breasts, crumbed chicken fillets, steak, or even tofu - feel free to! The flexibility is the one of the best things about this recipe!
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