Ramen

I was a Ramen virgin for a long time. It wasn’t until I watched Hikaru No Go, a Japanese anime that my brains processed its existence. Who said cartoons were bad for you. They can totally give a world view of things.. in this case, of noodles.

The main character Hikaru, who loves Ramen, often goes to a Ramen place. He slurps the noodles loudly and that noise would get me every time. It always made me wonder just how good Ramen is.

However, due to the insufficient amount of space in my tummy, I never bothered to explore Ramen. Most of the space was already occupied with Malaysian, spicy food. But then, as if the Ramen Gods thought it was time, I had the most life changing conversation in my life. With my bro in law.

Ironically, we were sitting at an Udon place eating Udon noodles. At that time, I only had my eyes on Udon. He proceeded to give an inspirational Ramen speech. A speech that trumps even the greatest speech on earth. It moved me. Not to tears, but to eat my very first bowl of Ramen Noodles soon after.

I think I nearly died. I was hooked. Totally obsessed. A ramen freak.

I mean.. I get pretty worked up when I’m hungry. Mr. V always says, a hungry Ai Ping is an angry Ai Ping. Yet, somehow I can have the (I’ll try not to kill) patience to squeeze through a rowdy, after concert crowd, get stuck in heavy traffic caused by the same concert crowd and then wait in line at a Ramen joint on the coldest day of the year. And you know how ridiculously long the line can get at any great Ramen joint.

Besides, instant noodles were a big part of my life… until I quit. But I’ve not been able to fill that void. That chewy, bouncy noodles void. Then, there was Ramen.

Nutrient dense rich, delicious broth made from bones, fat and marrow of both chicken and pork that leaves a sticky sheen of gelatin gloss on your lips as you devour them. Tiny fats swimming in the surface ommph the umami factor with fresh chewy and bouncy noodles, ‘soft yolk’ eggs and slices of thin, melt in the mouth pork belly.

Aaah… this is the ultimate comfort food.

The trick to a superb broth is:

1. Both chicken and pork is used along with onions, garlic, leeks and mushrooms.

2. Not only bones are used, but fats, collagen and marrows are used to make it gelatinous and give it its depth in flavor.

3. Broth has to be simmered for 6 – 12 hours. The longer the time, the more gelatin develops in the soup.

4. As for color, if you like your broth to be white, you will have to wash the bones off any bits of dark marrow or coagulated blood.

Love soupy noodles? Then you’re going to love this Hand-Torn Noodles. Hand-torn noodles cooked in anchovies broth until silky smooth, chewy & bouncy with pork & mushroom, shrimp, fried anchovies & shallots.