Everyone around me knows that I watch a lot of cooking shows from Masterchef UK now on to Masterchef US, My Kitchen Rules Australia to MKR New Zealand, Chopped, Top Chef, all of the Heston Series and more recently, Jamie’s Comfort Food, Knife Fight and Snack Off. On top of that, I read about food during my free time and check out recipes to find inspiration as well as to learn about more cooking techniques.
So, couple of weeks back while eating dinner, I decided to watch the latest episode of Snack Off. I told Darren that Snack Off is probably the equivalent of Keeping up with the Kardashians with the exception that it is for food. One probably won’t learn a lot about food, but still it is good entertainment after a long day. I must admit that I kept watching it because of Chrissy Teigen- she’s just so sexually inappropriate on the show- it is fun to watch! For the second round, the mystery ingredient was Ramen. Derek who aced the first round made Ramen Burger. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it at first because it is after all snack off and not masterchef etc, but what changed was the fact that during deliberation, Jason Quinn criticised on the level of creativity involved since the picture of a Ramen Burger is on the set of Snack Off. There I thought to myself ‘If there is a picture of it, it must have been done before!’
It didn’t take long to find out that it is a legit thing, with the help of my friend, Google of course. I saved a picture of it and showed it to Darren and Olly. I told Darren that if it takes less than 30 minutes for a non professional cook to manage a Ramen Burger, I can do so- especially given that I don’t have any time constraint. I kept thinking about the Ramen Burger and immediately thought about Paul- he will definitely jump over the thought of having a Ramen Burger. Paul loves ramen and grilling- in fact, if he is at home, I doubt there is anything else in his ‘dinner vocabulary’ other than Grilling. I then went to sleep.
When I woke up, my hand couldn’t stop researching on how to make a Ramen Burger. However, most of the recipes seems to be tackling the Ramen Burger as if it is simply a normal burger with the exception of using a Ramen Bun. I on the other hand is still keen to keep the integrity of the Ramen- as much as I can but at the same time at the lowest cost I could. I then began my day while eating my lovely granola parfait breakfast, researching on how to make Ramen broth. An article that I read suggested using pork bones and the bones are then to be boiled for 20 hours (Well, I dont have that much time to spare but to an extend I do have some time to partake in slow cooking process).
There are few times when I’ve had Ramen. I am not one to be fond of soup noodles. The first time was in Korea (weird enough), once in Malaysia and more recently yet frequently at Shoryu London with my bestfriend, Belle. Ramen at Shoryu is simply delightful. It is packed with flavours that I sometimes do dream about it. I can still remember the taste of the broth at the back of my head- flavour of bone, meat fat, garlic and ginger. In one of the episode of Masterchef US, I recalled when the contestants had to cook pho during their pressure test and Gordon Ramsay mentioned that with Asian broth the trick is to add layers and layers of flavours to the broth as time passes by. I knew from the start that I simply had to make the broth as a side sauce. I also recalled a creamier sauce and I thought to myself- ah perfect! I could attempt this, cook the broth down so that it will have a thick consistency and this could be my interpretation of mayo.
Staying true to the concept of my blog which is living on a budget – I only used ribs, garlic and ginger to make my broth. I only needed a bowl of the broth for this meal. Using the three ingredients as the first layer allows me to create a tom kha soup. As I am not using a lot of meat to make my broth plus shorter amount of time used and from my understanding, the creamy tonkatsu broth is actually formed from meat fat, I used coconut milk for creamy texture (any Japanese will definitely roll their eyes on me, SORRY!!!! Probably I was thinking of a way to kill two birds with one stone, plus I was cautious when I added the coconut milk as not to overpower the taste of the meat).
For an authentic ramen broth, please visit: http://norecipes.com/tonkotsu-ramen-recipe/
Broth Method:
Blend 5 cm of ginger and a whole bulb of garlic, saute the blended mix, add in ribs and add water enough to cover the ribs.
Cook it at low heat and when the broth simmers then add in coconut milk. Keep it at a low heat, add salt as the time passes by. I left it for 5 hours.
After 5 hours, I removed all of the ribs and huge portion of the broth. I then cranked up the heat to medium and cook down the broth.
Tom Kha method:
After I removed a huge portion of the broth and ribs, I add in lemongrass, blended finger chillies (10-12) and lime juice (I used 2 lime). It is hard to find galangal in Sheffield anyway and I didn’t have lime leaves in hand. I cook this at low heat for another hour.
It cost me: £5.59 to make the broth and £2 more to make a tom kha soup with ribs.
I then kept thinking about what will I be served if I am having Ramen at shoryu- Somehow I am keen on making beef patties. In Jamie’s comfort food, he mentioned that the tricks of making burger, although he grilled it outdoor and I only have a grilling pan/ oven grill, I am still very much optimistic that I will make it – all that was required was 200grams of ground chuck and that was it (other recipes calls for the use of eggs to combine the meat etc.) I season the meat and as informed make a loose patty so that this will allow room for the fat to melt in between. Bought the ground chuck for £1.10 (200grams at the local butcher nearby).
Jamie’s Burger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS99Hu94dFM
I am allergic to mustard and because this will be an Asian burger, I decided to make a teriyaki sauce to coat one side of the patty with. I added 1 tablespoon of soya sauce, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1 tablespoon of cooking sake and 1 tablespoon of honey- ingredients that I already have at home.
A burger is not complete without the vegetable condiments. I couldn’t find lettuce at tesco but saw chinese leaves for £1 so I decided to make Asian slaw. I added one tablespoon of sesame oil, two tablespoons of siracha chilli sauce and one tablespoon of white wine vinegar. I also added onions and chillies (cut diagonally).
Now, lets not forget about the Ramen ‘bun’…it cost £0.42 at Wading to buy a pack of Nissin instant Ramen noodles (probably cheaper elsewhere but I wasn’t bothered to walk around today).
So what I gathered from recipes that I can find online is to blanch the noodles, add the seasoning, add eggs and shape the noodles in a circle form.
I didn’t want to use the seasoning, seeing that it is unhealthy and im sure my ‘mayo’ will add the Ramen flavour. So, instead, I added salt and garlic powder to the ramen the same time when I added eggs. I left it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO COVER THE BOTTOM OF THE CIRCLE FORM AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY COMPACT- So press it down!
The result is as the following:
Enjoy!!!!
Livin On A Budget 