Pressure Cooker Shoyu Ramen [Zack]

I’ve always wanted to cook a bowl of Japanese ramen from scratch, but I’ve been overwhelmed by the task.  Despite the fact that I’m willing to spend the large amount of time in the kitchen to make the soup base, the sheer number of conflicting recipes and techniques made my head spin.  There are many different types of ramen soups (Kenji explains here), and each classification of soup has many different recipes (just like Italian grandmas and their red sauce).

I was watching “A Mind of a Chef” with David Chang and he seemed really laid back about the whole process.  After re-watching the ramen scene many times and searching the internet, I gave it my first try.  The result was amazing and the process was actually pretty simple!  I’m going to attempt to explain below:

I made Shoyu Ramen based on a Momofuku recipe I found online.  You make a base stock using kombu (Japanese seaweed), dried shiitake mushrooms, veggie aromatics, chicken bones, and pork bones.  You then make a bacon and chicken-flavored soy sauce “Tare” to mix into the base stock.  Add in noodles, an egg, scallions, roasted pork, and mushrooms and whamo!  It’s ramen.

Since the stock base takes so long to simmer, I ran a side-by-side experiment with a pressure cooker version and a stove top-simmered version.  I wanted to see if I could speed the recipe up.  Both stock bases were full-bodied and delicious, but the pressure cooker took only 3 hours, while the simmering stock pot took ~10 hours.  Below you can find my “fast” version of Ramen using the pressure cooker.  Disclaimer:  this is not meant to be the ultimate authentic recipe, but a good beginner’s bowl of ramen.

Process:

This pressure cooker recipe will produce around 10 bowls of ramen.  If you want to make a lot more since you’re going through all of the work to make the stock, you can double the recipe and use multiple stock pots.  Simmering on the stove gets the same results, it just takes longer.

Start by making the ramen stock base:

Fill your pressure cooker (or multiple pots) ½ way with water.  Set on the stove and bring the temperature up to 150F.  Add the 1.5 oz kombu and 2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms and remove from the heat.  Let it steep like a tea for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

While the stock is steeping, roast the chicken bones and pork bones in the oven at 425F until browned – about 45 minutes.  No need to salt or season them.  Reserve the pans after roasting so you can scrape the delicious fond into the stock pot.

Remove the kombu and shiitake mushrooms from the pot and reserve the shiitake.  You can pickle them and use them in your ramen.  

Add the roasted chicken and pork to the pot.  Throw in 1 medium carrot and the roots and white parts of 1 bunch of green onions.  Add a bit of water to the roasting pans and scrape the brown bits into the stock pot.  It’s free flavor!! 

Add more water until the bones are covered, but don’t over-fill the pressure cooker per the manufacturer instructions (leave 1/3 empty).  

Close the lid and let the pressure cooker work for 3 hours on low heat.  This will produce a super-concentrated stock.

Remove the bones and vegetables and strain the stock through a cheesecloth.  Skim the fat off of the top - you’ll get enough fat in the soup from the bacon tare.

The soy sauce Tare: 

In an oven-proof pan, roast parts of a chicken (I used 1 back, 1 thigh, and 1 leg) at 425F until browned.  Deglaze the pan with the 1C sake, 1C mirin, and 2C light soy sauce, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom.  Add the ½ lb of smokey bacon and simmer over very low heat for 1 hour.  You don’t want to evaporate and reduce the volume of the tare, you just want to infuse it with the chicken and bacon flavor.

After 1 hour, remove the chicken and bacon from the tare and strain out anything left.  You can pick the chicken meat and put it in a soup if you’d like.

Pickle the re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms:

Cut off the tough stems from the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms.  Slice the mushrooms and toss them in minced ginger and the different liquids.  I did 1T soy sauce, 1/2T fish sauce, 1/2T vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1T minced ginger, and 1T sugar.

Assemble the ramen:

Decide what you want in your soup.  I included:

• smoked pulled pork shoulder (from another meal)
• a sous vide egg at 63C for 1 hour - but you can just soft-boil an egg in a pot for 7.5 minutes
• chopped scallions
• pickled shiitake mushrooms
• fresh noodles

Add 1 parts water to 1 part ramen broth and bring to a heavy simmer. 

In the bottom of each serving bowl, mix ~¼ cup of tare (to taste) with the hot broth.  Drop cooked fresh noodles in and arrange the rest of the ingredients around the bowl.

Ingredients (for about 10 bowls of ramen):
Adapted from David Chang's recipe:

Ramen broth:
1.5 oz dried kombu seaweed
2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms
2 lbs chicken bones with some meat left on them
2.5 lbs pork bones with some meat left on them
1 medium coarsely-chopped carrot
1 bunch of green onions (white part and roots only)

Soy Tare:
1 lb chicken parts (1 chicken back, 1 chicken thigh, 1 chicken leg)
1/2 lb smokey bacon
1 cup sake
1 cup mirin
2 cups light soy sauce

Pickled shiitake mushrooms:
Reserved rehydrated shiitake mushrooms from ramen broth
1T soy sauce
1/2T fish sauce
1/2T vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1T minced ginger
1T sugar

Ramen garnish:
fresh noodles
pickled shiitake
smoked pork shoulder
soft-boiled egg (or sous vide)
chopped green onions

Song:  James Blake & Bon Iver - Fall Creek Boys Choir

Beef Stock + French Onion Soup [Zack]

If chicken stock is like Eddy Murphy (versatile, well-liked by everyone, and the most popular of stocks), then beef stock is like Charlie Murphy.  It's not made as frequently, it's underrated, and if used in the right way, it can be better than chicken stock.

It takes a bit of time to make the beef stock, but overall it requires very little active cooking time.  I suggest that people try to make stock one time to see if they're willing to go through the effort to make it from scratch.  And while you are at it, you may as well make a really big batch and freeze the extra for other uses!

Head over to your local butcher and ask which bones are the best for beef stock.  They'll tell you that you want thick, marrow-y beef bones with some meat left on them.  The bones will be dirt cheap (unless too many people read this post ;))

One of the ultimate uses for beef stock is a classic French Onion Soup.  Using homemade stock will put your soup miles ahead of one using canned broth.  Because you're using such a nice beef stock, you can simplify the recipe and it will still knock socks off.

Process for Beef Stock (French Onion Soup Recipe after the Ingredients Section):

Slice 2 onions in 1/2 (you can leave the skins on as long as they aren't dirty), slice a carrot, and grab a few cloves of garlic.  Toss them on a tray with your beef bones and put them into a 400F / 200C oven for 20-30 minutes until they are caramelized.  This will deepen the flavor of the stock.

Add the roasted bones, the bay leaf, and veggies to a stock pot.  I like to pour some water onto my cooking tray and scrape up all of the good bits of beef flavor stuck to the tray.  Pour this into your stock pot.

Fill the pot with water until it covers the bones, bring the whole thing to a fast boil, and skim off any foam or impurities that float to the top with a spoon.

Put the stock pot into an oven at 225F / 110C.  Walk away for about 8 hours.  Alternatively, you can make it in your pressure cooker to drastically reduce the cooking time to about 2 hours.  (use the same method as the pressure-cooker chicken stock, but extend the time)

After your bones have given up all of their flavor, grab them out of your pot with tongs and throw them away.  Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer (I never use cheesecloth, but you certainly can if you want).

You can continue to reduce the newly-strained stock if you want to have the flavor more concentrated.  You can store it in multiple ways:  reduced heavily and frozen in ice cube trays for sauces, in jars in your freezer (easier for soups), or in large gallon freezer bags so they lay flat in the freezer.  As long as you don't burn the liquid by reducing it too much, you can always add water to dilute it for a soup.

If you reduce it a lot, it will be super gelatinous like the below chicken stock.  This stuff will add a ton of body and flavor to your sauces.

Ingredients:
3.5 lbs or 1.5 kg beef bones (with some meat on them) - this cost me $8.
2 onions
1 carrot
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
a few black pepper corns


Anyways, on to the French Onion Soup Recipe -

Process for a simple French Onion Soup:

I read through a lot of recipes online - most list over 15 ingredients for a classic French Onion Soup.  If you make your beef stock from scratch, the only thing I think you need is a small kick of cognac and port to give a twang to the sweet and meaty flavor of the soup.

Properly caramelizing onions takes about 45 minutes.  Yes, I know this seems like a long time, but it's worth every minute. Put your butter and olive oil into a stock pot over medium-low heat.

Slice your 6 large yellow onions into moons and add them to the stock pot.  Cook them lightly and slowly until they are dark and brown (but not burnt).  If they start browning before they have softened, you can add a few T of water and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom.  Keep adding splashes of water until you achieve your desired color.

Next, add in your beef stock and warm it through.  Add a splash of cognac and port to your soup and taste.  The alcohol will chill out after about 5 minutes, but take it easy in the beginning.

While the pot is warming up, slice your crusty bread and toast it until it's light brown.

Pour the hot soup into a bowl or ramekin and top with the crusty bread.

And then cover it with a nice melty cheese.

Toss it under the broiler until the cheese is melted!

Ingredients (makes a lot of soup!):
2T of butter
1T olive oil
5 cups beef stock
6 large yellow onions (other kinds are okay too)
2-3 T cognac (to taste)
2-3 T port (to taste)
crusty slices of bread
Emmental or other melty cheese

Song:  Major Lazer - Bubble Butt

Simple Roasted Broccoli Soup [Zack]

Sometimes simplicity is best in cooking.  You don't need 23984324 ingredients to make a good soup.  Often I get caught up with adding tons of ingredients and trying to make things fancy.  But if you have good-quality broccoli, it can often speak for itself.

As mentioned frequently on this website, if you have your own homemade chicken stock, it will take this simple soup over the top.

Process:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F / 175 C.  Take your broccoli head and cut it apart so you have individual florettes.  Don't throw away the stem!  Slice it into 1/4 inch chips and roast that too - it has great flavor.

Toss all of the broccoli with some olive oil on a baking sheet.  Lightly salt and pepper it.  Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until it develops some color.

While that is roasting, dice an onion and a clove of garlic.  In a large pot, saute the onion first in 1 T of olive oil for 4 minutes over medium heat, then add the garlic for 1 minute.  Add in your roasted broccoli.

Next, and chicken stock.

Cook until it simmers, wait 5 minutes, and blend it all.  If you don't have an immersion stick blender, please be careful with your blender.  Hot liquid has a tendency to fly out and could scald you.

Return it back to the pot so it remains warm until you serve.

Ingredients:

1 large head broccoli
1 small or medium onion
1 large clove garlic
2 cups chicken stock
1 T olive oil
salt
pepper

Optional additions:
-  grated cheddar cheese
-  1/2 cup heavy cream
-  roasted leeks
-  add spinach when you add in the chicken stock

Song:  Dana Carvey's song from his standup - Chopping Broccoli

Classic Homemade Chicken Stock [Rhonda]

Degree of difficulty: easy, easy, easy

Time: 5 minutes prep, 4 to 5 hours to cook down, a bit of time to freeze into cubes

Serves: many, in a kaleidoscope of possibilities




Credit Zack for forcing--yes, forcing--me into making homemade stock. I can't emphasize enough what a major difference this makes in soups and quick pan sauces. At the risk of sounding a weensy bit dramatic, it is life-changing.

I had enrolled in a cooking class around the corner from my apartment on 85th Street in Manhattan before Mike and I were married. Of course, one of the first things they teach you is how to make stock. Beef stock, using carmelized roasted beef bones, chicken stock with the picked-over carcass and veggies. It's the backbone of any decent restaurant, and they've got industrial-size stock pots going every single day. Those stocks are key ingredients in what the French call their Mother Sauces, the classic sauces like Veloute (made with chicken stock) and Sauce Espagnole (basic brown sauce) that evolve into an array of other sauces with the addition of an ingredient or two.

Well, being young and completely inexperienced in culinary pursuits, I didn't trust the cooking school's recipe. Made it several times according to plan but it just didn't taste like much so I gave up on the idea.

Until Zack insisted a few years ago.

What I've learned since then is that by cooking it down to a concentrated stock (and by not adding salt), you are guaranteed a deepness, a richness of flavor that is unmatched with canned stock. (The salt is added as a finishing touch in a sauce or soup...)

If you're using this as a base for soup, you can freeze a big quantity in a plastic container and defrost it when you're ready to make the soup. But for adding just a little to pan sauces, it's great to have it frozen into cubes. I find it takes about 7 cubes of frozen stock to make a fabulous pan sauce for 2 to 4 people.

The ice cube tray sounds fussy, but it's worth the effort. So save your bones--throw them in the freezer until you're ready to stay home one afternoon and make stock. You don't have to watch it--just be in the house for safety reasons.

Thank you Zack. Forever, thank you.

Classic Homemade Chicken Stock
Ingredients:
2 chicken carcasses
2 stalks celery
4 onions
Handful of baby carrots, or two regular carrots, peeled and diced

In two large stock pots, cover the chicken carcasses completely with cold water. Bring to a rapid boil, skim the yucky stuff (foam and grease) off the top and reduce heat to medium.













Chop the veggies into a rough dice and set aside.























Now go do other things: laundry, rake leaves, read a book, watch the OSU game. Occasionally walk by the stove and skim any grease off the top of the stock.

After maybe four hours, add half the chopped veggies in one stock pot and half in the other.




Cook for another hour.

Drain the contents of each stock pot through a colander, pressing down on the solids to get every last drop of goodness. Discard the solids, strain the liquid (mesh strainer)one more time and return it to the stove.



Reduce a bit (30 to 45 minutes) over medium heat, then cool a bit.

Freeze it in batches in ice cube trays. When frozen, remove cubes to a freezer-proof baggie or container for easy use in the future.





Feel all proud, because you've just done your homework for a dozen amazing meals!

Suggested soundtrack: Jill Scott's "Lovely Day"

Pressure Cooker Chicken Stock [Zack]

Chicken stock is a really special thing to make in the kitchen.  It costs you next to no money to make, but once you have it on hand, it feels as precious as gold.  I never would have imagined that I would become "stingy" with such an inexpensive ingredient, carefully apportioning and rationing the stock to each dish I make - it's not like it's black truffle.

Something funny occurred to me while writing this post: in the past very poor people used to use the carcasses of their chickens to stretch out their food and stay alive.  They would make stews to squeeze out the last nutrients from the animals they had raised.  These days, it's used as a flavor booster or a sauce enhancer in the fanciest of restaurants.  It seems like the "from scratch" cooking went from being necessary and entirely common, to a rare luxury.

Personally, one reason I love this ingredient because I got to (finally) teach my mom something in the kitchen.  I learned most of my cooking growing up in the family kitchen, doing small tasks and observing.  But making chicken stock as part of my cooking routine is something that I got to share with my mom.  Each time we talked, I would go on and on about how great making stock was, but she had a bad experience when she started cooking it.  I finally convinced her to make the stock again, and now we talk about different ways to use the stock in almost every conversation we have.

I've been experimenting with my pressure cooker because it seems to greatly speed up cooking times.  I looked online and using a pressure cooker didn't seem like a very popular method to make stock, so naturally I gave it a shot.  It amazed me that this method produced a really deep and dark stock in 1/3 of the time.  If you don't have a pressure cooker, just simmer the whole shebang for 3 hours, then strain.  Michael Ruhlman also has thought up a really creative shortcut to making a carefree stock that I will post on later.

Process:

Gather all of the bones and whatever is left over from your roasted chicken.  You can either save the bones in the freezer like I do, or you can make the stock right after dinner.

Place them in your pressure cooker and add the carrots, celery, garlic, black peppercorns, and onions.

Pour water over the bones, put the pressure cooker on high heat to let it come to an easy boil.  Let it go for 5 minutes and then skim off any funky looking foam and fat.  You can do this by dipping the edge of the spoon against the side of the pot.  To make it even easier, you can move the pot so only one corner is over the heat source.  All of the undesirables will appear on the opposite side of the pot.

(Notice that I have a mix of raw and cooked chicken parts - I had saved the backbones from my spatchcocked chickens.  If you use all unroasted bones, it's called a white stock.  I suggest using whatever you have on hand.)

Place the lid of the pressure cooker on and make sure it seals.  Add the pressure regulator cap and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Let it hiss for 45 minutes and then take it off the heat.  Let the pressure reduce naturally (should take about 15 minutes).

Make sure the cooker is de-pressurized before you open the lid.  The stock should smell like an intense chicken noodle soup.

Pick out the big bones and veggies with tongs and then strain the stock into another pot.  Rinse your pressure cooker and then strain the stock back into it.  For the second strain, you can use cheesecloth in the strainer if you have some, but my fine mesh strainer works well enough for me.

Reduce the stock down until it’s concentrated.  I suggest not adding any salt since you don’t know how you are going to use the ingredient in the future.  Unless you are using it within a few days and want to keep it in the fridge, you can freeze it in a few ways.  My mom loves freezing it in ice cube trays and then keeping the cubes in the freezer in ziplock bags.  I just pour the finished product into jars and place them in the freezer.  Don’t overfill the jars with the stock – the liquid will expand when you freeze it.

If you let it defrost after a few hours it will become just like Jell-o (because of the collagen in the bones) and the fat will solidify on the top.  This makes it easier to remove the fat – just scrape it off with a spoon. 

Ingredients:

Roasted bones of 2 chicken carcasses
1 medium onion
1 large carrot
1 stick celery
Small handful of black peppercorns
Water to cover the bones

Hopefully all of that rambling convinced you to try to make stock.  It's almost free and I can gaurentee it will elevate your cooking game.  It makes amazing soups, great fancy French sauces, and adds depth so you can swap out some of the heavy cream required for sauces.  Plus it's totally badass when you can say you made a soup totally from scratch.

Song to jam to:  George Michael - Careless Whisper