Sapporo-Style Miso Ramen

RECIPE CARD

Sapporo-Style Miso Ramen

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Ingredients

Miso Tare

• 3 T red (aka) miso
• 2 T white (shiro) miso
• 1 T hatcho or dark miso (or more red miso)
• 1 T toasted sesame paste or tahini
• 1 T mirin
• 1 T sake
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp toban djan (chili bean paste), optional

Wok-Fried Base

• 1 T lard or neutral oil
• 6 oz ground pork
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 T grated ginger
• ½ onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup shredded cabbage

Broth

• 8 cups chicken-pork stock (or rich chicken stock with a splash of pork fat)
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Bowls

• 4 portions fresh wavy ramen noodles (Sapporo-style, about 5 oz each)
• 4 ajitama (soy-marinated soft-boiled eggs), halved
• Chashu pork slices (optional)
• 1 cup sweet corn kernels, warmed
• 4 pats butter (about 1 T each)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Nori sheets, menma, and rayu (chili oil) to finish

Instructions

1. Tare: stir together all the tare ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
2. Eggs: boil eggs 6½ minutes, ice, peel, and marinate in equal parts soy, mirin and water for at least 4 hours (or the night before).
3. Wok-fry: heat the lard in a wok or large pot over high heat. Fry the ground pork, breaking it up, until browned. Add garlic, ginger and onion and cook 1 minute.
4. Add the bean sprouts and cabbage and toss over high heat for 1 minute so they stay crisp.
5. Build the soup: push the vegetables aside, add the tare to the wok and fry it for 30 seconds until fragrant; this is the Sapporo secret. Pour in the hot stock, stir to dissolve, and simmer 2–3 minutes. Finish with sesame oil. Taste and adjust with more miso or a splash of soy.
6. Noodles: boil the noodles in plenty of unsalted water per the package (usually 1½–2 minutes) and drain very well.
7. Assemble: divide the noodles among warm bowls, ladle the soup and vegetables over, and top with corn, a halved egg, chashu if using, scallions, nori and menma. Set a pat of butter on top just before serving and add rayu to taste.

Plating

Serve it hot: warm the bowls with boiling water first. The butter should melt into the broth at the table.

Noodles matter: Sapporo ramen uses thick, wavy, yellow noodles that stand up to the rich broth. Look for "Sapporo" or miso ramen noodles at Japanese markets.

Pairs with Tantanmen if you're doing a ramen night.

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