Tuesday, April 19, 2011

You be the Sommelier

I cannot make authentic ramen at home, but I like to make an approximation, a noodle soup with a couple of toppings. Here are the things that I've found to work best when making a ramen-style soup at home:

--Definitely, absolutely, definitely use home made stock.

--Start with miso ramen. It's easy to mix good miso paste into the hot stock and come up with a tasty version of miso-style ramen broth. I find it harder to get it right with shoyu (soy sauce flavor) stock. Shio (salt flavor)...fughedaboudit.

--Don't use canned toppings. Might sound obvious, but it's tempting in terms of bamboo shoots. Skip it - they taste like the can.

--There are exactly 47 ways to hard boil an egg. As a topping for this soup, you want the egg to be set but the yolk to be oozy. Therefore, you must use way #16 here. Put the eggs in the pot before you turn on the heat and let them rise in temperature with the water. When a low boil is reached, let them simmer for 4 minutes, then put the eggs in a bowl of cold water.

--Put the broth in the bowl first, then the noodles. Maybe that's obvious, but I always used to put the noodles in and then pour the soup over them. Doesn't work as well.

I made an approximation of miso ramen, except I used soba noodles. Used my own chicken stock as the base, a stock in which I used a lot of ginger. Toppings were chopped scallions, cooked spinach, shredded (leftover) chicken, and half of an oozy hard boiled egg (it's nice to salt the yolk).

So that's the dish - miso soba noodle soup with a few toppings. Please, you be the sommelier. What would you serve with this dish? Leave your ideas in the comments and in a few days I'll share what I drank and whether or not it was a good match.

15 comments:

Nicola said...

a white Chateauneuf-du-Pape...substantial enough to offer balance to the flavorful food and the stone fruits should offer nice contrast to the savoriness. The minerality should complement the saltiness as well.

Weston said...

hmm Nicola answer is intriguing, then again maybe it was the words White CdP. I want to drink some White CdP now, oh wait pairing with Ramen

hmmmm, Savory, Meaty, mmm needs a good body, Champagne would be good with savory notes and/or a Sherry but thats too boring need something hmm white CdP I like it! do it

Anonymous said...

wanted to agree with Nicola and did, until I read the word "Sherry".

Adam said...

I might take a left turn and drink a Junmai Daiginjo Sake to match up with the miso's umami flavor. Sake and broth might come alive with that umami connection.

Clotpoll said...

Foreau Vouvray Petillant. Something about light bubbles and Cheniny fruit over the top of all that earthiness seems appealing...sort of a point/counterpoint.

Lowelife said...

Costadila - Prosecco Colfondo

The Wine Mule said...

José Michel Brut Pinot Meunier (before Peter Liem recommends it!) Got that "umami" thing going, ideal for miso.

Tom said...

I might go with something from Servin or Denogent...

For the egg, I would definitely check out the slow poached egg a la David Chang....

Henri Vasnier said...

Everything about this dish suggests red Burgundy or other old world pinot noir to me. The minerallier the better; wines grown on limestone and/or chalk and/or marine fossils are famous matches for eggs. Sancerre rouge or other red Loire pinot? Perhaps Cotes du Jura rouge? Of course, I'm never going to suggest that Champagne is wrong, and Wine Mule's choice of something from Jose Michel would be a killer. Enjoy -

Christopher said...

With a Miso Ramen, I have to go with a nice, slightly chilled Amontillado.

Wicker Parker said...

Thierry Michon's Chenin Blanc from Fiefs Vendéens is the first thing that springs to mind (you say "ginger," I say "chenin"), but Montbourgeau's vin blanc should be a very happy pairing, too. So would CdP blanc! So many wines would work with this dish and everyone's suggestions here sound terrific; no need to get too fussy.

Jason A said...

I'm thinking beer might be the best choice.

Brooklynguy said...

We drank 2005 Houillon Poulsard and it was fantastic! Savoury and savoury - really good.

eric top wine cooler said...

looks like it could be delicious.

i have issues with hard-boiling eggs. i feel it could take me multiple tries to get it so the yolk is runny and not solid. trial and error :(

ShantaP said...

I've tried about 5 times to get the eggs to come out as you described but I can't! They're either too runny or too cooked. How long are you supposed to leave them in the bowl of cold water?