Apr 21 2015
It was a cool windy day; winds 20 to 40 mph all afternoon so it was an inside cook for our supper.
A lot of the food blogs and sites have been posting a lot of ramen noodle bowl recipes. It was making me hungry for some. I could not find true Japanese ramen noodles here so I ordered some from the internet. The member Willy posted his version of a beef noodle bowl. Looked delicious but was more trouble than I wanted so I found a faster easier way to make some chicken ramen. I wanted to use chicken since I knew our veggie daughter in law would eat some.
I was sure I could get a good broth using store bought broth an adding seasoning. I used half chicken stock and half vegetable broth. It took just 4 hours from start to finish preparing and turned out pretty darned good.
I made a couple of parmesan wafers to go along with the soup. A shredded cheese in fine threads works the best. Use a couple Tbs. for each one, sprinkle in a little flour. Heat a skillet on medium high with a little cooking spray add the cheese and spread out thin. When the edges start to brown flip over and do the other side. It only takes about 1 to 2 minutes per side.
The wife and I both liked it and she said the broth was good. We both would have liked a couple more of the parmesan wafers. Out daughter in law and grandson stopped in after his soccer practice and ate a bowl; she said the broth was good too.
My Recipe:
Crockpot Chicken Ramen Noodles
Adapted from A Spicy Perspective recipe
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:about 4 hours
Ingredients:
½ chicken parts about 1 ½ to 2 pounds
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 quart vegetable broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots cleaned
2 stalks celery cleaned
1 tablespoon of mushroom powder
2 tablespoons white miso see note
Salt to taste
1 bunch scallions
4 to 6 large eggs boiled, soft or hard
8 ounces mixed mushrooms, stems trimmed, I used some frozen
8 ounces dried (dehydrated) ramen noodles
5 ounces fresh baby spinach
1 can of bean sprouts
Other possible garnishes: toasted sesame seeds, crushed red pepper, sliced jalapeños, bamboo shoots, sliced radishes
Directions:
I used half of a whole cut up chicken. Heat some oil in a skillet and brown up the chicken. While it is browning clean the carrots and celery; divide the white and green parts of the scallions. Tie the white parts in a bundle and save the green parts to slice for garnish.
When the chicken is brown add it to the crockpot along with the carrots, celery and bundle of white onion parts. Add the chicken stock and vegetable broth; I just used 3 cups of each and had plenty of broth. Add the miso or substitute, garlic and the mushroom powder, salt to taste; cook on high 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Discard the carrots, celery and bundle of onions remove the chicken parts and let cool while you sauté the mushrooms. Add in the ramen noodles and the sautéed mushrooms. Remove the skin from the chicken and shred off the meat; add it on top and let cook another 20 to 30 minutes.
To serve use a large fork or pasta scoop to place some of the noodles in the bottom of the bowl. Add in some spinach and bean sprouts; ladle broth over the top getting some of the chicken and mushrooms. Add a half of a soft or hardboiled egg. Add the sliced green onions or other garnish.
Note: I can’t get miso so used the most common suggested substitute 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce and ketchup.
