After I visited New York's popular restaurant, Momofuku, and enjoyed chef David Chang's ramen soup, I came home to recreate the dish. My recipe tester, Soo Kim, is Korean like Chang, so between us we came up with this very close version of his popular dish.
The broth used at Momofuku is a strong chicken/pork broth; I used plain chicken stock, which you can buy. You can also buy Chinese barbecued pork to substitute for the pork belly. Not as flavourful but still very good.
Momofuku cooks the eggs for the soup in a special apparatus that keeps a steady temperature of 140 C. I tried to do this in the oven and it didn't work. You can just poach a couple of eggs, set aside and add them to soup at the end to reheat.
Servings: 3
Ingredients
2 cups sliced spinach, collard, Swiss chard or bok choy leaves
250 grams dried ramen noodles, or fresh Chinese noodles
6 cups chicken stock
½ cup shelled edamame beans
4 green onions, chopped
2 sheets nori, cut in half
1 stick of fish paste, optional
Crisp pork skin (from the pork belly)
Pork belly meat (or Chinese barbecued pork)
2 poached eggs
Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add greens and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and run under cold water. Drain and press out excess water.
Add noodles and boil until tender. Timing depends on brand and whether fresh or dried. 3 minutes usually works. Drain and reserve.
Heat stock until hot. Place noodles in 3 individual bowls and pour soup over. Arrange green onions, crispy pork and fish paste, if using, on top of soup. Shred pork meat and place beside other toppings. Add greens and a poached egg to each bowl. Cut each piece of nori into 2 triangles. Add triangles to soup. Serve immediately.
Lucy Waverman