Ramen salad is the rustic cousin of hiyashi chūka (cold ramen noodles) and not commonly found outside of Hokkaido. Both are chilled noodle dishes, but where the flavoring of the more well-known dish is thin and dark, Hokkaido ramen salad is usually dressed with thick, silky sesame dressing. Hiyashi chūka is pedantically arranged, ingredients all segregated, whereas ramen salad tends to come mixed with some form of egg on top.
Many goma (sesame) dressing recipes incorporate mayonnaise, which can help with emulsification, but I prefer it without. This recipe makes double the amount you need as it is easier to blend with more volume. Ramen salad is also a good bento filler for summer, but be sure to use an insulated or double-walled bowl to keep it cool.
Serves 4
Prep time: 6 hours
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
• 30 milliliters tamari
• 30 milliliters mirin
• 100 milliliters rice vinegar
• 4 eggs
• 1 carrot
• 2 ½ grams salt
• 2 Japanese cucumbers
• 75 grams toasted sesame seeds
• 30 grams light brown cane sugar
• 75 milliliters olive oil
• 10 milliliters sesame oil
• 250 grams fresh ramen
• 200 grams mizuna
1. At least six hours before serving, mix together 30 milliliters each of tamari, mirin and rice vinegar in a small container.
2. Separate the eggs, leaving the whites in one container and marinade the yolks in the tamari mixture. Cover both and refrigerate. The yolks can marinade for up to a day, but six to 12 hours is perfect.
3. Peel and finely julienne your carrot. Place in a container with 25 milliliters of rice vinegar and salt, then cover and refrigerate.
4. One hour before serving, dry toast sesame seeds in a nonstick frying pan on a low flame until they turn dark brown. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind or, if you don’t have one, directly into a food processor and lightly blend.
5. Remove the egg yolks from the tamari marinade and set aside with one teaspoon of marinade to stop them sticking to the new container.
6. In a food processor, add the sugar and remaining marinade to your sesame seeds and mix together. Then, add the rest of the vinegar plus any excess liquid from your marinated carrots.
7. While blending, slowly drizzle in olive oil and sesame oil until they are fully incorporated and emulsified.
8. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the ramen according to the included instructions. I cook mine for about a minute less than most instructions say for more texture.
9. When cooked, drain and cool under running cold water until completely chilled, then drain again.
10. Wash the mizuna and shake dry, then roughly chop into 5-centimeter segments. Then, julienne the cucumber.
11. Heat the frying pan again and add 5 milliliters of olive oil. Add egg whites to make a thin omelet, and turn after two minutes. On a cutting board, roll the omelet and thinly slice it.
12. In a large bowl, mix together the ramen, mizuna, cucumber, carrot and dressing, then transfer to a serving bowl or individual plates. Top with the shredded omelet and marinated yolks and enjoy.
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