Oven Broiled Karaage Curry Ramen
Serves 6
Prep time: 2 hours plus time to make the Ramen Soup Base, Ramen Noodles (optional), Marinated Half-Cooked Egg (optional) and Garlic Chips (optional)
Recipes To Make in Advance: Miso Base, Ramen Noodles, Marinated Half-Cooked Egg, Garlic Chips
There are few foods I find more comforting than fried chicken - it ranks among my top five favorite foods in the world. Karaage is the Japanese version of fried chicken and I would eat it every day if I could. Since that wouldn’t be healthy, for this recipe, I cheat a bit and cook it in the oven. The chicken ends up wonderfully crisp and I don’t have to deal with a pot of hot oil. The Golden Curry is a rich, thick and instant curry that I add to the Miso Base - doesn’t drench the karaage so it maintains its crunch. It’s all the pleasure without the guilt.
Ingredients:
1 cup (235 ml) soy sauce
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
¼ cup (60ml) mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 lb (455 g) chicken thighs
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch (I prefer katakuriko or Japanese potato starch)
1 box of Golden Curry (Japanese instant curry that comes in a box)
12 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
Additional toppings
1 ½ lemons, quartered (1 quarter slice per serving)
roasted sesame seeds for garnish
1 bunch of arugula (I prefer Japanese mizuna lettuce; one small pile per serving)
3 sheets nori (seaweed), quartered (2 squares per serving)
Directions:
Add the soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger to a small saucepan and bring to boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add the mirin. Let cool to room temperature.
Rinse and pat dry the chicken thighs and cut each piece into small bite size pieces.
Add the chicken to a medium-sized bowl and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate and let marinate for at least 1 hour.
Heat the sesame oil in a medium-sized skillet on medium-high heat. Add the red onion and saute until it starts to get charred around the edges. Set aside.
Set the oven rack at the top of the oven and preheat the broiler.
Drain the excess marinade from the bowl of chicken and sprinkle the chicken with cornstarch until all the pieces are liberally covered.
Place the chicken, so that no pieces are touching, on a parchment- lined baking sheet.
Broil for about 6 minutes, then flip and broil for an additional 5 minutes or until they are crispy and brown. Watch closely so they do not burn as ovens will vary.
Set chicken on a wire rack to cool.
Boil a pot of water for your noodles. In a separate saucepan, combine 2 ¼ cups Miso Base, 12 cups (2.8L) of chicken or vegetable stock and 6 Golden Curry bouillon squares to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer until it’s ready to serve. Right before serving, crank the heat backup to boil the soup.
Boil the noodles—if fresh, boil for about 1 minute; if packaged, boil for about 2 minutes. As soon as they are done, drain well and separate into serving bowls.
Pour two cups (475 ml) of soup over each bowl of noodles. Top each bowl with 3 pieces of chicken karaage, one sliced marinated half-cooked egg, a small pile of lettuce, a small mound of sautéed red onions and fried garlic chips. Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds and slip 2 nori squares into the broth. Right before serving, squeeze lemon juice on top.