Sapporo is known as the City of One Thousand Ramen Shops.
In the early 1960s, a chef in Hokkaido created a miso broth with oily chicken or fish to give it a robust, tangy flavor that can handle the toppings of spicy bean paste of tobanjan. Toppings include a pat of Hokkaido’s wonderfully creamy butter, corn, onions, bean sprouts, ground pork, cabbage, sesame seed, white pepper, chopped dried garlic, chasu or sliced barbecue or braised pork (not heavily flavored, as it would conflict with the miso broth) and a soft-cooked egg in a soy sauce marinate. The curly al dente noodles are cooked perfectly to make a perfect bowl of noodles, especially when the weather outside is 30 to 40 degrees.
Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoka or Ramen Alley on the 10th floor of the ESTA Building is a fun place if you have a yearning for Sapporo ramen.
The layout allows you to meander in a circle, listening to young workers outside of their small shops, often just a stall with no more than 20 seats, hawking folks to come into their establishment for the best Sapporo ramen. There are about eight ramen shops to choose from
Susukino Shin Ramen’s Alley is another spot to get your fill.
As my sister, Myra, and I ate the Sapporo Ramen, with the delicious broth and al dente curly ramen noodles, it brought to our minds going to eat after a movie at Mrs. Kobata’s saimin shop. We could not remember if it was called KK’s Place. Anyone who remembers, or a member of the Kobata family, please correct me if the name is incorrect.
Sapporo
Miso Ramen
Serves: 4
Miso “Tare”
1/4 cup sake
3 tablespoons mirin
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 cup Sendai or other aged red miso
1 teaspoon tobanjan (optional)
Bring all ingredients except miso, to a boil on medium heat, remove from heat, add miso. Whisk miso until well combined.
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2/3 pound ground pork
4 teaspoons finely chopped green onion, white parts only
8 ounces cabbage, cored, coarsely chopped
2 quarts ramen soup, hot
8 ounces mung bean sprouts
4 packages fresh or frozen ramen noodles
1 pound cooked pork shoulder, cut into 1/8 inch slices, divided into 4 portions
4 soy sauce eggs, cut in half
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon ground sesame seeds
To make soup:
Makes: 2 quarts
2 pounds chicken bones
1/2 ounce ginger, skin left on
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 pound boneless pork shoulder
3 quarts water
1 green onion
1/2 small carrot
Rinse the chicken bones well under cold running water. Crush the ginger by placing a kitchen knife over it and pressing down on the knife with your palm. Repeat for the garlic. Add all the ingredients to a large stockpot and place on the burner over high heat. When the liquid boils, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered. Skim off any scum that accumulates on the surface and discard. Simmer for about two hours, until the soup reduce to 2 quarts. Remove the pork shoulder and set aside for chasu. Strain the soup through a cheesecloth-lined colander or fine-mesh sieve, discarding the remaining ingredients.
To prepare pork:
Heat sesame oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add ground pork and white part of green onion. Cook for 30 seconds, breaking up pork into small pieces. Add cabbage and corn, stirring frequently for one minute more. Add ramen soup. Cook two minutes. Add miso “tare” to taste. If there are any leftover, you can keep for it for one month in refrigerator. When soup comes to a boil, reduce heat and cook for one minute more. Turn off heat.
Fill a large pot with water, bring to boil over high heat. Add bean sprouts, blanch for one minute. Transfer to a colander and drain.
To prepare ramen:
Fill a large stockpot with water, place over high heat. Get ready four large bowls on a work surface. When water boils, add noodles, stir for 10 seconds to separate. Cook for about two minutes, until noodles are cooked through and al dente. When the noodles are ready, drain them into colander, divide the noodles into four bowls. Pour 1/4 cup of the miso soup base into each bowl.
To make eggs:
4 eggs
2 cups soy sauce marinate
Fill pan with water and bring to boil over high heat.
Reduce that to medium, use a pushpin or other stiff pin and gently open a small hole on the bottom of each egg (the rounded side is the bottom, not the pointy side).
Be careful not to break the shell elsewhere.
Gently place eggs in boiling water, cook five to seven minutes, five minutes for running yolk and seven for firmer, yet still soft yolk.
For the first two minutes, use spoon or chopsticks to spin the eggs around into the pan. When eggs are ready, pour out the boiling water, place the saucepan under cold running water to cool the eggs. When cool, peel them.
Soy sauce marinate:
1 cup water
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 green onions, chopped
1 ounce ginger, skin on, crushed
2 pieces star anise (optional)
Bring to high heat, boil. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.
Pour marinate into bowl, add peeled eggs, marinate in refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Longer marinating, the eggs will have a more pronounced flavor.
The eggs will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To finish:
Place all topping on noodles, cut eggs in half and place on top, add additional soup, enjoy.
Ramen Etiquette
Golden Rule: Shut up and eat. Always eat every last bit of noodle.
Slurp loudly, too: Cool the noodles before they reach your lips, suck up additional soup and signal to the ramen chef that you appreciate his hard work.
Email me at audreywilson 808@gmail.com if you have questions.
