This Chicken and Yuzu Ramen is incredibly easy to make. Even easier to prepare is the chicken bone broth used as the base of this soup.
Both recipes are from the cookbook, The Bone Broth Bible (New Holland Publishers) by Emma Ellice-Flint.
It is much cheaper to make homemade broth, as you can make a large quantity for just a few dollars. It is also much healthier to cook with homemade broth. Store bought broths often have added sugar, sodium and preservatives. Plus homemade bone broth is also becoming widely known for its benefits to bone, joint and digestive health.
Simple Chicken Bone Broth
This is possibly one of the simplest things you could make and yet could have the most impact on your health. You just need a large pot, one that is a minimum of about 9 1⁄2 in (24 cm) in diameter, and 6 in (16 cm) in depth. Bigger is better. In fact, you can leave the vegetables and herbs out completely if you don’t have them, it’s the bones that are so important!
Makes about 70FL OZ (2L)
Ingredients
1 onion (peeled if not organic), roughly chopped
2 carrots, (peeled if not organic), roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
2 lb 4 oz (1 kg) free-range or organic
chicken bones, raw or leftover cooked bones
6–8 parsley stalks
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 small knob of kombu (optional)
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
leaves (optional)
4–6 pints (2–3 L) filtered water
Step 1
Put everything into your pot, with about 2 in (5 cm) extra water above the bone line to allow for evaporation.
Step 2
Bring everything to the boil, then turn down to a very low simmer, so that the water is barely moving. Don’t put a lid on your broth pot as this will cause the liquid to go cloudy or, if you like, put a lid on slightly uncovered.
Step 3
Using a large spoon or ladle, skim any scum or foam from the top and discard. Where possible you want to keep the bones covered with water the whole way through. If your liquid goes below the bone line it will still make a good broth, you just won’t have been able to extract all of the goodness from those bones above the water line.
Step 4
Simmer very slowly for most of the day, anywhere up to 12 hours. That simmer needs to be slow, so that a bubble is only breaking the surface every second or two. Strain the liquid through a ne sieve or through a clean muslin cloth lining a colander.
Step 5
Pour the broth into a container or containers that you can fit in the fridge. Once cooled, put into the fridge to go cold for about 4 hours or overnight. Any fat left in the broth will solidify on the surface and can be easily removed.
NOTE: Kombu is a sea vegetable that is high in iodine, and helps add a subtle yet earthy depth of flavour to broths
Chicken and Yuzu Ramen
With its slippery noodles and deeply tasty, yet light broth, this Tokyo-style ramen is loved by everyone. At the end you splash in some yuzu, which finishes this dish off with a lovely citrusy tang. For a gluten-free option, brown rice noodles can often be found to replace the wheat ramen.
Serves 4
Ingredients
70z (2 L) chicken bone broth
14 oz (400 g) ramen noodles
14 oz (400 g) cooked chicken, shredded
4 eggs, in their shells
2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
1 large handful bean sprouts
4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced
2 in (5 cm) knob fresh ginger, finely grated
1 nori sheet (seaweed)
Crumbled yuzu sauce or tamari sauce
Step 1
Heat the broth in a saucepan over medium heat until boiling, then reduce the heat to low to simmer.
Step 2
Follow the packet instructions to cook the ramen. Cook the eggs in boiling water until just soft in the middle (about 6 minutes). Once cool enough to handle, peel off the shells.
Step 3
Wilt the spinach in the broth, then remove and divide between the bowls. Divide the cooked ramen into the bowls, and add the bean sprouts and spring onions. Cut the eggs in half, and put two halves into each bowl.
Step 4
Divide the shredded chicken between bowls. Scatter over the ginger and nori and pour the hot broth into each bowl. Add about 2 teaspoons of yuzu to each bowl. If you like, add a splash of tamari sauce.