Ivan Ramen Yakisoba

This is exciting...the first main course savory dish for the blog! Although it seems like this is solely a baking blog, we really love cooking and want to include savory recipes too! 

Anyway, for Father's Day I got my dad the book Ivan Ramen by Ivan Orkin. This book details Ivan's life and journey of becoming a ramen chef, and because my dad is always trying to perfect his own ramen, I figured this would be the perfect gift. Not only does this autobiography/cookbook have Ivan's famous 35 page ramen recipe, but it also has other Japanese recipes. Tonight I was inspired flipping through the pages and decided to make his breakfast Yakisoba, for dinner. 

Quick disclaimer about this recipe--unless you live in a household with lots of asian ingredients, you might have to do some shopping at a local asian grocer. My dad makes yakisoba sometimes for us, so he was able to help me get all the ingredients for this dish. If you have any questions about any of the ingredients please don't hesitate to comment! All I can say is getting the ingredients is definitely worth it!!

Makes 2 Servings

For the Tare

{ 1 cups water / 2 grams (1-inch square) konbu (dried kelp) / 3 kaibashira* (dried scallops) / 

1 dried shitake mushroom / 2 tablespoons sake / 2 tablespoons mirin / 5 grams sababushi (shaved dried mackerel), or substitute katsuobushi (shaved dried bonito)--I used the katsuobushi / 

1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt }

*I have no idea if you will be able to find dried scallops…I surely don't know where you would get them.  I substituted about 1/2 cup of niboshi, which are Japanese dried infant sardines, which ended up being delicious. 

Other Ingredients

{ 1 medium onion, sliced / vegetable oil / 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced / 

2 cups shredded green cabbage / 3 medium carrots, peeled and grated / 2 large eggs / 300 grams (10.5 ounces) fresh Asian noodles* / pork belly or bacon* }

{ chives or scallions, for garnish }

*I used Japanese ramen noodles, which are common noodles in Japan used for yakisoba. Ivan recommends fresh chow mien from chinese markets, or any other fresh Asian noodles. 

* We happened to have some leftover shredded pork belly from another night, which worked perfectly. Traditionally, Ivan makes a pork belly chashu, but also says that bacon would work here too. 

In a bowl, combine the water, konbu, kaibashira, and shiitake, and allow to rehydrate for at least 1.5 hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator. 

To make the tare, combine the sake and mirin in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the soaked konbu, kaibashira, shiitake, along with the soaking liquid and bring to 176 F; the liquid won't simmer, but will be too hot for you to hold your finger in for more than a second. Keep at this temperature for 10 minutes, then add the sabbabushi and hold at 176 F for 5 minutes more. Strain out the solids and add the sababushi (or the katsuobushi) to the tare, stirring until it's fully dissolved. Reserve until needed. You can make this the night before and keep it in the fridge if you have the foresight. 

Bring a pot of unsalted water to a boil for the noodles.

While the water is heating, sauté the onion in an oiled pan over medium-high heat until it just begins to caramelize-about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes, then add the cabbage and carrots and cook until tender, about another 8 minutes. Reserve. 

In a small nonstick skillet, fry your eggs how you like them. I like my yolks runny. Set them aside. 

Cook the noodles until al dente, 2.5 to 3 minutes. Drain very thoroughly, add the noddles to a lightly oiled non stick skilled over high heat, and cook until slightly crispy, about 5 minutes Add the vegetables and stir everything together with chopsticks. Add the tare and continue to cook and stir for 3 minutes more. 

Divide the noodles between 2 plates and top with the pork and eggs. Garnish with chives or scallions.