Pork Ramen with Garlicky Corn
A creative way to use leftover roast pork.
Medium-Hot Spice
Just the Recipe | 2 Servings
Ingredients
1 TBS Oil (Vegetable, Sesame, Ghee, or Butter)
1/2 Yellow Onion
4 Green Onions (Scallions)
2 Carrots
1-2 Chilies (Cayenne or Serrano)
1 Garlic Clove
1 Inch Ginger
6 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms
1/2 TBS Fish Sauce
1 TBS Mirin or Rice Vinegar
1/2 TBS Soy Sauce
3 Cups Pork or Chicken Stock
1-2 Cups Leftover Roast Pork (as in Orange Maple Pork)
1 Cup Greens (Kale, Spinach, Asian Cabbage, Bok Choi)
1 Package Ramen Noodles
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Corn Bombs:
1/2 Cup Corn
1 Garlic Clove
1 TBS Butter or Ghee
Garnish:
2 Scallions
1 Garlic Clove
1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
Hot Sauce (such as Sriracha)
Steps
Prep the veggies:
Dice the yellow onion, all 6 of the scallions, and chilies. Tip: de-seed the chilies if you want less heat. Set aside the greens from about 2 of the scallions for the garnish.
Mince all of the garlic cloves. Set aside about 1/3 of the garlic for the corn bomb.
Mince or finely grate the ginger.
Peel and chop the carrots.
De-stem and slice the mushrooms.
Chop the cilantro.
Set up noodle water: Set a large pot of cold water with 1-2 TBS of salt on the stove and turn on to medium/low heat. If it boils before the soup is done, turn it off. Cooking the noodles is the absolute last step, but if your stove heats water slowly start this now.
Start the soup:
In a heavy based soup pot or braiser, heat 1 TBS of oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions, 2/3 of the scallions, carrots and a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Stir and cook until the onions are starting to soften, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the shiitake mushrooms, 2/3 of the garlic, the ginger and chilies. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 more minutes.
De-glaze the pan with the soy sauce, mirin, and fish sauce.
Add the stock and pork. Cover and bring to a boil, then allow to simmer on low for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors as needed.
Make the garlic corn bomb:
In a small saucepan, melt 2 TBS of butter or ghee.
When melted, add the third of garlic you set aside and cook for about a minute.
Add the corn and stir to combine. Lower the heat and allow to warm for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Set aside, off the heat.
Cook the noodles and finish the soup:
Raise the pot of water to a rolling boil.
Follow the package directions to cook the noodles.
When you drop the noodles into the cold water, immediately stir with tongs so they don’t clump together.
Separately, add the greens into the soup just after you drop the noodles into the boiling water.
When the noodles are done, using tongs, remove them directly to soup bowls. Then top with the soup and the garnish and enjoy!
If you have leftovers, store the noodles separately from the soup.
Kitchen Acumen Tips:
The pork. The soup will have a strong flavor. You can use any mildly-flavored pork. However, be sure it doesn’t conflict flavor-wise. I found this works very well with the leftover Orange Maple Pork recipe. Leftover smoked pork is particularly delicious.
Vegetables: Feel free to add more veggies! Broccoli or snap peas add a nice crunch. Add them in the last 5 minutes of cooking so they are green and still a little crisp.
Heat Level: If you love heat, this is a medium spiced dish. If you don’t love spice, you’ll likely think this is quite hot. Cut back on, or omit, the chilies and black pepper to make more mild. I really like cayenne peppers here, though Kung Pao chilies are also nice. Serranos can certainly be used. While I haven’t tried it, I expect habanero and/or scotch bonnets would also be a nice, though very hot.
Pork Stock. Pork stock can be hard to find though it is super easy to make. If making a pork roast, buy a bone-in pork shoulder so you can use the bone to make homemade stock with the leftover bone.
