Miso Chashu Ramen

With the pressure cooker help it’s the best way to make this Miso Chashu Ramen because not only does it make dinner easy, but the pork gets cooked very quickly and creates an incredible broth.

This is one real deal Ramen over here, my friends. One of the best things ever!

Okay, I know, I have a long list of “best things ever” — mostly involving chocolate, melted cheese and bacon. But seriously, this Miso Chashu Ramen is favourite of all favourites!

The base is rich, collagen-infused and deeply flavoured pork broth laced with earthy hatcho miso, served with my favourite ramen toppings! It includes Chashu Pork (Japanese style braised pork belly), soft-boiled and marinated egg, crunchy vegetables and slurpy noodles. This hearty and irresistible bowl is associated with the best memories of cold winter nights shared with my loved ones.

Making Ramen Broth

Cooking good ramen stock from scratch requires a lot of time slaving over the stove. But instead of spending many hours making the soup base, I’ll show you how to make a delicious Miso Chashu Ramen broth that takes just 1 hour. The secret? It is my good old friend instant pot! I’ve utilized this thing in so many recipes of the life of this blog so that it became my best friend in the kitchen! I make large batches of homemade meat and vegetable stocks all the time and have them stored in my freezer.

Seriously, the broth is out of this world good! My pressure cooker comes with a slow cooker option as well, so I could have used that instead, but honestly why asking the machine to slave for 8-12 hours where it could do the same or even better in just 1 hour?!?

I chose to bring the broth to a very next level of good ramen broth and decided to lace it with some good hatcho miso notes. It’s a very high-quality miso because it has no additives, no rice or other grain added to the soybean base. It has been fermented for a longest time compared to all other miso types resulting in a darker color and richer taste. You only need a small amount to intensify the flavor of your broth, so use sparingly in order not to overwhelm milder ingredients. The Kitchn has a helpful list of other miso types available.

Once the base is done we are on to the toppings. What are your favorite ramen toppings? Mine have always been melt-in-your-mouth juicy and flavorful slices of Chashu Pork and perfectly cooked soft-boiled marinated egg. Together they honestly make the most perfect bowl of ramen. Yum!

How To Make Ramen Eggs

My favourite part about these ramen eggs is that they are incredibly easy. You first soft-boil them and then marinate for a few hours or overnight, which I prefer. The marinade is pretty straightforward and has just 3 ingredients – soy sauce, Mirin and water. There are many ways to make soft-boiled eggs, so use your favourite method that works for you.

I will show you my take on it which always results in perfect ramen egg. There are two tips: use cold large eggs dipped into the boiling water for exactly 7 minutes and cool them after in the ice bath. It stops the egg from cooking immediately and an easy way to control the exact time for cooking your ramen eggs. After that dip them in the marinade and leave overnight. I store them in the ziplock bag and secure it with the bag clip to make sure the eggs are covered completely in the marinade. The next day, just half them before serving.

Making Chashu Pork

Chashu Pork has originated from Chinese barbecued pork called Char Siu. Traditionally it’s marinated in all kinds of Chinese spices and then roasted or barbecued over a fire. Japanese Chashu is braised instead of roasted or barbecued and can be made with all kinds, shapes and sizes of different parts of pork, but my favourite is pork belly.

First it’s marinated overnight and then seared in cast iron pot on all sides to caramelize the pork belly. Then it is braised in the marinade at a low temperature for about 1 hour. The pork will slowly soak up all the aromatics in the pot and become fork tender and super flavourful.

When it comes to other toppings you can be as creative as you like in your Miso Chashu Ramen. I chose to use shiitake mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, bean sprouts and some chili peppers for the vegetables. And then I sprinkled the bowls with some sesame seeds, bits of nori and cilantro.

And of course noodles! Some good ramen noodles – udon, soba or those yellow curly noodles are all good. One thing I’ve yet to be accomplished is homemade ramen noodles. But that’s another day.

And now you are ready to rock your true comfort food called Miso Chashu Ramen!

Have you made my recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below! Don’t forget to take a picture and tag @gastrosenses and use #gastrosenses on Instagram so I can see your beautiful creations! Happy eating!