Can anyone help me out with a recipe for ramen noodles or other information on how these noodles are made?
Thanks!
Make sure to get the Summer 2011 (very first) edition of Luck Peach magazine which is a fantastic new quarterly by David Chang of Momofuku. This whole edition is devoted mostly to to cult of Ramen and has a great recipe for fresh Alkaline style ramen noodles. I just made my first batch and they rock. The alkaline salt give the noodle the toothiness that you are looking for in a great soup noodle. The whole magazine is pretty facinating.
A resurrected thread!
Not precisely Ramen, but the local favorite in Hawaii - Saimin. Kind of a cross between Chinese and Japanese noodles - Its origins continue to be debated. Not pre-fried like Ramen. The lye water is essential and gives it a chewy texture.
5 pounds all-purpose flour
5 eggs
1 T salt
3 to 3-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup lye water (Potassium Carbonate and Sodium Bi-Carbonate solution - available in Asian stores)
Using mixer with dough hook:
Pour flour in mixer bowl.
In a separate container, beat together eggs, water, salt and lye water. Pour liquid mixture slowly into flour while mixing slowly.
Knead well, about 5 minutes. If using fewer eggs or if dough is crumbly, add a little more water. It will be a stiff dough.
Pack dough tightly in the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rest 30 minutes to 2 hours, if possible, in a cool place.
Cut dough into 4-6 pieces. Work with one piece at a time; leave remaining dough covered with damp cloth.
Using a crank pasta machine:
Dust pasta machine with a little cornstarch periodically to prevent dough from sticking to machine.
Pass the dough through the machine 4 - 5 times, each time turning and folding the dough, till dough is smooth and elastic. Pass dough through machine and thin to desired thickness (I like my noodles a bit thick).
Dust dough with cornstarch before cutting. Pass dough through noodle-cutter and cut into 10- to 12-inch lengths.
Wind noodles into fist-size bundles. Cook immediately or wrap individual bundles in plastic wrap or plastic bags for storage in refrigerator or freezer.
Rinse cornstarch off noodles just before cooking.
Cook noodles in water that has come to a rolling boil. Cook noodles 1 to 3 minutes, depending on desired texture (cook less for firm, chewy noodles).
When done, freshly made noodles will rise to the top of the boiling water; frozen or older noodles will take a little longer to rise, about 3 minutes.
For the soup base, I use a home style Chinese type broth (not a Bonito based Dashi):
Makes 6 to 7 cups:
2 quarts Chicken stock (home made or your preference of brand)
1 pound Pork neck bones
2 pieces Chung Choi (salted preserved turnip tops and pieces, wrapped into small bundles)
10-12 small dried shrimp
Salt to taste
Simmer for 1 hour, skim and strain. If you want it to taste a bit more like the sea, you could add a piece of Konbu (seaweed) to the broth.
Garnish as you like - cilantro, green onions, char siu, kamaboko fish cake would be typical in Hawaii (and perhaps Spam as well, of course). Add soy sauce and sesame oil to taste.
Anyone have any other tips or recipes? I found this:
http://norecipes.com/blog/2010/11/30/homemade-ramen-noodle-recipe/
But the dough is extremely stiff. I don't have a pasta roller and I don't know how I'm going to roll it out enough to make long noodles. I believe that real ramen noodles aren't supposed to have eggs, but maybe some types do?
This topic is seriously lacking in english internet resources...:(