Ramen

I started off this dish with the broth. I bought myself a pack of good beef marrow bones and I knew I wanted to make soup with them but I just couldn't figure out what else I wanted to do. I've been reading and watching cooking shows and manga etc. So I decided to do ramen!!

I know that using beef as a soup base is a little unconventional. But wait... it gets much weirder haha. Instead of doing normal noodles, while I was doing them from scratch, instead of water, I used tangerine juice.


For the broth I kept it simple, I used two big beef marrow bones and boiled them till it was nice thick and oily. I only added in a little salt. After you leave the broth to cool, the layer of oil should have hardened and I used a spoon to scoop them out together with the bones. Next, add in the ingredients you want in the broth. I kept mine simple with chopped up king oyster mushroom and nappa cabbage (wombok).

Moving on to the noodles! I had to refer online so here's the recipe. I only did two things differently. Firstly, I used orange juice instead of water and added in the zest of mandarin oranges.
I use tangerines because they have a slight sour flavour but are still sweet unlike normal oranges. It is essentially the flavour I would like my noodles to have. However, it's skin and zest are too bitter and mandarins are better. (Obviously this varies depending on the fruit). Secondly, instead thin noodles, I made thick flat noodles as they go better with a thick broth.

And if you're wondering... yes I did step on the dough. And no, I'm not crazy. The reason as to why there's a need to step on the dough is like the reasoning behind kneading bread. For it to be chewy and have a nice texture. So same thing for the noodles but instead of kneading it, you just have to use heavy weight to press down on the dough (which in this case will be your body weight).

So the important thing to note is cooking time for fresh ramen. It's very much faster so you have to make sure that they don't become too soft and disintegrate. Another thing to note is the taste of the end product. I was so busy putting the broth and noodle together I forgot to ensure the taste of it at the end. So just make sure you don't make the same mistake as I did and ensure you taste before serving. Rookie mistake. I know.

Oh yes, I didn't use cornstarch at the end of the noodle recipe. Instead I hung the noodles to dry. I use the back of a chair to help dry them out. Because there's usually a problem of the noodles sticking together and I don't really like using cornstarch on anything, hanging them out to dry makes it easier :) It's a little trick I learnt from my big sister.

Hugs for everyone~ Give the noodles a go!

Spiced Basmati Rice

I don't have a photograph for this recipe because all you're going to see is white rice. This recipe is simple recipe that I absolutely love doing because you can't really go wrong with it.

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Basmati Rice 

Around 2.5 cups of Chicken Broth

1 Cinnamon Stick

4-6 Bayleaves

1 Tablespoon of Cumin seeds 

Some recipes usually require oil or butter, which will make sure that your rice has a nice gloss and it won't stick to your pot. I usually watch over the rice, stir it every few minutes and I used a non-stick pot so I don't usually have a problem. Feel free to just add in a tablespoon or two of oil if you feel that it's easier.

• Step 1, rinse the rice over clear water. 

• Step 2, in a pot, add everything in. Rice, broth, spices. 
• Step 3, place over high heat till it starts to boil
• Step 4, turn the heat down and cover the pot. 

• Step 5, when the liquid is all absorbed and the rice is soft. Mix/Fluff the rice to ensure even cooking has taken place

If you feel there is need for more liquid, add in clear water or more broth

• Step 6, cover the pot and remove from heat. Leave the rice undisturbed for around 5minutes.
• Step 7, Fluff the rice again and serve :)

Usually when I say wash the rice, instead of rinse... until one incident where I told my friend to wash the rice and she took the detergent and started to soak the rice in soapy water. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So yes, lesson learnt, always be clear when giving instructions. 

I know that in many recipes they just state that when the rice is soft to remove it from heat. But I like to stir my rice constantly just to check. Especially when I use a soup pot instead of my normal wide pan. To ensure even cooking I have to constantly mix the top and bottom if not I end up with burnt rice. 

Some recipes also use much more spices such as cardamom and cloves but since those are spices that I hardly have around the house, I don't go out of my way just to get them. The joy of cooking is looking at what I have to work with and creating something I never thought I would make. 

Hugs for everyone!! Spice up your life :)