- 2 days ago
Epicurious welcomes back Chef Eunjo Park as she elevates instant ramen into 9 gourmet dishes. From Sapporo Ichiban French onion soup to fried chicken tenders, check out Chef Eunjo’s recipes to level up your instant ramen at home.
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00:00These ramen packages are about to transform
00:03into elevated, delicious dishes.
00:06My name is Eunjo Park.
00:07I'm a chef based in New York City.
00:10Today, I'm using restaurant skills
00:12to upgrade this packaged ramen.
00:17Last year, I was on Epicurus Taste Panel.
00:20We tasted 16 very different ramyons,
00:23some which I loved and some which I didn't love as much.
00:27I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy.
00:29I picked ramyons that I wanted to create new dishes.
00:34If you see them as a base,
00:36you can create any dishes of your liking.
00:40Sapporo Ichiban French onion style ramen,
00:44caramelized onion, cheese melted into it,
00:47serving it with a fried Chinese donut.
00:50We're taking Japanese ramen and we're going French cuisine.
00:54So first, we're making caramelized onion.
00:57It's been cooking for 15 minutes.
00:59At this point, you see all this delicious fawns
01:03that are building on the bottom of the pan.
01:06So I'm going to use a little bit of water
01:08and basically try to scrape all the fawns.
01:12It's basically like a caramelized sugar.
01:15So you want to get all the flavors out of there.
01:18Soy sauce and Worcestershire.
01:21Use that acidity and butter to give the body.
01:26Bring this to a full boil.
01:28Drop the noodles.
01:30I picked Sapporo Ichiban Original.
01:33This soy flavor almost felt to me like a beef broth.
01:37By adding additional flavors like Worcestershire,
01:40it really mimics the flavor of the French onion soup.
01:43I'm going to keep the noodles intact.
01:45It keeps this wiggly shape together
01:48and the texture is more bouncy.
01:50Lots of fresh ground black pepper.
01:53I have smoked mozzarella.
01:55Smokiness from the mozzarella really adds another complexity.
01:59Traditionally, you use Gruyere.
02:02And I do want a little bit of cheese in every slur of the noodle.
02:06So French onion soup is served on top
02:09with the toasted baguettes and cheese and melted.
02:12But this Chinese donut,
02:14I'm going to just put this, soak up all the good flavors.
02:18And there you have it, instant French onion noodle soup.
02:22It does taste like French onion soup.
02:25And this cheesy caramelized onion works very good
02:28with this soy clean flavor.
02:30Just delicious together.
02:32Gin spicy ramen, toasted seaweed and sesame ramen.
02:36Well rounded because of the chili oil and the sesame oil.
02:39And a lot of umami from the toasted seaweed crushed on top.
02:44First, we're going to make a quick chili aromatic oil.
02:47I have this neutral oil, just a drop.
02:50Make sure the pan is nicely heated.
02:53This pot is traditionally used for instant ramen.
02:58It's made with aluminum.
02:59It's cheap.
03:00It boils very fast.
03:02And it's a perfect portion to cook one order of ramen.
03:06Gochugaru is a dried Korean chili flakes.
03:09It's not all about the heat.
03:11It also has floral sweetness to it.
03:14I'm going to add our soup base.
03:16The flavors from gin ramen is very well balanced.
03:21Mushroom, beef, a nicely balanced soup base that you can build.
03:26And we're going to bring it up to a boil.
03:28It smells great already.
03:30Drop all of our flakes and ramen.
03:33In the flakes, there are scallions, carrots, mushrooms, and chilies.
03:38The ramens are starting to fall apart from their normal shape.
03:43I'm not going to actually force it to separate.
03:46I'm just going to flip it to keep the noodle as tingly as possible.
03:51So they are actually almost done.
03:53I do like to eat it a little undercooked.
03:56So at this point, I'm going to crack the egg in a side.
04:01So they're gently poaching.
04:0330 seconds, we'll cook the egg.
04:05And by that time, the noodle should be ready to go.
04:08This is distilled white vinegar.
04:10It helps to brighten up the noodle.
04:12Green scallions.
04:14Sesame oil.
04:16This is toasted seaweed.
04:19It's seasoned with sesame oil and a little bit of salt.
04:22This will add flavor, texture, and a lot of savoriness.
04:27Sprinkle of sesame seed.
04:29And that's it.
04:30Toasted sesame and seaweed ramen.
04:33You want to eat ramen as soon as it's ready.
04:36You don't want to overcook it.
04:38If you have cup noodle, you can make your own little plate by folding the lid.
04:43It's very common in Korea.
04:45It's just an easy way to eat your noodles.
04:47The toasted seaweed.
04:51It really brings out like almost like an oceany umami bomb.
04:55It's very comfort.
04:56Tastes like a childhood to me.
04:58Momofuku spicy soy ramen.
05:01Fried chicken tenders.
05:02Our batter is going to be made with ground ramen noodles.
05:06It's momofuku.
05:07I had to make it into fried chicken.
05:10So I'm going to grind it into a fine flour.
05:14I mean, it's just seasoned flour.
05:16I'm actually adding a little more flour.
05:18And cornstarch.
05:20It doesn't have any gluten.
05:22So it helps to make it more like a shadowy, crisp batter.
05:26Little salt.
05:27Toasted sesame seed.
05:28To give extra crunch while we're frying.
05:31Sparkling cold water.
05:33Since these noodles are very dry,
05:36we'll actually rest in the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes.
05:39They'll thicken up a little more.
05:42So while the batter is resting,
05:44we're going to make our glaze.
05:46Butter.
05:47Honey.
05:48Toasted sesame oil.
05:50We're using everything from the packet.
05:52The sauce becomes the glaze.
05:53And the ramen noodle becomes the batter.
05:56This spicy soy ramen sauce.
05:58It's pretty salty.
06:00So I'm making honey butter to balance.
06:03We're going to set it aside and stir frying.
06:06The chicken tenders been brined one hour.
06:08In about 5% salt.
06:11This is dry batter mix that I save.
06:14Into the wet batter.
06:16And into the fryer.
06:17You shake it.
06:18And when I drop it,
06:19the cooked side is going to come up.
06:21And not stick to the bottom of the pan.
06:24And also we're using sparkling water.
06:26Once it gets deep fried,
06:28it's like an air pockets to make it extra crispy.
06:31We have the glaze.
06:33And the garnish for the fried shallot.
06:35And there we have it.
06:37Fried chicken tenders.
06:38Using Momofuku spicy soy ramen.
06:44Perfect chicken tender.
06:45Would I buy instant ramen to make fried chicken?
06:49Not necessarily.
06:50But it shows that anything is possible.
06:53If you want to be creative.
06:55Maruchan chicken flavor.
06:57Matzo bowl soup.
06:58It's literally chicken soup.
07:00Just ground up.
07:01Bound into a bowl.
07:03And calling it matzo bowl soup.
07:05So I have the garnishes here.
07:07The seasoned noodle.
07:08I'm going to put in a Ziploc bag.
07:10And we're going to crush it into little crumbs.
07:13I'm going to use two egg whites.
07:15To make them lighter.
07:17Schmaltz to make it savory richness.
07:21Little water.
07:22Soy sauce.
07:24Pinch of white pepper.
07:25And I'm just going to grate a little bit of ginger.
07:29Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
07:31And by that time.
07:32The starch should absorb all the moisture.
07:34And we should able to form into a bowl.
07:37Most of the flavors are inside the bowl.
07:40And the flavors will come out as they're cooking.
07:43And this can rest while we bring our broth together.
07:47One spoon of soy sauce.
07:49A little salt.
07:50And our garnish.
07:51And we're going to drop our ramen bowl.
07:53I want to make sure it cooks through.
07:55And becomes like delicate.
07:57Pillowy.
07:58So gentle simmer for about 20 minutes.
08:02It feels cooked all the way.
08:04Use our cup noodle as our serving bowl.
08:08A little more white pepper.
08:10And a little drizzle of toasted sesame oil.
08:13You don't want to make it salty.
08:14Because the bowl itself is already seasoned with the ramen seasoning.
08:18To finish, some nice fresh dill sprigs.
08:21And there we have it.
08:22Maruchan matzo bowl soup.
08:26Bulldog spicy ramen.
08:28Kimbap with mortadella.
08:30Inside of the kimbap are seasoned noodles.
08:33All the creaminess, spiciness.
08:35Just a perfect bite.
08:37It's going to be delicious.
08:39So noodles are ready.
08:41I'm going to use all of our spicy bulldog sauce.
08:44Hit you with spicy, savory, umami.
08:48It says artificial chicken flavor.
08:49There is no chicken.
08:50But it does really come off as a chicken.
08:53I think that's nutritional yeast.
08:56As the noodles are sitting in the sauce.
08:58They're gonna expand.
09:00The sauce is just gonna get absorbed into the noodles.
09:02And it's easier to roll the kimbap fillings if the fillings are not too wet.
09:08And this will almost become like a block.
09:10For our next step, we're going to make thin egg crepes.
09:14But for kimbap, it's usually like a thick omelet.
09:18I'm just gonna put enough egg to just cover the bottom.
09:21I'm going to throw my pan.
09:23And as soon as it's flipped, it's fully cooked.
09:27Classic kimbap, it has like a Korean kimbap sausage made with fish cake.
09:33But today we're going to use moradela.
09:35Moradela is an Italian sausage made with pork spices with pork jiao fat.
09:41I'm going to take half to crisp them up.
09:44And have two types of texture and a flavor.
09:47Next, we have rice.
09:48Seasoned with flakes from the bulldog.
09:51There is a little kim strips and toasted sesame seed.
09:55Kim is seaweed for Korean.
09:57So kimbap, kim seaweed, and bap is rice.
10:01Basically rice rolled in seaweed.
10:03Sesame oil, salt.
10:05So next, we're going to roll our bulldog into an egg omelet.
10:10You can tell this ramen absorbs all the sauces.
10:15Roll them as tight as possible.
10:17This is the seaweed.
10:19It's toasted but unseasoned.
10:21Bread the rice about three quarters from the bottom leaving the top.
10:25And don't crush the rice.
10:27Perilla leaves taste like a very earthy mint.
10:31We got chives.
10:32And we'll put American cheese.
10:35Nothing is traditional when it comes to kimbap.
10:37And it goes so well with moradela.
10:40We got our egg crepe with moradela.
10:44As you can see, I'm putting everything throughout.
10:47It's even.
10:47So when I slice it, you get everything.
10:50Damuji is a sweetened pickled radish.
10:53Ready to roll.
10:54With my thumb, I'm supporting and lifting the bottom.
10:58With my fingers, I'm trying to keep all the fillings inside.
11:02You don't want to press too hard or the noodle is going to come out.
11:06Brush the top with extra sesame oil for flavor and also for the visual.
11:11So nice bite size.
11:13So here we have our bulldak moradela kimbap.
11:17There is actual bulldak noodles coming out.
11:20And it's very clear that this is bulldak kimbap.
11:25It still has that spiciness in the back of the nose.
11:28But surprisingly, with egg, cheese, and moradela, it really balances out.
11:32Bulldak carbonara, Italian.
11:35Rappokki, which is a rice cake dish with instant ramen.
11:39Cheesy, spicy.
11:40We're going to take into an Italian direction.
11:44In a pan, I started to sweat garlic and onion.
11:48I'm going to add andulla.
11:50Spicy Calabrian paste made with pork, chili, and fat.
11:55And gochujang is a Korean fermented chili paste.
11:59And by toasting gochujang, it tunes down the spiciness and the sweetness really comes through.
12:06So we have this spicy bulldak sauce.
12:09Cheese powder goes in.
12:11Just mix it in.
12:13By cooking the noodle with rice cake, they're both starches.
12:16So it will thicken itself nicely.
12:19Rice cakes are basically extruded rice tubes.
12:22They're soft, they're chewy, and it's really fun to eat together with this different texture with the noodle.
12:28You know, when you make pasta, you're constantly tossing to get the starch to thicken up the sauce.
12:34Same idea.
12:35Finish with grated Pecorino Romano.
12:39Because this ramen is such a full-on flavor, it needed more sharp cheese.
12:43Lemon juice for brightness, and we're going to plate.
12:46And on top, I have toasted Italian breadcrumbs, just lightly toasted in olive oil with salt and pepper.
12:54This will give a nice crunch.
12:57Fresh grated Pecorino, and fresh basil to finish.
13:01And there we have it.
13:05It's a perfect bite.
13:06Mama pork, spicy pork lard with lettuce wraps.
13:11Ice pork lettuce, brown pork with ramen crunchies, and eat it in a one big bite.
13:16Using the good friend, the Ziploc bag.
13:19And I'm just gonna break them apart.
13:22We'll reserve this, and we're gonna cook our pork first.
13:26Pork garlic, scallion, and red chili.
13:29The oils are coming out from the pork.
13:32And I'm actually gonna use this fat to toast our ramen crunchies.
13:37All goes in.
13:38These are already fried.
13:40By toasting them in extra fat, they become super crunchy.
13:45I'm going to use one of this packet.
13:48It says chili powder.
13:49So this will be like a spicy ramen crunchies.
13:53Porks are back on the heat.
13:55Gochugaru gives a nice red color.
13:58Add all over the rest of the seasoning.
14:01It has sugar.
14:02It has MSG and all these lemongrass and aromatics that we're looking for in the Thai cuisine.
14:08Fish sauce and lime juice to brighten up the food.
14:11Thai basil or regular basil if you can find.
14:14Some fresh mint.
14:16And cilantro.
14:18The beautiful iceberg lettuce.
14:20Fresh cucumber.
14:22Our spicy larv.
14:23Spicy ramen crunchies.
14:26Here we have our spicy pork larv.
14:30Lettuce wrap and cucumber and lime.
14:33As a Korean, when you make saam, like a lettuce wrap, you do have to eat one bite.
14:37So you get all the flavors in one big mouthful.
14:41It had a good foundation to start.
14:43So it was very easy for me to just up the flavors.
14:47Create into something totally different.
14:49Indomie mi goreng.
14:52Sisley noodles with sauteed vegetables and shrimp on top.
14:55Chewy, crunchy noodle with this savory, sweet, and also spicy sauce that goes very well together.
15:03I have sauteed garlic, scallion with the vegetables you have in the fridge.
15:08This is cornstarch water slurry, so it's going to thicken our sauce.
15:13Oyster sauce.
15:14In this mi goreng, there is five different seasonings.
15:18Starting with chicken powder with onion and garlic.
15:22And here we have seasoning oil.
15:24I think it's cooked in shallots, so it's more like a shallot oil.
15:27In the middle is a sweet soy.
15:30On the side is a sambar.
15:31It's a chili sauce.
15:33It thickens with using the cornstarch slurry.
15:36I'm just going to add our shrimp and cook it until they're just ready.
15:41Smells great.
15:42I'm just going to finish it off with a little bit of vinegar.
15:45Keep it aside and we're going to sizzle our noodles.
15:49I'm going to put the noodles and going to get them really nice crispy on one side.
15:54You want to hear this sizzle.
15:57By searing the noodles, it has some of the chew of this boiled noodle,
16:01but also have these crispy edges of the crunchy bits.
16:05Put our vegetable shrimp garnish on top.
16:08Our fried onion garnish.
16:10Let it sizzle and serve it right away.
16:16Such a full-on flavor from all these different seasoning packs that we use.
16:20The crunchy noodles, once it hits the sauce, it does get soggy,
16:23but the crunchy bits are still there.
16:26Shinnamyeon Black, New York Army Stew.
16:29Budejjigae is another well-known Korean dish.
16:33Since we are filming this in New York, I'm going to use pastrami, sauerkraut,
16:39pierogis, and frank sausage from braised papaya.
16:43So first, we're going to make tadaegi.
16:45Tadaegi is a Korean seasoning paste.
16:48Here I have samjang, a mix of gochujang and denjang, the fermented soybean paste.
16:54Fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, gochugaru, shinnamyeon black.
17:02There's a soup paste.
17:03It has the spicy, beefy flavor.
17:06Make sure they're all mixed into a nice thick paste and use it later.
17:10We're going to build our army stew.
17:13Cabbage, onion, have a hot dog frank, cut in daegno.
17:19I'm just going to put all the ingredients in their own so it looks nice and presentable.
17:26Pastrami.
17:27I do like to add tofu because it absorbs all the flavors.
17:31Breakfast sausage, baked bean, and the tadaegi, the seasoning paste we made.
17:37And our final ingredient is our flakes.
17:40Nice chunks of mushrooms, scallions, and chilies here.
17:44I'm just going to mix this beef bone base with the water.
17:49After it comes to boil, let it simmer for like five minutes until the vegetables are cooked.
17:53The flavors will really come together.
17:56If it wasn't New York enough, we're going to add more New York ingredients.
18:01Pierogi works like mandu, like a Korean dumpling.
18:04It will absorb all the broth.
18:06And sauerkraut, this will work like a kimchi.
18:09The lactic acid tang will brighten up this very rich stew.
18:14Chopped garlic.
18:16And we're putting the noodles in.
18:18American cheese is a classic recipe for budajigae.
18:22And just let it melt.
18:24I like to grab all the noodles first.
18:26And I'm going to grab it with the cheese on top.
18:29Honoring classics, not necessarily always by repeating it.
18:32It's by where you're leaving it and using the ingredients that you have to make it delicious food.
18:38It's so good.
18:42We proved today that the possibility is unlimited.
18:46Have fun, be creative, and just enjoy instant ramen.
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