Recipe Colaboration Needed

Well if Pho belongs in the summer I'll be hitting that up... it's summer nine months out of the year here. I think it's actually been pretty much summer for about ten and a half months this past year. We're sort of having Autumn right now I guess, we had winter for about a week. Ah, Texas.

jazzybadger said:

Well if Pho belongs in the summer I'll be hitting that up... it's summer nine months out of the year here. I think it's actually been pretty much summer for about ten and a half months this past year. We're sort of having Autumn right now I guess, we had winter for about a week. Ah, Texas.

Click to expand...

Alrighty then, same as our climate.
PM sent!:biggrin1:

I knew you guys could help in some way! Way to go guys!!:clap2:

The thing that defines ramen, is not the soup, but, the noodle. Both the Chinese, who invented them, and the Japanese use alkaline noodles. Done right, these noodles will not soften in broth for a long time. They have a distinct yellow color and a firm texture. Generally, if you are using alkaline noodles in Japan, and putting broth over it, you are making ramen.

Pho is about the broth, you want a clear broth, and again, it will generally be more salty/savory than anything else. Heat is generally added as a condiment, either as sliced chile added at the time of serving, or chile oils added when the broth is added over the noodles, or at the time of serving.

Oh, something I recently had that was truly delicious, was a Hot and Sour soup poured over fresh wheat noodles.

Oh, here is another ramen I recently made, I got the proportion of flour to kansui wrong, so the noodles were not as yellow as would be correct. No matter, it was delicious. A simple shrimp and shiitake broth, rayu (chile oil) and shoyu tare. I use Mitsuba on ramen, as a fresh herbal garnish, it makes the soup so much better.

Cirk, hope your noodle adventure works out! This thread has inspired me to try making some of this or that for the wife!

Cirk, on the pork belly, I would suggest: Smoke it at 225F for 2 hours, then flip and sear it, cast iron or over direct flame. It takes just a couple of minutes and it will crisp up. Now, wrap in paper or foil, this sounds weird, as it will make it less crispy. But, this will result in a nice caramelized flavor on the surface, far better than just smoking it. Also, if you have a slice or two of good bacon, throw it into the broth. The fat really improves the broth.