Spicy Pork Ramen Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 kg rolled pork shoulder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 carrots peeled. One left whole, the other cut into matchsticks
• 1 onion cut in half (no need to remove the skin)
• 1 stick of celery broken in half
• 3 cloves garlic chopped in half (no need to peel)
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger roughly chopped (no need to peel)
• 2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Gochujang Paste this can be found on the speciality aisle of larger supermarkets
• 1 red chilli roughly sliced (remove the seeds if you don’t like it too hot)
• 4 large eggs
• 200 g dried ramen noodles
• 1 leek sliced
• 100 g packed baby spinach leaves
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• Small bunch spring onions scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp red chilli flakes

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 150C/300F. Place a large casserole pan on the hob, add 1 tbsp of the oil and heat until very hot. Season the pork with the salt and pepper and place in the pan with the hot oil. Seal on all sides.
• Remove the pork, turn down the heat to medium and add in add onion, the whole carrot, celery, garlic and ginger. Fry for 5 mins until the onion starts to soften, then add in the stock, mirin, soy sauce, gochujang, the red chilli and the sealed pork. Bring to the boil, then place a lid on the pan and place in the oven for 4 hours. Check two or three times during cooking, and top up with a little boiling water if needed. You’ll need at least 1 litre of liquid left by the time the pork finishes cooking.
• Take the pan out of the oven and place the pork on a chopping board. Remove and discard the layer of fat. Shred the pork using two forks.
• Place a sieve over a large bowl and strain the cooking liquid. Throw the strained vegetables away and place the liquid back in the pan with the shredded pork. Leave on a low heat to keep warm.
• Place the eggs in a small pan. Just cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Place the noodles in a pan of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, run under cold water (to stop them sticking) and put to one side.
• Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and heat. Add the leek, season with a pinch of salt and pepper then fry for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from the pan, add the spinach to the hot pan and allow to wilt for 1 minute.
• Divide the noodles between four bowls. Top with the hot broth, shredded pork, leek, spinach and carrot matchsticks. Carefully peel the two eggs and slice in half. Place 2 halves in each bowl. Garnish the soup with spring onions, then sprinkle with the white and black sesame seeds and the chilli flakes before serving.

Recipe Notes

Nutritional information is per serving.

Recipes by www.kitchensanctuary.com