Ramen Noodles With Herby Miso Sauce

15th Mar 202216th Mar 2022 bakesbymegukLeave a comment

This is my second spruced-up packet ramen recipe – the first being my miso peanut butter ramen, and both recipes are up there with the best recipes I’ve come up with (IMO anyway). This dish is super simple and cooks in less than 10 minutes but really doesn’t skimp on flavour. It’s such a fresh tasting dish from the herbs and lemon, with a salty, earthy kick from the miso and soy. Using the egg, similar to a carbonara, makes this sauce super creamy but doesn’t make it too heavy. Feel free to include or exclude the bacon to make it veggie, or swap in whatever meat/protein you have lying around. Ramen is one of my favourite things to have as an easy, quick weeknight dinner – and this is a way to really elevate a simple packet of ramen.

Herby Miso Ramen Noodles

Serves 1 | Cook + Prep 10 mins

Ingredients

1 packet your favourite ramen, noodles only (I prefer Chapagetti as the noodles are thicker)

Handful parsley (stalks & leaves)

Handful coriander (stalks & leaves)

1tbsp white miso

Juice 1/4 lemon

1 clove garlic

1tsp soy sauce (+ more to taste)

1 egg

2 rashers streaky bacon (optional)

Chilli oil to serve (optional)

Method

If using, dice the bacon and fry in a frying pan over medium high heat with a splash of oil until crispy. You could sub in other proteins at this point instead of the bacon.
Bring a pan of water to the boil for the noodles
Meanwhile, add the parsley, coriander, miso, lemon, garlic and soy sauce to a blender or food processor. Add the egg to a bowl and beat with a fork
Once the water is boiling, add the noodles & cook to your liking. After 1-2 mins of cooking, add a few tablespoons of noodle water to the blender/food processor and blend until smooth. You want to use the minimum amount of water here – so start with 2-3 tbsp of water and then add more 1tbsp at a time until the mix is able to blend until completely smooth. Combine the blended herb mix with beaten egg with a fork.
Once the noodles are cooked, transfer them to the frying pan with the bacon (or, if not using the bacon, to a new frying pan) over very low heat. Add the herby egg mix and cook over low heat stirring freqently until the sauce thickens enough to coat the noodles and the egg is cooked (think carbonara). The cooking time very much depends on your hob and pan.
Add more soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in a bowl with chilli oil over the top if you like a bit of a kick!

Bao Noodle Shop – Shoreditch, E2

23rd Jan 2022 bakesbymegukLeave a comment

Bao has been a long-time firm favourite of mine. I have fond Lockdown 2 memories of sitting on London Fields Park with my friend Corey, absolutely frozen eating a classic bao from Netil market. So obviously the noodle bar has been on my must-visit list since it opened, and I finally took the trip last week – naturally with my bao-buddy Corey. I always love Bao, and this was no exception. The food is always so exciting and really well executed, and the decor is like being on the set of a Wes Anderson film, with ’emergency noodles’ lining the wall (my kind of emergency supply stash).

bao noodle shop cocktails — L: Umesgu Negroni, R: Sweet Potato Sour

We started off with cocktails. I had the sweet potato sour (gin, chestnut & sweet potato) which was an incredible drink. It had the rich smooth feel of a whiskey sour (which is quickly being exposed as my favourite drink), but it was sweeter and rounder owing to the chesnut, and without the whiskey burn. Corey had the Umeshu Negroni (plum sake, gin, campari & vermouth) which tasted like a very good negroni – neither of us picked up the plum sake.

Bao Noodle Shop cull yaw dumplings — L: Cull yaw dumplings, R: Crispy Ogleshield Cheese Rolls

Bao Noodle Shop ogleshield cheese rolls — L: Cull yaw dumplings, R: Crispy Ogleshield Cheese Rolls

We were recommended 3-4 starters to share, and a noodle dish and a bao each. For starters we chose the cull yaw dumplings, the Ogleshield cheese rolls and the crispy tripe with spring onion dip. All three were delicious. The dumplings were unanimously the best dish of the evening. The lamb filling was so savoury & deep in flavour. Completely different to any dumpling I’d had before. The cheese rolls, while delicious, were slightly less exciting than the other dishes. They were very cheesy, crispy fried rolls – what’s not to love. The tripe was a real revelation though. As someone with mild trypophobia I’ve always been put off by the look of tripe. But this being a dish of breadcrumbed strips of tripe, I didn’t encounter any appearance issues. The tripe was melt in the mouth, which was a texture I was really not expecting, but the spiced breaded coating is was made it so special. For any tripe newbies – this is your entry tripe. I am a convert!

Bao Noodle Shop crispy tripe — Crispy tripe with spring onion dip

Now onto the namesake – the bao. We got a bao each: I got the Iberico and Corey got the prawn croquette. Both delicious. The iberico felt really special – the meat was so tender and juicy. I think this may even take the top spot as my favourite Bao bao. The prawn croquette was also delicious – I compared it to really high quality prawn toast.

Bao Noodle Shop iberico and prawn bao — Iberico bao at the front, prawn croquette at the back

For main there were 2 beef noodle options: the slow-cooked beef cheek and short-rib noodles, and the rare beef rump noodles (served with a soy egg yolk). We both went for the latter, swayed mainly by the egg yolk. This dish was also incredible. Slightly chewy noodles, a DEEP rich beefy broth, super tender beef rump strips and the salty egg yolk for beef dipping. Absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to go back and try the short-rib and the dan dan tofu noodles. And of course, I rounded off the meal with a purchase of a one of their iconic tote bags.

Bao Noodle Shop rare beef rump noodles — Rare beef rump noodles with the soy egg yolk for dipping

Bao Noodle Shop soy egg yolk — Rare beef rump noodles with the soy egg yolk for dipping

Meg & Corey Ratings

This is another meal where absolutely everything was delicious – there were no duds. So remember in this ranking, even the things at the bottom are fantastic, they just have tough competition

Meg

Cull yaw dumplings
Iberico bao
Crispy tripe
Rare beef rump noodles
Ogleshield cheese rolls

Corey

Cull yaw dumplings
Praw croquette bao
Rare beef rump noodles
Crispy tripe
Ogleshield cheese rolls

Let me know who you agree with in the comments!

This was another incredible meal by bao – they never seem to miss. Every part of the menu is so different & well thought out – and then perfectly executed. If you haven’t yet had the chance to visit the Bao Noodle bar, we highly highly recommend you do. Let me know what think of it in the comments if you’ve already been, and let me know if you go from this recommendation!

Find them at 1 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DJ

Miso & Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles

18th Nov 202118th Nov 2021 bakesbymeguk1 Comment

This is one of my all time favourite recipes that I’ve created. When I finally got this recipe spot-on, I knew I’d created something great. So great that I made another bowl of if for breakfast the next day… And then again for dinner later that week… This dish combines miso, peanut butter & mushrooms for a rich, thick sauce that really packs an umami punch. My favourite way to have this is with sausage & a jammy boiled egg, but this can easily be made veggie by swapping the sausage for a different protein & the beef stock for veg stock, and vegan by removing the egg! The ultimate upgrade for your packet ramen. Speaking of packet ramen, you can use whichever brand you like for this dish. I use Chapaghetti because I love the thickness of the noodle (slightly thicker than your average packet ramen). I cannot stress enough how much you need to try this recipe – you will not be disappointed.

Miso & Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles

Serves 1 | 20 Mins Prep + Cooking

Ingredients

1 packet instant ramen noodles (I use Chapaghetti)

1.5tbsp chunky peanut butter (my fave is Manilife Deep Roast)

1.5tbsp white miso paste

2tsp soy sauce

1/2tsp beef stock concentrate

150g Chestnut mushrooms, sliced ~0.5cm thick

1 large garlic clove, minced

A handful of parsley, finely chopped

1 egg

Optional: 1 sausage, removed from casing

Method

Boil the egg for 7 mins, once cooked set aside in a bowl of iced water until ready to use.
Heat a small frying pan medium high heat adding ~1tsp olive oil. Break the sausage meat into chunks and flatten slightly. Fry for a minute or two (depending on how hot the pan is) on each side until caramelised and cooked through. Set aside until ready to use.
Add the mushrooms to the same frying pan, add a little more oil if it’s too dry, and fry until all the water has been released, has evaporated and the mushrooms are starting to brown.
Add your crushed garlic and fry, stirring often, until fragrant.
Next add the miso, peanut butter, soy sauce, stock & enough water so that once the noodles are added, they will be submerged. Stir this until well combined & smooth apart from the mushrooms.
Bring this mix to the boil & add the noodles. Cook this, stirring frequently, until the noodles are cooked through and the sauce has reduced and thickened to the texture of thick double cream.
While this is cooking, roughly chop the sausage into mouth-sized chunks. Peel and half the egg.
Once the noodles are cooked, stir through the parsley. Serve in a bowl with the egg & sausage on top.

Note: If you don’t have stock concentrate, swap the water for stock of your choice

Veggies/Vegans: Make this dish veggie by swapping the sausage for a protein of your choice & swapping the beef stock for veg stock. Omit the egg to make it vegan