Ramen Noodles (Alkaline)
· 5 1/3 cup (800 grams) “00” pasta flour or bread flour
· 1 1/3 cup (300 grams) water
· 2 teaspoons sodium carbonate (may need to cut back a little if tingly)
· ¼ teaspoon (7.2 grams) potassium carbonate (dried banana peels)
Combine the flour, water, sodium carbonate, and potassium carbonate in a mixer with a dough hook.. Knead low speed for 10 min. The dough should be in the shape of a ball. Wrap and refrigerate rest for 30 min
On the pasta machine cut off a small piece of dough, keep rest refrigerated. Roll through twice on the widest setting reduce the setting and roll as thin as possible then cut on smallest die. Portion in 6 oz bundles
Cook noodles in a large pot of salted water until tender (5 min or less)
Momofuku Ramen Broth
Recipe by David Chang – Momofuku Cookbook
Makes 5 quarts – this is enough for about 10 portions of ramen. Make the entire recipe. It freezes nicely and making less seems like a waste of time when you’ve got a pot on the stove all day. So make all of it. David recommends it!
Ingredients:
Two 3X6 inch pieces of kombu (dried kelp, find this at Asian markets)
6 quarts of water (use at least an 8-quart stock pot)
2 cups dried shiitakes, rinsed well (clean them good, or you’ll end up with a scummy broth)
4 pounds free-range chicken, either a whole bird or legs
2.5 pounds pork neck bones
1 pound smoky bacon
1 bunch scallions
1 medium onion, cut in half
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
Taré (this is basically the main seasoning – the primary “salt” component – in ramen. This recipe takes another hour to make and I didn’t have enough pots or the time to make it this time around, but I will in the future) – or – equal parts kosher salt, soy sauce and mirin to taste (more about this in the directions below)
Rinse the Kombu under running water, then combine it with the water in an 8-quart stockpot. Bring the water to a simmer over high heat and turn off the heat. Let steep for 10 minutes.
Remove the konbu from the pot and add the shiitakes. Turn the heat back up to high and bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down so the liquid simmers gently. Simmer for 30 minutes, until the mushrooms are plumped and re-hydrated and have lent the broth their color and aroma.
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Remove the mushrooms from the pot with a spider or slotted spoon. Add the chicken to the pot. Keep the liquid at a gentle simmer, with bubbles lazily and occasionally breaking the surface. Skim and discard any froth, foam, or fat that rises to the surface of the broth while the chicken is simmering, and replenish the water as necessary to keep the chicken covered. After about 1 hour, test the chicken: the meat should pull away from the bones easily. If it doesn’t, simmer until that’s the case and then remove the chicken from the pot with a spider or slotted spoon. (After I let the chicken cool off, I shredded all the meat to save for future use and tossed the bones in the freezer to make a future chicken stock)
While the chicken is simmering, put the pork bones on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan and slide them into the oven to brown for an hour; turn them over after about 30 minutes to ensure even browning.
Remove the chicken from the pot and add the roasted bones to the broth, along with the bacon. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the broth at a steady simmer; skim the scum and replenish the water as needed. After 45 minutes, fish out the bacon and discard it. Then gently simmer the pork bones for 6 to 7 hours—as much time as your schedule allows. Stop adding water to replenish the pot after hour 5 or so.
Add the scallions, onion and carrots to the pot and simmer for the final 45 minutes.
Remove and discard the spent bones and vegetables. Pass the broth through a strainer lined with cheesecloth. You can use the broth at this point, or, if you’re making it in advance and want to save on storage space, you can do what Momofuku does: return it to the pot and reduce it by half over high heat, then portion out the concentrated broth into containers. It keeps for a couple of days in the refrigerator and up to a few months in the freezer. When you want to use it, dilute it with an equal measure of water and reheat it on the stove.
In either case, finish the broth by seasoning it to taste with taré – or – 2 or 3 tablespoons of combined kosher salt, soy sauce and mirin, per quart. Taste it and add more seasoning to get it right. It should be very seasoned, almost too salty. Under-seasoned broth is a crime. I made a seasoning mix of salt, soy sauce and mirin to season the entire 5 quarts I ended up with, but you may have to add additional seasoning after the broth “sits” overnight.
Vinegar pickles
1 cup water hot from tap
½ cup rice wine
6 Tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 Kosher salt
Vegetables or fruit prepared as indicated
Examples: 2 whole cucumbers, watermelon, watermelon rind (must boil the rind quickly for 1 to 2 minutes), small to medium beets raw sliced thin, daikon radish julienne, any other vegetables.
2 lbs whole baby carrots, scrubbed, peeled, and trimmed
3 bulbs fennelPack carrots (for larger ones, cut them length-wise, so they are snack size) and fennel (core and cut into 1/8-inch strips) into mason jars or 1-qt plastic containers, cover with brine, close lid, and refrigerate. They'll be ready in four days. Most will keep for up to a month.Make Sodium Carbonate
Sodium bicarbonateis CHNaO3whilesodium carbonateis Na2CO3. Simply heat baking soda or sodium bicarbonate in a 200°F oven for about an hour. Carbon dioxide and water will be given off. Dry sodium carbonate will remain.
Making Potassium Carbonate from banana peels (lye)
Dry the banana peels till they are black
Chop the peels and place in crucible and burn to ashes
Banana peels do not burn easily so you need a butane flame
The bananas are done when there is no more smoke coming out
20 grams of ashes are mixed with 80 ml of water
Gravity filtration is formed
Potassium Carbonate has a PH of 11 to 12 (alkaline) test the water for the presence of K2CO3
The solution is boiled till the K2CO3 is dry, do not burn.