Who knew a K-drama could have such a huge impact?
Since binge-watching Crash Landing on You, I’ve developed an unprecedented craving for Korean food. I went to BBQ Chicken because I wanted to eat the golden olive fried chicken that Seri and the ducklings were eating. Not another day had passed and I dragged the hubs to Table 9 Cafe because they had ramdon, that now-iconoclastic ramen dish made famous by Parasite. It was delicious, btw!
It was a matter of time I took my Korean obsession to another level: cook Korean at home!
Folks, I present to you my version of Easy Kimchi Ramen, heavily inspired by Marion’s Kitchen but with few personal twists.
Easy Kimchi Ramen
Equipment
- wok
Ingredients
- 2 nos wantan noodles (or any noodles of your choice)
Soup
- 1/2 cup kimchi, chopped
- 1 tbsp kimchi juice
- 1/4 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 3-4 slices ginger, pounded lightly to get the juices out
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp gochujang
- 2 tbsp soya sauce
- fish sauce, sugar and salt to taste
Meat topping
- 100g minced meat
- 1 tsp light soya sauce
- 1 tsp gochujang
Instructions
- Mix minced meat with gochujang and soy sauce and leave to marinate for half an hour.
- Heat up 1 tbs oil in small pot. Add yellow onion and saute until transparent, then add garlic and saute until it starts to brown. Add kimchi. Fry for a few minutes to allow it to caramelise.
- Add chicken stock, ginger slices, soy sauce and gochujang. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for up to 1 hour – the longer you simmer, the more flavourful the soup.
- While soup is cooking, prepare your minced meat topping. Heat up a little oil in a pan. When hot, add meat and spread out in a thin layer on pan to let it caramelize and get some sear. Once cooked, remove from heat.
- Your soup is almost ready by now. Check for seasoning and adjust with fish sauce, salt and sugar.
- Cook noodles your normal way. Then pour soup over and serve with meat topping, chopped spring onions, ramen egg and some blanched greens for a complete meal. Enjoy!
Notes
- I like to use fish sauce to season the soup because I find that it gives a more rounded flavour, but if you don’t like the “fishy” smell, just stick to salt and sugar.
- If you’re like me and don’t like too much roughage in your soup, how about repurposing the vegetables into a Korean jeon (pancake?) Strain the soup and remove the vegetables. Mix the vegetables with flour, water and a little salt, mix together until you get a thick consistency, pour into an oiled saucepan and fry on both sides. Alternatively, Google <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Maangchi">Maangchi</a> for loads of jeon ideas.
Alexandra Wong is a Malaysian food writer, recipe developer and the author behind Cook With Ipohbunny. She shares practical family recipes, restaurant recreations and home-cooking tips inspired by Malaysian Chinese cuisine.