Miso ramen I hear you whisper – what the hell is that ??? Well head to Japan and you’ll be a convert. Each region of Japan has its own unique version of ramen. Ramen is a cultural experience. Noodles, broth, a huge variety of toppings and an explosion of taste. Typically cheap, fast and a great choice for lunch, ramen houses have sprung up all around the globe and growing by the minute.

So what to do with some left over pork belly ?? Miso ramen, the Japanese specialty from Hokkaido, with sliced pork I say.

We already had fresh chicken stock and so the hard work was already done.

In a mortar and pestle, grind up 2 tbsp of sesame seeds. Add 2 tsp of sugar, 2 tsp of soy and 2 tsp of hot sesame oil. Mix it well and this forms the sesame flavoring to your dish.

So get your broth on the boil and add a teaspoon of grated garlic and same with ginger. Add whatever else you like, tonight we used baby bamboo shoots and sliced shitake mushrooms. Turn off the broth and lastly add 2 heaped tablespoons of white miso paste. Careful coz it doesn’t mix very well, so make sure you get all the lumps out of it. Best way is to dissolve the miso paste in a sieve in the broth.

Soak your hokkien noodles in a bowl of boiling water for a minute or two. When cooked drain and add a couple of drops of sesame oil so it doesn’t go gluggy.

So lets plate up. Put a dollop of the sesame paste in the bottom of your bowl. Add the noodles and the thinly sliced left over pork belly. We added spinach, spring onions and some Japanese daikon pickle.

Lastly heap on the bamboo shots, mushrooms and plenty of the miso broth and serve with your favorite chilli oil. Mix well to incorporate the chilli, miso and the sesame paste on the bottom.

Enjoy.