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black sesame ramen

Ramen of the Abyss

A sesame miso ramen goes goth...
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Servings: 4
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 red onions
  • 1 head garlic
  • 8 oz mushrooms shiitake or whatever you can find
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 6 inches kombu
  • 4 inches ginger
  • 1/4 cup hatcho (black) miso
  • 1/2 cup black sesame seeds
  • 12 scallions
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup mirin
  • 4 servings black rice ramen noodles
  • 12 pieces toasted nori
  • black fermented garlic optional
  • black radish optional

Equipment

  • Blender
  • Roasting Pan

Method
 

  1. Heat oven to 200C/400ºF
  2. Take the ginger, mushrooms, onions, and the white part of the scallions and roughly chop or slice them into bite-sized pieces. Slice the top off of the head of garlic.
  3. Toss the chopped ginger, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and white part of the scallions in 1 tablespoon oil and place in a roasting pan; roast for approximately 30 minutes or until soft or even a bit charred.
  4. Meanwhile, carefully peel the skin off of the eggplant. Set aside the rest of the eggplant for another meal.
  5. Toast all of the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat for 5 minutes and set aside to cool.
  6. Heat the remaining oil and fry the eggplant skins until they curl up and get crispy; remove to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
  7. By now, your veggies are probably roasted. Put them in a large stock pot with the kombu, cover with water, and bring to a simmer, covered, for 1.5 hours
  8. Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, mirin, and scallion tops in a small saucepan and simmer for approximately 30 minutes until the liquid is thick. Set aside to cool.
  9. When your stock is ready, strain it, reserving the garlic head.
  10. Squeeze the softened roasted garlic cloves out of their peels and into a blender jar. Blend garlic until smooth, adding strained broth as necessary. Return the blended garlic to the strained broth and bring to a simmer again.
  11. Separate the sesame seeds; you'll want to reserve 4 pinches of whole seeds for a garnish.
  12. Combine the rest of the sesame seeds (you should have at least 3/4 of a cup) with the reduced soy-mirin glaze and blend until very, very smooth. This may take a bit of time, but the smoother it is, the darker your finished ramen will be!
  13. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
  14. Divide the miso-sesame paste among 4 serving bowls. Place 2 pieces of toasted nori on the side of each bowl.
  15. Divide the noodles among the bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the top to fill each bowl.
  16. Garnish each bowl with toasted black sesame seeds, fried eggplant skins, and fermented black garlic and/or black radish if you have them.

Notes

The miso, sesame seeds, and black rice noodles can typically be found in Asian markets or organic/bio grocery stores, and of course, online.