While often thought of as that college student staple a dried block of instant noodles in a cellophane wrapper ramen is actually available fresh as well. These thin noodles are wheat based and sometimes contain eggs. In addition to the instant variety (which have been deep fried before they are dried), they are sold fresh, dried, and frozen in straight rods as well as the familiar crinkly block. Boil ramen noodles before adding to a dish
Ingredients
This recipe makes two portions (up to
two big bowls of noodles for a soup dish).
3/4 cup/75 g bread flour (may substitute
all-purpose flour), plus additional
flour for rolling/stretching
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 egg
1 tbsp water (depending on flour
and humidity)
Procedure
- Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add the egg and water to the dry ingredients,
mixing well, until all ingredients are combined together. - Once mixed, place dough onto a clean counter (or large cutting board) and begin kneading.
It should feel a little stiffer than bread dough. Knead for at least 5-6 minutes, until the dough
doesn’t feel super sticky and is more or less dry. When it is the right consistency, you should
be able to lift your hand from the dough fairly easily. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour
and knead it in. If it’s too dry, add water a few drops at a time. - The dough will need to rest before it gets stretched, otherwise it will not make nice thin
noodles. Wrap dough in a damp cloth and leave for at least 30 minutes in warm/hot
environments, and up to 2 hours in a cold environment. - Remove dough ball and sprinkle some flour generously over the dough. Take a rolling pin
or roller and start stretching it. (Ideally you want to roll/stretch dough to large rectangular
shape.) - If you can, get it to about ⅛-inch/3-mm thickness.. If dough is overly sticky, add a bit more
dry flour to it. - If dough feels too elastic in nature and seems to be shrinking back into its original shape,
simply allow it to rest for a few minutes, untouched. - If you haven’t been working on a cutting board, now’s the time to transfer the sheet of dough
to a cutting board so you don’t damage your counter. Liberally spread flour on the surface,
because if dough starts sticking when you cut it, the ramen will be ruined. Fold dough two
times in the same direction, each time spreading flour on the surface, and eventually dust
some flour on the top. All that additional loose surface flour will wash off when noodles
are boiled, plus the starch flour in the water will help keep the noodles together during the
boiling process. - Once dough has been folded over itself, start cutting it into thin strips. A long flat (nonserrated) knife works best, but any knife will work if it is long enough.
- When in doubt, spread some more flour on top of the noodles and/or on surface below the
dough. You don’t want the dough to get sticky! Once you have a pile of cut noodles, fluff them
with your fingers to unfold them. Toss them around with some more flour, but just be careful
not to break the noodles. - Bring a medium-large pot of water to a rolling boil. Once the water boils, salt it liberally, and
sprinkle the noodles into the water, keeping the heat high. Do not dump the noodles in or
they will stick. Mix the noodles around delicately with a wood spoon or chopsticks for the
first minute. - As long as the water is hot enough, they should start floating.
- Boil the noodles for about 4 minutes, depending on how thin they are cut. The best doneness
test is to just taste the noodles and drain them when they’re barely soft enough.
