Talking cat SHIO-CHAN & SHIN-KORO’s Secret Recipe
Have you tried cooking Ramen with homemade soup? Here is a simple recipe skipping the long processes of making dashi from chicken or pork bone, however doing a little more than just pouring hot water onto instant noodles. Use Niboshi (dried infant sardines) to get surprisingly rich restaurant-level flavor. Just be careful not to have your cat stealing Niboshi!
Ingredients (Makes 4 cups)
- 1 slice Konbu (Dried Kelp)
- 2 tbsp. Japanese dashi powder
- 4 bunches of green onion (2 bunches for
- soup stock and 2 bunches for topping)
- 1 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 dried red chili peppers
- 9-10 cups water
- 1 cup niboshi, head off
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 4 ramen noodle bundles
- 1 baby spinach pack, sautéed or boiled
- 12 Chinese BBQ pork slices
- soy sauce
- Salt
Instructions
- Put Konbu, dashi powder, 2 bunches of green onion, fresh ginger, chopped garlic, red chili peppers and water in a large pan, then cook to boiling on medium heat. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down and keep cooking for 20 minutes.
- Add Niboshi and chicken stock to the pan and cook 10 minutes. While cooking, add soy sauce and salt to add flavor to your taste.
- Cook ramen noodles according to the directions on the package.
- Place cooked ramen noodles in bowls, and then pour the soup over
- Top with spinach, Chinese BBQ pork and chopped green onion
Shio-Chan is a cat, who became popular in Japan with her “talking” videos. She can say words in Japanese such as “Okaeri (welcome home)” and “Ohayo (good morning).” Her YouTube videos have hit over 50 million views.
Shin-Koro is an immunology scientist living in New York. His hobbybased side businesses include hip-hop dance instructor and recipe writer. His blog and videos of talking Shio-Chan are available at http://www.okyn.jp.
