CRISPY PORK BELLY RAMEN

WHAT WE THINK

You know those perfectly spicy meals? The ones that have you sweating and sniffling, maybe even tearing up, but it’s the best suffering ever? This fiery ramen broth topped with chili-rubbed crispy pork belly will definitely give you that feeling. Now we’ll shut up. Let’s eat!

WAIT. FYI. THIS RECIPE TAKES A LONG TIME. LIKE 3-ISH HOURS. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE TIME. OK WE’RE DONE.

WHAT YOU NEED (SERVES 3-4, DO MATH IF YOU NEED MORE OR LESS)

coconut oil

1/2 white or yellow onion, diced

4 green onions, diced

5 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

3 tablespoons chili paste

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 quarts chicken stock

3 tablespoons miso paste

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 lbs. pork belly, cut into 4-5” long chunks (we prefer leaner pork belly, but if you're a chewy bacon type of person, get some with higher fat content)

Shut Up Let’s Eat chili powder blend (equal parts pasilla, guajillo, ancho, cayenne, pequin chili powders)

Chinese five spice

3 packages ramen noodles (yes, the cheap ones with the flavor packets, but we won’t be using those)

4 eggs

salt

pepper

cilantro

limes

WHAT TO DO

PREP YOUR BROTH.

Put 2-ish tablespoons of coconut oil into a dutch oven or large stock pot over low-medium heat. Once the coconut oil is hot, drop in your diced onion, the white part of your green onions (HOLD ONTO THE GREEN PARTS), and your garlic. After the garlic becomes fragrant and the onions start turning translucent, throw in your mushrooms and chili paste.

While all of that takes a few more minutes to meld, whisk your miso paste with some of your chicken stock; 1/2 cup to 1 cup of stock should do the trick. Throw this into the mix with everything else, along with the rest of your stock, soy sauce, crushed red pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce down to a simmer and cover.

PREP YOUR PORK.

Preheat the oven to 310.

Take your chunks of pork belly and season them generously on both sides with salt, pepper, chili powder blend, and Chinese five spice.

Put the seasoned pork belly on a wire rack over a baking dish or casserole dish where the drippings can fall.

Throw it in the oven.

WAIT.

Now the hard part. Sit here and wait while everything continues to smell more and more amazing. After about 90 minutes we’ll make some moves.

CRISP. NOODLE. EGGY. GOODNESS.

Once the 90 minutes is up, crank your oven up and turn on the broiler so we can start REALLY crisping up that pork belly. Keep an eye on it, but around 10-12 minutes should make it sufficiently crispy. Remove from the oven and cut into lengthwise slices.

In the meantime, bring some water to a boil in a small pot/saucepan. This will be for the eggs AND the noodles.

We’ll start with the eggs. Gently add them to the boiling water and leave them in there for 6 minutes. No more. No less. When that time is up, immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice water to shock them.

Return that egg water to a boil and drop in your ramen noodles. As you may know, they only need 3-4 minutes to cook. Drain.

PLATE (WELL, BOWL) IT.

Drop some noodles in your bowl first.

Ladle in the broth next.

Top with a few slices of the pork belly.

Slice an egg in half and put on top of the pork.

Top with the green part of the green onion you held back earlier.

Other garnish options? Cilantro, sesame seeds, and slices of lime are things we dig.

WHAT TO DRINK WITH IT

You’re going to be drinking a lot to soothe the heat; a crisp, cold white wine or pilsner would make the perfect partners for this fiery ramen.