Spicy Garlic Ramen

• 1.8 litres/3 pints/7 1/2 cups chicken broth, see page 25
• 4 portions ramen noodles
• 100ml / 3 1/2fl oz / 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 6 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp fermented bean and chilli paste (tobanjan)
• 2 tbsp Japanese sesame paste (neri goma) or tahini
• 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 120g / 4 1/4 oz fresh beansprouts
• 300g / 10 1/2 oz boiled chicken, possibly leftovers from the broth
• 3 tbsp chilli oil
• 6 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander
• 2 soft-boiled eggs
• 4 tbsp crushed black sesame seeds

Instructions

1. 1

   For the garlic paste, heat up the oil to about 130°C/260 °F. Add the garlic and leave to sizzle for approximately 10 minutes. It should go soft and shiny at first and then turn golden brown. After a while, the garlic will get quite sticky from the starch in the pan but keep on stirring. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sesame oil, bean and chilli paste, sesame paste and rice vinegar. Add the sesame seeds and blend coarsely.

2. 2

   Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil for the noodles. Heat the broth in a separate pan.

3. 3

   Fill four bowls with hot water to warm them. Discard the water when it's time to plate up.

4. 4

   Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan or a wok until really hot. Fry the beansprouts quickly over a high heat so that they become slightly charred. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl.

5. 5

   Cut the chicken into smaller chunks and heat in the frying pan together with the chilli oil.

6. 6

   Whisk together 2 tbsp of the garlic paste with jooml (372fl oz) of the broth in each bowl. Top up with more broth.

7. 7

   Boil the noodles for approximately 45 seconds in the pan of water on a rolling boil. It's best to use a noodle basket or a sieve so that you can reuse the water and quickly take out the noodles once done. You only have a window of a few seconds to make sure they're not under-or overcooked. Drain thoroughly and transfer the noodles to the broth bowls.

8. 8

   Top with the chicken, beansprouts, spring onion, coriander, egg halves and sesame seeds.