As you would assume after my short visit to Singapore I had to introduce an Asian recipe. I really liked the local laksa- coconut soup with sea food and noodles. However I want to make it authentic as possible and for this I need to prepare two different chili and shrimp pastes. Till I find time to prepare it I made this classic ramen. Since I couldn`t decide chicken or fish I made both.

Preparing ramen is easy but it takes time as all the ingredients need to be prepared separate. I got some really cool products from 1004 Mart in Al Barsha-like miso paste, seaweed and noodles. The variety of Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese products is huge and I am definitely going there again.

Going back to the recipe you can try different stocks- from vegetable to chicken or seafood. I made mine vegetable as not everyone at home likes fish, but you can add your favorite meat if you fancy. Get creative with the toppings as long as they are fresh and finely sliced, so the hot broth will cook them in couple of minutes.

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

For the stock:

– 1 l water

– few stalks spring onion

– handful of coriander

– 1 carrot chopped into big chunks

– 2 tbsp miso paste

– 1 tbsp black beans paste

– 1 tbsp soy sauce

– 1 tsp sugar

For the toppings:

– 300 g shrimps

– 200 g crab sticks

– 2 chicken breasts

– 1 tbsp honey

– 1 tbsp five spices

– 1 tbsp sesame seeds

– 1 tbsp oil

– 1 sliced carrot

– handful of coriander

– 2 soft boiled eggs

– handful beans sprouts

– handful seaweed cut into strips

– noodles – I used 4 small packages

– baby corn

Preparation:

1. Boil the water with the stock ingredients. Once ready, strain the liquid to have clear broth.

2. Boil water and cook the shrimps and crab sticks for 3-4 minutes.

3. Boil water and cook the baby corn for 5 minutes.

4. Season the chicken breasts with honey, 5 spices, salt and sesame seeds. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Cut into stripes.

5. Cook the noodles as per their instructions and strain the liquid

6. Assembly your ramen by starting with the noodles. Add the hot broth and carefully arrange the rest of the toppings.