Sapporo-Style Miso Ramen

Once you have a nice leftover teriyaki pork tenderloin you can make a Sapporo-style Miso Ramen. Now, this isn't your "college-dorm" ramen brick recipe - it is an authentic ramen recipe, and ramen is all about the broth. You can use the ramen bricks, just throw away the seasoning packets or find some decent ramen noodles. For instance, I have found the Korean instant ramen noodles to be of better quality than the standard "Maruchan" ramen bricks.
First, you have to make a decent ramen broth - it isn't rocket science though.
It may seem complicated reading it all - but if you have the teriyaki tenderloin done and on hand, the only time consuming thing about it is making the broth, and that takes little to no effort as it just sets and simmers.
And of course, the broth can be made a day or two in advance (and I think its better to make in advance incidentally, flavor wise), as can the boiled eggs, tenderloin, etc.

To make a basic broth or stock, you need:
1 lb. pork bones - in Japan pork neckbones are used most commonly for this.
1- inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
A little splash of shoyu doesn't come amiss - but is not necessary.

Bring half a pot of water to boil. Add pork bones and allow it to continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove bones with tongs. Rinse of scum if any. Discard water and rinse the pot.
Fill pot with 10 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Add ginger and return pork bones to the pot. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 2 hours. Add shoyu at the end if using. That is really most of the work, letting the broth or stock simmer. The initial step of boiling the bones and discarding the first water from it might seem counterintuitive, but it makes for a better less cloudy broth. Once the broth is finished, strain it well through a fine mesh colander, and set aside or let it cool and refrigerate it.

The rest goes relatively quick, but it is best to do it in a specific order so it all comes together at once.
I also don't like cleaning up an excessive amount of dirty dishes, so this is how I proceed.
Garlic chile oil is traditional with this, but it is an extra step, and frankly I find using a few drops of Sriracha Hot Sauce, if I want to spice it up just about as efficient in the heat department. If you can find chile bamboo shoots you can use them, but regular canned bamboo shoots are fine, or you can omit them. You can also use a bit of cucumber or yellow squash cut into matchsticks as a substitute.
One note on the miso, although I suggest using white and red miso, you can use brown miso, or one or the other of them - if you only have white or brown miso, just use that. No big deal at all.

6 oz. mung bean sprouts, ends trimmed if your fussy about it.
12 oz. dried ramen noodles
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 green onions, finely sliced
1/3 cup shiro miso
1/3 cup aka miso
Slices of teriyaki pork tenderloin
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 tbsp. butter
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced into half lengthwise
2 green onions, finely sliced
Nori
4 tbsp. chile bamboo shoots, optional

Boil eggs, run under cold water. You can also do this in advance and have them setting in the fridge.
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup of frozen corn kernels and cook for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Lightly parboil bean sprouts for about 20 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon. Set aside.

Add noodles to the pot of water and cook as per packaging instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add sesame oil. Toss to coat. Divide noodles into 2 big bowls, or 4 smaller bowls. Top each bowl with slices of teriyaki pork tenderloin, some bean sprouts, buttered corn kernels, and chili bamboo shoots, if using.

Put shiro and aka miso in a medium sized bowl. Pour a cup of boiling pork stock over miso. Stir to melt miso. Set aside. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add sliced green onions and saute for 2 minutes. Pour in 8 cups stock. When stock comes to a boil, reduce heat to minimum setting.
Gently pour melted miso back into pot. Do not allow soup to come to a boil. Turn off heat.

Finally, ladle miso soup over noodles and toppings in each bowl. Sprinkle with additional sliced green onions and some drops of Sriracha if you want it more spicy and the boiled egg halves. Serve immediately with nori. Slurp with gusto.

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

This is the first part of a two part recipe, or how to stretch this into a couple of tasty meals. If you look carefully, grocery stores will run specials on pork tenderloins as part of their stock rotation.
Most commonly pork tenderloins are sold in pairs not single portions.
The molasses is not a traditional Japanese ingredient, but it does give the finished product a nice finished "bark" and flavor that is desirable. What it does, is to help the teriyaki sauce to adhere to the meat during the cooking process. I recommend reserving a bit when you make the sauce, save aside meaning don't use the sauce you marinated the meat in, to brush on the tenderloin during the last bit of cooking.
I would serve the first tenderloin, sliced with rice and some side dishes. The second, to make Sapporo-style Miso Ramen, of which the pork tenderloin is a critical ingredient.

2 pork tenderloins
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce, either a commercial brand or some homemade teriyaki sauce.
1/2 cup molasses
Garlic salt to taste - you could also use fresh garlic, a clove or two sliced is sufficient.
A thumb-sized chunk or slices of fresh ginger would be a good though optional addition.

Mix the ingredients above in a deep dish and marinate tenderloins for few hours or overnight in a plastic zip bag. Preheat oven to 400. Remove tenderloins from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before roasting. Grill or sear meat on high for about 6-7 minutes on each side and then transfer to a roasting pan. Put roasting pan in the oven to continue cooking for another 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven when done, let stand a few minutes and slice.

Alternative preparation - Place pork in a roasting pan with a 1/4 cup of chicken stock and cover with foil. Place in a 400 degree oven and cook covered for 45 minutes and then brush with reserved teriyaki sauce and continue to cook uncovered for another 15-20 mins or until done.

Fukujinzuke

An interesting tsukemono shoyu pickle. It is most commonly associated with curry rice, but is good own its own merits, and is one of the most popular modern tsukemono pickles in Japan as far as shoyu pickles go. It is a "modern" pickle or tsukemono as it was developed at the beginning of the Meiji era which was from 1868 to 1912. It was first commonly served with curry rice around 1902. The name, is of interest. The prefix "fuku" means luck, and "jin" means god, or is the shortened form of the word.
The most common culinary yarn or story about it, is that is named after Shichi Fuku Jin. Shichifukujin in turn are the so-called "Seven Lucky Gods".

The story goes that the pickle or tsukemono, fukujinzuke was first made at a shop where one a temple to one of the Fukujin goddesses is located. Of course the original fukujinzuke also used seven vegetables.
You can choose from any of the vegetables below or even add on others you like.

Daikon
Cucumber
Japanese eggplant
Lotus root
Shiso leaves
White sesame seeds
Kombu
White turnip
Shiitake mushrooms
Ginger root
Bamboo shoot
Carrots
Slice vegetables thinly into logical bite sized pieces. The amount of salt added depends on how much volume of vegetable you have or want to prepare. I tend to make this in small batches, so I can eat it up fairly rapidly. Personally, I do not use that much salt in the first step, as you are also going to use soy sauce with this, which is also salty. Add a teaspoon or so of sea salt to a bowl of water and add the vegetables to soak in the salt brine for 30 minutes to an hour.
Drain and then gently squeeze as much water as possible from the vegetables.


The Shichifukujin or "Seven Lucky Gods".

Now add the following to a pan. The proportions of the sauce depend on the quantity of vegetables you use but this is the basic ratio or proportion for an average amount of vegetables.

7 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. sake
2 tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. sugar

Bring to a boil, add the vegetables, and then turn down the heat, stir occasionally and let the sauce reduce until the fukujinzuke is the consistancy you like. Let it cool, and then store in the fridge with the some of the sauce poured in a jar, it is good for a week or two. How long you cook it depends on how soft or crunchy you want it. Some cook the fukujinzuke to almost chutney like consistancy, others like it more crunchy like namasu or quick vegetable pickles.

Chicken Katsu Curry

This is a katsu, that is made with chicken that features Japanese-style curry sauce. Almost no home cooks in Japan make their own curry base.
What is most commonly used is "curry roux" which are formed blocks of curry base, to which water, vegetables and meat are added. The most common and easy to find brand is S&B "Golden Curry" sauce mix which comes in mild and hot flavors. The other brand you might see on the shelf - unless the name is in kanji is the oddly named "Vermont Curry". I have only had S&B, so I don't know what the difference is, probably very little.
As a curry, it does taste a little different than an Indian or Thai curry. I would say the flavor is pretty much straightforward, the mild or hot flavor.
I recommend getting the curry roux to make a Japanese-style curry for this or as it is called "kare raisu". Its a very popular dish in Japan, and most particularly with Japanese school kids, one of the top requested school lunches.

A side dish with kare raisu or katsu curry, that is almost ubiquitous is fukujinzuke, which is of course a Japanese pickle or tsukemono. Fukujinzuke though is most associated however with curry dishes, almost like chutney is associated at times with Indian curries. Fukujinzuke complements the taste of curry, like chutney.
I will put up a recipe for that as well, luckily it is a quick pickle recipe so it is easy to make.

Curry Sauce:
4-5 cubes S&B "Golden Curry" sauce mix
1 onion
1 potato
1 carrot
3 cups of water, perhaps a bit more

Chicken Katsu:
1 to 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
4 tbsp. plain flour
4 chicken breasts
1 egg, slightly beaten

1.5 to 2 cups cooked short grained rice
Tonkatsu sauce
Fukujinzuke pickles, optional, but recommended - can substitute other tsukemono pickles.
Boiled eggs, optional.

Start by cutting the onion, potato and carrot into small chunks before adding them to a large pan half filled with water. Bring the water to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. This is also a good time to start the rice cooking.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add 4-5 blocks of curry roux to the pot with vegetables. Turn on the heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Keep mixing until the curry sauce is thick and smooth.
While the curry is simmering, pound and then season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper before covering with flour first and then raw egg, then panko breadcrumbs.
Heat up the oil in a separate saucepan to 325 and carefully lower the cutlets into the oil and cook them for a few minutes on both sides until they become a golden brown color.
Slice the cooked chicken katsu into strips and lay over a bed of rice before adding the curry sauce. Serve with fukujinzuke pickles, tonkatsu sauce, and optional boiled egg halves.

Ochazuke

This is an easy and very basic Japanese dish in which hot green tea is poured over cooked rice topped with a few simple ingredients. It is also called more simply "chazuke".
It may sound damn weird to pour tea over rice, but it is actually surprisingly good and satisfying with the green tea. Oolong tea may be used as well, but is less common.

The origin of the dish was lost in history, but, the dish first became popular in the Heian era, where it was recorded that water was most commonly poured over rice, however beginning in the Edo era, tea was used instead. Its hard to characterize a particular time the dish is served - it is served for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night. It would be accurate however to say, that if it is served as part of a larger meal it would be offered at the end of the meal. The logic, one might suppose is the tea washes up all the grains of rice, leaving less mess - and green tea of course is helpful with digestion. It is also commonly served at izakayas or pubs.
It is common for those who have imbibed a lot of alcohol to eat chazuke, either during drinking, or afterwards.

The specific tea used, does make a difference in flavor. Of course, Japanese green tea and its preparation is a deep subject in and of itself, and it is a favorite topic of mine as I love green tea.
I will post a little piece later on making Japanese green tea from loose leaf, as there are some definate guidelines for each variety to get the most optimal flavor.

Here is a very short primer to Japanese green tea varieties.

1. Sencha - This is the most common variety of Japanese green tea and is noted for its delicate sweetness, mild astringency and flowery-green aroma.
2. Kabuse Cha - This is a type of sencha that is shaded for about 2 weeks prior to harvest. Most sencha is grown in unshaded gardens exposed to direct sunlight. The kabuse sencha tend to have a mellower flavor and subtler color than sencha grown in direct sunlight.
3. Gyokuro - This is is regarded as the highest grade of tea made in Japan. It is made only with the first flush leaf and its special processing results in a tea with a sweet, mild flavor and fresh, flowery-green aroma.
4. Bancha - This means common tea and refers to a lower grade of sencha that is harvested during the second and third crops in the summer and autumn. Bancha usually contains larger leaves and upper stems, which are discarded during the production of sencha. Compared to sencha, bancha is less aromatic and more astringent. Nevertheless, bancha is much appreciated in Japan for its more robust flavor. Because of its strong character, it goes well with food.
5. Kukicha - This is known as twig or stalk tea. It is a blend of leaves with the stems and stalks normally discarded in the production of sencha and gyokuro. The flavor is light and refreshing with a mild sweetness and the aroma is fresh and green.
6. Hojicha - This is produced by roasting bancha or kukicha over high heat. This is a savory tea with a refreshing and roasty taste and virtually no bitterness.
7. Genmaicha - This is a blend of bancha with well-toasted brown rice called "genmai". The rice adds a slightly nutty taste. The mild flavor of Genmaicha and its low caffeine content make it an ideal after-dinner tea.

Sometimes the dish is served very simply with hot green tea being poured over cooked rice, but more commonly various toppings and condiments are added to it.
The variety of toppings can include umeboshi, which is a pickled plum, nori, grilled salmon, soy-simmered fish and seaweed, tempura, tuna - raw, broiled or even canned, and flaked, broiled eel, grilled chicken, grilled salmon, pickled cucumber, smoked salmon, and oysters marinated in oil.
Various seasonings and condiments can be added for flavor, such as sesame seeds, wasabi, shoyu or freshly grated ginger. Ochazuke is normally served in a bowl large enough to hold the rice and a generous amount of tea. The dish features green tea, but occasionally dashi broth is mixed in as well for a more savory dish.

1 cup cooked short grained rice - here you need Japanese-style short grained rice. Medium or long grain rice does not taste the same. You can get bags of "Sushi Rice" at most stores now, so that would be the best route.

Next the green tea -
2 tsp. Japanese green tea leaves, you can use bancha, genmaicha, sencha, hojicha.
Or, alternatively you can use more commonly found green tea bags to make the tea.
Put tea leaves in the pot. Bring the water to the appropriate temperature for your tea and pour into the pot. Set aside to steep for 1-2 minutes, follow the directions with the specific tea for best results.

From there its simple. Put a cup or so of cooked rice in a bowl and fill it up with a generous amount of tea.
The rough proportion would be about if one was pouring milk into a bowl of cereal.
From there, its down to what sort of toppings and condiments you like or happen to have on hand.

1 salted salmon fillet or 1/2 fillet of salmon and pinch of salt. These are most common with chazuke and are grilled or pan-fried prior to being eaten.
1 tsp. Japanese rice crackers, crushed up
1 tsp. shredded nori
1/4 tsp. roasted white sesame seeds
2 sprigs of mitsuba (trefoil)
1/2 green onion, cut into small pieces
Wasabi for taste
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
  
Serve with tsukemono, such as pickled cucumber, as a part of meal.

Tonkatsu

This is a favorite of mine. You can make a tonkatsu plate out of it, or you can make another dish called katsudon out of the pork chops or cutlets. You can also use a pork tenderloin cut into medallions, and then pounded flat between a sheet of wax paper or some plastic wrap.

Some recipes will tell you to "lightly" pound the cutlets, but I have found that pork chops and cutlets need a really vigorous pounding, and need to be poked all over with a fork and scored with a sharp knife.
I can tell you this from personal experience. Had some beautiful pork chops, lightly pounded them, dredged and fried them, they were picture perfect looking - and - most sadly the pork was tough as an old boot.
It ruined the dish. It wasn't a matter of overcooking the cutlets either. You really want to beat the hell out of them, more so than it might seem. Alarmingly so actually where you will have to use care in handling them after you are done.

What it does is to breakdown the meat tissues, and it makes the cutlet a uniform thickness. That is important because for one, it gives the surface of the meat, a better area for the breading to cling on to, and also you also do not have to overcook them, which can make them tough and excessively greasy. I made a test out of this at the restaurant one evening. Lightly pounded 2 pork chops, beat the hell out of 2 others. Coated in identical eggwash and dipped in panko crumbs, then fried. Every taste-tester without exception said the cutlets that had the hell beat out of them were better flavored and more tender.

Typically these are plated on a bed of plain shredded cabbage, but I like them sans the bland shredded cabbage - I do like to serve an easy spicy quick pickled cabbage with them, which is like a vinegar coleslaw or tsukemono pickle, I suppose. If it is served over rice in a bowl, it is called katsudon or katsu-donburi.

3/4 lb. pork cutlet slices, 3/8" thick each, pounded and scored
Salt and pepper to season
2 cups panko crumbs, perhaps more if needed
1/2 cup flour - in Japan some cooks use potato flour, but regular old purpose wheat flour will do fine.
3 eggs
Oil for frying
Tonkatsu sauce - either store bought, or homemade, recipe below.

Vigorously pound the pork with a kitchen hammer, meat tenderizer hammer or frying pan. Poke lots of holes in it with a fork, and then score it with a sharp knife. The cutlets should look pretty ragged and should be tenderized to the point you will have to carefully handle them so they don't break apart. Season the pork slices with salt and pepper, set aside. Put the panko crumbs crumbs into shallow bowl. Beat eggs in another bowl and pour some flour into a plate as well.
Coat the pork slices with flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Stack them together on a plate and cover them with plastic wrap. Chill them for at least 30 minutes to one hour. This step is important in assuring the panko coating doesn't fall off and adheres to the cutlet while they are being fried.

To fry the tonkatsu, heat oil over medium heat, to about 325. Test with a piece of bread crumbs to see if it bubbles up right away. Drop the pork slices and fry for 1-2 minutes each side. Transfer the meat on to wire rack. Fry again for the second time, only 30 seconds to one minute on each side until they get nicely browned all over. Rest them on the rack. Drizzle with tonkatsu sauce over and serve immediately.

Tonkatsu Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 apple, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 can of 8 oz canned crushed pineapple and their juice
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1/4 cup steak sauce - A1 or Heinz 57, whatever you like, or you can omit this.

Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Boil and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until it gets thickened and syrupy. Strain the sauce in the strainer pressing with spoon to get all the juice. Discard the filling and keep the sauce in the fridge until ready to use.

Spicy Cabbage Tsukemono - Izakaya-style
1 small head green or napa cabbage
1/2 small head red cabbage
1 large carrot
Grated fresh ginger - just a bit.
4 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. sugar
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. sesame seeds, lightly toasted
I also add a shot of shoyu and Sriracha Hot Sauce to it.

Finely chop the cabbage into thin strips. Do the same with the vegetables. In a large bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Add vegetables, and toss well to coat. Refrigerate for a few hours if you have time, to really let the flavors soak in.

Sriracha Coleslaw

I would be remiss if I posted a Tonkatsu recipe, without posting a Sriracha Coleslaw recipe. The two really go together. This stuff is good though. If you want to make this easy just get a pre-bagged coleslaw mix, I prefer the more finely shredded ones. Where we live "the" mayo for coleslaw is Duke's Mayonnaise, and it is quite good I must say. You can kick this up even more by adding just a bit of wasabi for a wildcard play on it.

5 cups shredded cabbage
5 cups shredded red cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup finely sliced green onion
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream - optional, depends on your tastes.
1 tbsp. coarse grain mustard
3 tbsp. Sriracha Hot Sauce, or more...
I add a shot of soy sauce to this as well, but that is optional.

In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, Sriracha, and mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and salt. Add cabbage, carrots and onion. Mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour.