Crispy Chicken Ramen & Are You Living... or Surviving?

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of Nikoli's Kitchen! This week, we're talking about surviving versus living and in the back half of the show, I talk about making homemade ramen from scratch! 

 

This month's charity stream will benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Tune in Sept 28th at 5 PM EST at https://twitch.tv/nikoliskitchen for games, food, and fun as we stream to raise money and awareness for AFSP. 

 

Featured Recipe for this Episode

~| The most important thing I can note here is PREP, PREP, PREP. Prepare *EVERYTHING* that this dish requires ahead of time because there are a lot of things that need to get done. |~ 

Ramen Base-

5 c homemade chicken stock 1 sweet onion, sliced 8 cloves of garlic, minced 2-inch piece of ginger, finely grated 1 T olive oil 1/4 c dark soy sauce 1/4 c mirin 1/4 c rice vinegar 1 t sesame oil 1 T fish sauce

Add your olive oil to a large Dutch oven or stock pot at mid heat.  Add your onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently so nothing burns.  Add your soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and fish sauce and bring to a simmer for a minute or so.  Add your chicken stock and allow to come to a boil.  Let this come to a simmer and reduce your heat to mid-low, allowing it to simmer and reduce for 45 to 60 minutes. You really want to let this concentrate to build a good depth of flavor. Add your sesame oil here (optional). Once your broth reaches your desired taste, turn off the heat until you're ready to build your bowl.

Marinade- 

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks 1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce 1/4 c honey 8 cloves garlic (minced)

Marinate your chicken for 8 hours or up to overnight.  Remove from the marinade, shaking off any excess marinade, and place on a tray lined with paper towel. Get off all the excess marinade you can. 

Batter-

1/3 c AP flour 2/3 c rice flour 1/3 c corn starch 1/2 c water, more or less to desired consistency 1 gallon vegetable or preferred frying oil Deep frying thermometer (if available)

Combine your flours and cornstarch together in a bowl and whisk until combined. Add your water in, stirring constantly until this has a nice, thick, batter-like consistency. Add your chicken to the bowl.  Stir until well-combined and the chicken is well-coated (the batter will be so thick it will not have an issue).  Once your oil hits 350° or once a drop of batter dropped in pops back to the surface and floats after 1-2 seconds, it is ready.  Add your chicken in batches (I did three), cooking it for about 2-3 minutes, being sure to break up any chicken that is clumped together (add it a piece at a time to save yourself the trouble of unsticking them later).  Remove the chicken and rest. Heat your oil to 375°. Add all of the chicken to your oil and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until it is a very crispy golden brown. Remove the oil from the heat and place your chicken on a paper towel-lined platter or a drying rack to rest.

Chicken Glaze-

1 c honey 1/2 c low-sodium soy sauce 1 t sesame oil sesame seeds (optional)

Combine your honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it starts to boil, stirring frequently.  Remove from the heat. Add your chicken to a large bowl and coat with the glaze, tossing it to make sure it is well-coated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds as desired.

Additions-

1/2 c scallions, finely chopped 1 c shitake mushrooms, sliced Sesame seeds (optional) 2 c baby spinach, roughly chopped Wonton strips  Soft-boiled eggs

~| For the wontons I followed the recipe at https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/wonton-wrappers/, but this will make a LOT more than you need for this recipe. I'd use 1/4 of the finished dough or less, and freeze the remai