Beefy Ramen
It’s a flavor bomb dot com.
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 lbs English-style bone-in beef short ribs
Kosher salt
6 scallions, whites and greens separated
8 garlic cloves
4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
6 star anise pods
2 cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp butter
10 onions thinly sliced (or however many you have. We had five.)
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
18 oz dried ramen
How to do it
Heat oil in a big, heavy pot over medium-high. Season short ribs with salt. Cook until nice and brown on all sides (12-14 minutes). You might need to do this in batches. Put short ribs aside and pour off most of the fat — leave a small layer.
Now make the flavor bomb. In the same pot on medium heat, cook white scallion parts, garlic, and ginger. Stir that up until it starts to brown (4 mins). Throw in the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and coriander. Keep stirring that shit (a couple minutes). Take a whiff. Take another whiff. Add wine and scrape up the yummy brown bits. Simmer until most of the wine has evaporated (#wherestherumgone?)
Throw the beef back into the pot. Add soy sauce and 12 (yes, 12) cups of water. A little extra soy sauce never killed anyone. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover partially with a lid, and simmer until that beef falls right off the bone. Like 1.5 hours. Listen to 5 chapters of Harry Potter on tape. FaceTime your mom.
Caramelize your onions. (Basically, cook them in melted butter and a little salt in a big pot on medium-high for 15 minutes, then reduce heat and keep cooking and stirring until they’re nice and golden and soft but not a pile of mush, about 30-45 minutes. Taste as you go.)
Now that the beef is tender AF, remove it from the pot and let it cool. Tear the meat into bite sized pieces using your hands of steel that feel no heat or pain. Discard the bone and ditch as much of the fat as possible. Strain the broth and discard the solids (except we kept the garlic, because why not?)
Throw your beef chunks, broth, and onions back into one pot. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add vinegar, taste it. Probably add more vinegar and soy sauce.
Ok last step. Cook noodles according to package (except you really shouldn’t need it because it’s just cooking noodles). Put the noodles in your bowl. Pour the soup on top of the noodles. Slice up scallion greens and garnish till it’s insta-worthy. Now that a new day has arrived because it’s taken you 17 hours to make this soup, eat it for breakfast.
