Clean(ish) Crispy Pork Belly Ramen
While this Clean(ish) Crispy Pork Belly Ramen does require a few days to plan ahead, it’s overall not too complicated to make and the light but flavorful broth is done under 30 minutes. This dish is gluten and soy free and can be sugar free if choosing to omit the small amount of sugar for the pork belly. This will satisfy your cravings for a steaming bowl of traditional ramen.
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Matt and I crave traditional ramen All. The. Time. It’s comforting and filling, but never leaves us with that “I ate too much” heavy feeling, and it’s so freaking delicious.
THE BROTH
This ramen broth for sure is easier than traditional ramen broth as I took some shortcuts and omitted a bunch of ingredients by just using what I usually keep on hand and consume normally. The broth is the most important part of ramen and for shortcut ramen broth, this one is pretty darn delicious. I also opted to use bone broths as opposed to regular broth as I wanted a deeper flavor and the added health benefits bone broth provides. I used a mixture of both chicken and beef bone broth. I find chicken bone broth to be a bit meh tasting on it’s own. Adding the beef bone broth deepens the flavor of the broth while not being too strong since the chicken broth is there to mellow it out. I also added a little sriracha sauce into the broth for a very mild hint of spice, but definitely add more if you would like. I like using Yellowbird’s Sriracha because the ingredients are organic and all natural.
THE CRISPY PORK BELLY
The only ingredient that isn’t a shortcut is the Crispy Pork Belly. And the only reason it’s not a shortcut is that it takes a couple days to “prepare” it and wishing you could just eat it right away! The first day is curing the pork belly. The curing process should be a minimum of 6 hours but no more than 24 hours. The cure ingredients are slightly adapted from David Chang’s Momofuku Pork Belly recipe. I prefer not having a too sweet of a pork belly, so I reduced the amount of sugar and added a few grinds of black pepper. The sugar can easily be omitted if preferred and to make this dish completely clean. I keep it in because I like the subtle hint of sweetness with the savory. After the cure, we want to roast the pork belly. We roast it at a high temperature for 30 minutes to start the process of getting the fat nice and crispy. Then we lower the temp to continue to cook it low and slow for about an hour. When it’s done cooking, we still need to let it come to room temp and then chill it in the fridge for at least a few hours. This will make slicing the pork belly so much easier and crisping them back up is quickly done in a pan.
There will also be some crispy pork belly left over, so you can use it to make more ramen for the next day or crisp them up and eat with over easy eggs. If you have extra baby bok choy lying around, steam those up and place some white rice and crispy pork belly in the middle of the bok choy leaf and curl up the sides and eat like a little taco.
THE NOODLES
We tried out these Lotus Foods Organic Millet & Brown Rice Ramen and are so impressed with how they are a perfect ramen noodle substitute. They’re made with only organic brown rice flour, organic millet, and organic white rice flour making them gluten-free and have the added benefits of fiber and protein. They also cook incredibly quick — just 4 minutes! You can definitely use ramen noodles if you have them or even miracle noodles for a lower carb dish.
THE GARNISHES
As much as I love all the toppings, I think it’s best to keep it minimal for ramen. Add a fresh vegetable, some protein, an egg, and few flavor boosters, like pickled carrots and sliced scallions. And if you have it, albiet not a typical ramen topping, a small sprinkle of Everything Bagel seasoning gives a little crunch and enhances the garlic, onion, and sesame aroma and flavor.
As for eggs, the most popular type of egg for ramen is a “jammy” egg where the egg white is set but the yolk is slightly thickened and a little runny. But I think the type of egg for your ramen depends on your mood. Sometimes I want a jammy egg to run and swirl into the broth and noodles. Other times, I want a really crispy sunny side up fried egg for more crunch factor. Most of the time, I want to make a perfectly hard boiled egg, then break it into chunks and get a big chopstick scoop of egg, pork belly, and noodle is one bite. I also can make extra hardboiled eggs to have for the rest of the week to snack on or make an egg salad with.
There are a few components to make this Clean(ish) Crispy Pork Belly Ramen bowl come together so if you’re willing to try something new to make at home, I think this would be a fun and delicious dish to try. For another just like takeout but cleaner recipe, try my Clean & Simple Teriyaki Salmon.
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CLEAN(ISH) CRISPY PORK BELLY RAMEN
recipe for later
Ingredients
For the Pork Belly
- 1 lb pork belly skin removed
- 1 tsp organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp coarse kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
For the Broth
- ½ tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil divided
- 4-5 stalks scallions (green & white parts) roots removed, rough chop
- 1 ½" inch ginger scrubbed well or peeled & roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves peeled & smashed
- 4 cups chicken bone broth
- 4 cups beef bone broth
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha I used Yellowbird brand. Add more if you prefer more spice.
- 1 tsp salt to taste
Noodles & Garnishes
- 2 cakes of Lotus Foods Organic Millet & Brown Rice Ramen
- 1 baby bok choy cleaned and root cut so leaves are separated
- few slices of pan fried pork belly
- a soft-boiled, hard boiled, or fried egg optional
- sliced scallions optional
- everything bagel seasoning optional
- pickled carrots optional
- sriracha optional
Instructions
Pork Belly
- Remove the skin from the belly if needed. In small bowl mix the sugar, salt, and pepper together. Rub the cure mixture over the entire pork belly. There will be some of the mixture leftover, discard it. Place the pork belly in a casserole dish and cover with saran wrap. Refrigerate for 24 hours (minimum of 6 hours, no more than 24 hours).
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Place the pork belly on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes and after, decrease the temp to 250 F. Continue cooking for 1 hour, or until the pork belly is tender and has an internal temp of 190.
- Remove pork belly from the pan and place on a plate to cool to room temperature. I know you're tempted but don't cut into it just yet. Wrap pork belly in foil and refrigerate for a few hours. Waiting for the pork belly to be chilled through makes slicing a lot easier.
Ramen Broth
- In a medium pot, heat ½ tbsp of avocado oil and ½ tbsp of sesame oil on medium heat.
- Saute scallions, ginger, and garlic until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add chicken and beef bone broths, coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, and remaining ½ tbsp of sesame oil. Stir and bring mixture to a boil, then cover and let simmer on low for at least 30 minutes. I suggest preparing the rest of the ramen components while it simmers. When it comes to getting broth for the ramen, first use a mesh spoon to scoop out the scallions, garlic, and ginger (or pour the soup through a mesh sieve) and discard. You want the broth fairly "clear" from any of those bits.
Ramen Components & Assembly
- Eggs: If using soft or hard boiled eggs, prepare those now. If using a fried egg, that can be prepared prior to serving.
- Baby Bok Choy: Boil water in a medium pot. Once boiling, place baby bok choy in the water for a minute or so, until the leaves turn a vibrant green and tender. Take out and shock with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- Ramen Noodles: Bring the same pot of water to a boil and follow the directions on the box for cooking the Lotus Foods Organic Millet & Brown Rice ramen.
- Pork Belly: Slice a few ½" pieces off the cold pork belly and crisp up on a pan on medium heat. Set aside on paper towel lined plate.
- All together now: Between two bowls, divide the ramen noodles and cover with some broth (that's been strained). Garnish with bok choy, pork belly, soft/hard/fried egg, sliced scallions, pickled carrots, Everything Bagel seasoning, and/or more sriracha for spice.