Sick of Christmas meals?

Now we only have a few days left of glutinous eating and drinking, and if you are anything like me, you must be sick of roast dinners. This recipe is still hearty and warming, but a lot lighter.

I decided to mke my own version of a ramen dish. Ramen (/ˈrɑːmən/) (ラーメン rāmen; is a Japanese noodle soup dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodlesserved in a meat- or occasionally fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, dried seaweed, kamaboko, and green onions. Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen of Kyushu to the miso ramen of Hokkaido.

For my protein source I decided to use squid. This was a little fiddly to prep and I can imagine a few people won't like the thought of it, so if need be you can buy it pre-prepared or politely ask your fishmonger to prepare it for you.

Preparing Squid

1. Remove mantle (Outer hat like part) from head, body and tenticles and rinse well.

2. Trim fins from matle. The fins cook slightly differently and can end up being very tough if overcooked.

3. Trim tenticles, seperating them from the head of the squid. This should be just above the thenticles to keep them together. The tenticles can also cook slightly differently but not to great effect.

4. Open up the mantle by cutting down one side.

5. Finally, score the inside on the matle lightly and cut into strips.

Calamari Rice Noodle Ramen

Ingredients

4 small squid (1 or 2 if larger)

2 carrots

1 bunch of broccolini

10 green beans

3 red chilies

1/4 red cabbage

1 bunch of corriander

2 rice noodle nests

4 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of spring onions

1 cup of bean spouts

1/2 red onion

2 limes

3 tablespoons of oyster sauce

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/2 cup of flour

4 pints of water

sea salt

ground black pepper

oil

Method

Making a stock: Add 4 pints of cold water to a pan, add one roughly chopped carrot, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 red onion and trimmings from spring onion leaves, green beans and broccolini, along with 2 whole chilies. Bring to boil and simmer for around an hour.

Meanwhile: Grate 1 carrot, finely slice 2 cloves of garlic and 4 spring onions, slice the red cabbage and 1 chili then season and lightly fry just before serving finishing with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.

For the calamari: Add 1/2 a cup of flour to a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper along with the zest of 1 lime. Toss the calamari in the mix so it is lightly coated. Heat a pan with a splash of oil in and wait till its very hot before adding the calamari. Calamari can overcook easily, it should only take a minute for it to be cooked, so do so just before serving.

When your base stock is ready, strain it, keeping the liquid of course and getting rid of the veg. Return it to the pan and add they oyster sauce and simmer for 5 minuted till fully mixed. Now add the green beans (halved) and brocholini along with the rice noodles and bring to boil. the noodles should be cooked within 2 to 3 minutes. At this time get the veg mix and calamari ready.

To serve: Place a portion of noodles in bowl with green beans and broccolini. Pour over some of the broth to fill half way up the bowl. Place the veg mix on top of the noodle bed and the calamari again on top of the veg. Tear a hand full of corriander and place in the bowl along with a wedge or cheek of lime.

And there we have it, my calamari rice noodle ramen.

If you have any questions please feel free to drop us a message here or on twitter!

#Calamari #Ramen #RiceNoodle #Japanese #Chinese #Broth