Ramen with chicken bone broth, pork shoulder, soft-boiled egg & greens

 Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 250g ramen noodles
• 2 large handfuls shredded spring greens
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• chilli oil, to serve
• pickled chilli and shallots to serve

For the stock

• 2 chicken carcasses including the wings, chopped
• 2 large carrot, halved
• 2 onions, quartered
• 4cm piece ginger, sliced
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 900g piece pork shoulder
• 2 heads of garlic, halved across the centre
• Black peppercorns, about 40
• Maldon sea salt, 2 tsps

For the seasoning

• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp saké
• 4 tbsp Japanese soy sauce

For the pickled chilli and shallots:

Put 1 sliced red chilli and 3 thinly sliced small shallots in a small bowl and pour 150ml rice wine vinegar over. Add a pinch of sugar and let it sit to pickle for at least 20 minutes. Drain before serving.

Method

1 For the stock, slowly brown the chicken carcasses, carrots, onions, garlic and ginger in a large saucepan with sesame oil. Add the shiitake mushrooms and the pork, and pour in 3 litres of cold water, peppercorns and sea salt. Bring to the boil and then turn down to the lowest simmer you can. After the foamy scum rises to the top, skim it off with a ladle and discard. Part-cover with a lid. Let it simmer for 3 hrs but remove the pork after about 2½ hrs, or when it is very soft, and set aside. Strain the stock into a clean pan. Boil for another 30-40 mins on a medium heat to reduce by a third, then skim the excess fat off. 

2 Boil the eggs in a pan for 6 mins, then remove and put in iced water to cool.

3 Boil the noodles in a large pan, stirring so they don’t stick, until al dente, about 3 mins. In the final minute of cooking, add the greens. Drain and divide between the bowls.

4 Mix the ramen seasoning ingredients and add to the broth to taste. Slice the pork and add to the bowls. Pour the broth over each and add the spring onions. Peel the eggs, slice in half lengthways and place in each bowl with the pickled chilli & shallots. Sprinkle over the chilli oil.