Ramen, Filipinized ....

We had been eating so much ramen lately that I thought I'd see what would happen if I added a Pinoy twist to this Japanese staple.  And you know what they say about idle minds ...

 My first experiment with Filipinizing ramen was with a pot of bulalo, remnants of meat and marrow from a rainy Sunday lunch.  The idea of recycling it into bulalo ramen for dinner was my lazy way of coping with left overs.

I always keeps packs of fresh egg noodles in the vegetable bin.  These are pre cooked noodles so no need to cook but I do blanch them twice in boiling water just to remove any alkaline smell and taste.

I placed a serving of noodles and dipped them in the simmering bulalo broth so that they could absorb more of the beef flavour.

The shin bones, I served on the side.  Marrow on hot soup and noodles may not seem like ramen at all but it was still a delicious one dish dinner!

My next experiment involved lechon kawali which I thought would be the Filipino version of chashu. Instead of using recycled broth, this time I made my "ramen" broth from scratch -- using pork bones, dried kelp and niboshi -- ingredients commonly used in the basic ramen base.  

Instead of the usual chunks, I cut up the lechon kawali lengthwise.  

Just two  thick slices of lechon kawali were enough to top each individual bowl.

 Since I had quickly dipped the lechon kawali in the broth,  the skin retained some of its crisp and crunch.   The broth was flavourful and yet light,  and the lechon kawali definitely transformed my ramen experiment into a Pinoy eating experience.