Lamb Ramen

Serves 4-6

For the Broth

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds lamb bones
• 2 pounds chicken backs and carcasses, skin and excess fat removed
• 1 large onion, skin on, roughly chopped
• 12 garlic cloves
• 1 (3-inch) knob ginger, roughly chopped
• 2 whole leeks, washed and roughly chopped
• 2 dozen scallions, white parts only (reserve greens and light green parts for garnishing finished soup)
• 6 ounces whole mushrooms or mushroom scraps, such as cremini

In a 5 gallon stock pot, add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, tossing occasionally until deeply charred on most sides, about 15 minutes total. Add lamb bones and chicken parts to the pot with charred vegetables, leeks, scallion whites, and mushrooms. Fill the pot with water until bones are covered. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that appears. (This should stop appearing within the first 20 minutes or so.) Reduce heat to a bare simmer and place a heavy lid on top. Keep cooking at a slow rolling boil. If not, increase or decrease heat slightly to adjust boiling speed. Continue cooking until broth is opaque with the texture of light cream, about 6 to 8 hours longer, topping up as necessary to keep bones submerged at all times. If you must leave the pot unattended for an extended period of time, top up the pot and reduce the heat to the lowest setting while you are gone. Return to a boil when you come back and continue cooking, topping up with more water as necessary.

Once broth is ready, cook over high heat until reduced to around 3 quarts. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot. Discard solids and season broth with condiments of your choice (salt, soy sauce, miso, sesame paste, grated fresh garlic, chili oil or a mixture of all, for instance).

For the Lamb Neck Roast

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (240 ml) sake
• 1 cup (240 ml) mirin
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• 6 scallions, roughly chopped
• 6 whole garlic cloves
• 1 (2-inch) knob ginger, unpeeled, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
• 1 large shallot, unpeeled, halved
• 2 lamb neck roasts

In a small saucepan, bring sake to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until reduced by half and alcohol has cooked off, about 5 minutes. Transfer reduced sake to a pressure cooker pot along with mirin, soy sauce, sugar, scallions, garlic, ginger, and shallot. Set aside.

Season lamb necks generously with salt and place in a pressure cooker (it won’t be fully submerged). If using an electric pressure cooker, cover and seal the pot, set the pressure cooker to “high pressure” and set the cook time to 1 hour and 30 minutes. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, cover and seal the pot, set it over medium-high heat, and allow it to come to pressure. Cook at high pressure for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally, or manually release pressure. When it’s cool enough to handle, shred the meat off the bone and set aside.

To Serve

3 eggs, soft boiled & peeled
3 packages of fresh ramen noodles (dry is also fine in a pinch!), cooked according to package instructions
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, green part only
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, washed and patted dry
Toasted nori sheets

To serve, portion noodles into bowls, adding a half boiled egg, toasted nori sheet, and a couple enoki mushrooms. Carefully ladle the hot, seasoned broth over the noodles. Top with scallions and enjoy. For an extra-special touch, pre-warm the bowls so the ramen stays hot longer.