Internet sensation Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats has launched her very first cookbook, Recipe Tin Eats – Dinner, packed with 150 fast and easy dinner recipes for weeknights.
RecipeTin Eats – Dinner (Macmillan Australia) is full of delicious and addictive recipes we need to make fast delicious meals for busy weeknights. From comfort food (yes, cheese galore), to fast and easy food for weeknights, with loads of Mexican favourites, hearty dinner salads, Asian soups, top ramen recipes and noodles, the food you want to cook, eat and share, night after night.
Nagi Maehashi’s knack for fail-proof recipes has been gaining in popularity for a while, since her online food site, RecipeTin Eats, launched in 2014, she has accumulated over 5 million followers worldwide who draw inspiration from her fast, creative, clever, and fresh recipes. Nagi has shared a few recipes from her new cookbook, Quick Family Ramen, hella delicious crispy Korean Pancakes, and the ultimate Sweet Potato Salad with tamarind dressing for us to share. My only question is….What to make first?
OUR SECRET FAMILY QUICK RAMEN
Authentic-tasting miso ramen in under an hour? Yes! Serves 2. Prep: 15 minutes. Cook: 45 minutes.
When you cant get to lifting noodles ramen, and you definitely don’t want to slum on maruchan cup noodles, this quick Ramen recipe is the ultimate go to fulfill your ramen needs.
This is my family’s from-scratch ‘instant ramen’ recipe! Real ramen takes days to prepare, involving mountains of stock bones and slowly simmering big pots of soup. We started making this quick miso ramen recipe instead that tastes uncannily like the real thing but takes a fraction of the time and effort! Pork mince is the secret. It flavours the broth and then doubles as a topping. Aside from pork you just need a handful of Japanese and Western pantry staples.
Customise your ramen toppings however you like. We love to do Sapporo-style miso ramen, complete with soft-boiled egg, sweetcorn and of course a generous pat of butter! Rapid Ramen yes please.
INGREDIENTS
11⁄2 tbsp pork lard
1⁄2 tbsp sesame oil*
180 g fatty pork mince (pork belly best!)
2 tsp finely minced garlic*
1⁄2 tsp finely minced ginger*
11⁄2 tbsp cooking sake*
200 g fresh ramen noodles
STOCK
3 cups (750 ml) low-salt chicken stock*
1⁄4 cup (60 ml) water
5 dried shiitake mushrooms*
1 small brown onion, thickly sliced
RAMEN BROTH RECIPE
2 tbsp shiro miso4 (white miso)
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce*
11⁄4 tsp dashi powder
Pinch of cooking salt*
PORK SAUCE
1 tsp canola oil
1⁄2 tsp white sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce*
1⁄2 tsp dark soy sauce*
1 tbsp cooking sake*
OTHER TOPPINGS
1 egg, soft-boiled*
1⁄3 cup (45 g) corn kernels (frozen, or canned and drained)
11⁄2 cups (120 g) bean sprouts
1⁄4 tsp toasted white sesame seeds*
1 green onion* stem, finely sliced
20 g unsalted butter, cut into 2 slices
Stock – Place the stock ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium–high heat. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover, then simmer gently for 30 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
Cook pork – Place the lard and sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium–high heat. Once the lard melts, add the pork and cook until it changes from pink to white. Add the garlic and ginger, then cook until you get some golden pork bits sticking to the base of the pan (about 2 minutes). Add the sake and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from the stove.
Ramen broth recipe – Strain the stock into the pork mince pot through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the liquid out of the mushrooms and onion. Discard the onion and reserve the mushrooms for another purpose (add to a stir-fry!). Whisk in the ramen broth ingredients. Return to the stove over medium heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
Strain – Strain the ramen broth into another medium saucepan, pressing the liquid out of the pork. Reserve pork. Cover the broth with a lid and keep hot for serving.
Pork topping – Heat the 1 teaspoon of oil in a medium non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the reserved pork mince and cook for 1 minute. Add the other pork sauce ingredients and cook for 1 minute until caramelised. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.
Corn and bean sprouts – Warm the corn and bean sprouts for 30 seconds on High in the microwave.
Noodles – Cook the noodles as per the packet directions but no matter what the packet says, do not rinse!! This dilutes the flavour of the broth and cools the noodles – both bad things!
Assemble and serve – Divide the ramen noodles between two bowls and pour over the hot ramen broth. Top with the pork, egg, corn and bean sprouts. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion, then place the butter into the broth. Serve! Ramen joy if ever there was.
- Whats in ramen NOTES
- Pork fat can be found at large grocery stores, usually alongside butter. Use leftovers for roasting vegetables – extra flavour!
- Ask your butcher to mince up pork belly meat for you! If you can only find standard packets of pork mince, add another tablespoon of pork lard.
- Best ramen noodles can be found at Asian grocery stores. Substitute with thin egg noodles.
- A type of light miso that can be found at large grocery stores and Asian stores.
- Light soy sauce can be substituted with all-purpose soy sauce, or aloha soy sauce
- Dashi powder can be found at large grocery stores and Asian stores. It’s a fish-based stock powder that is a key ingredient in Japanese cooking.
- Make ahead: Ramen components can be stored separately for up to 3 days in the fridge, though the noodles should be cooked fresh.
- pork stir-fry recipes Australia by RecipeTin eats
CRISPY KOREAN PANCAKES Serves: 2 (Makes 3 Pancakes Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 15 minutes
Fun to make, delicious to eat! Cold soda water is the trick here for these addictively crispy Korean pancakes. I’ve made them vegetarian – because if anyone can get me excited about a meat-free dinner, it’s the Koreans! But you can absolutely add animal protein if you wish. Either drape finely sliced raw meat across the surface or add quick-cooking seafood like calamari and chopped prawns. The dipping sauce is a must. Don’t even think about downgrading to plain soy sauce!
INGREDIENTS
6 tbsp (90 ml) canola oil1
1 small zucchini (courgette)2, cut into 5 x 0.4 cm matchsticks
1 small carrot2, peeled, grated using a box grater
1⁄4 cup (30 g) trimmed and sliced (3 mm thick) green beans2
2 green onion*2 stems, cut into
13 cm lengths (you need 9 pieces)
11⁄2 tsp deseeded and finely minced long red chilli* (optional)
DIPPING SAUCE
1 tbsp light soy sauce* (or all-purpose soy sauce)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp water
1⁄2 tsp white sugar
1⁄2 tsp sesame oil*
1⁄2 tsp red chilli flakes, preferably Korean (optional)
1⁄2 tsp white sesame seeds
PANCAKE BATTER
1 cup (150 g) plain flour 1 tbsp cornflour
1⁄2 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder
3⁄4 tsp cooking salt*
1 cup + 1 tbsp (265 ml) fridge- cold soda water3
Preheat the oven to 120°C (100°C fan-forced). Place a wire rack on a baking tray. This is to keep the cooked pancakes warm and crispy.
Dipping sauce – Mix the ingredients in a small jug until the sugar dissolves. Transfer to a small sauce dish.
Batter – Whisk together the flour, cornflour, garlic powder, onion powder and salt in a medium bowl. Mix in the soda water with a whisk just until barely incorporated – some small flour lumps are fine4.The batter should be thin enough so it can spread into a thinnish pancake (loosen with more water if needed).
Make pancakes – Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium non-stick frying pan over medium– high heat until you see wisps of smoke. Ladle in one-third of the batter (the oil should sizzle!) and swirl to spread into an 18 cm wide, fairly thin pancake. Sprinkle the surface with about 1⁄3 cup (combined) zucchini, carrot and beans. Press three green onion stems on the surface, then drizzle over a little batter (to help adhere when flipped). Sprinkle with 1⁄2 teaspoon of chilli (if using), then immediately reduce the heat to medium.
Cook for 21⁄2 minutes, lifting the pancake once and tilting the pan to spread oil under it, until the underside has deep golden, crispy patches. Flip and cook the other side for 11⁄2 minutes, pressing down lightly (this side won’t go crispy)5.
Transfer the pancake to the rack, green onions facing up, then place in the oven to keep warm. Cook the remaining pancakes (makes three in total), heating 2 tablespoons of oil for each pancake.
Serve – Cut each pancake into 9 or 12 pieces. Serve with the dipping sauce.
- RecipeTin Eats NOTES
- If you skimp on the oil you will deprive yourself of crispiness. Don’t do it. Nobody wants a soggy Korean pancake!
- Substitute with finely sliced vegetables of choice, such as cabbage, asparagus, capsicum (pepper), spinach and kale*.
- Cold soda water makes the pancake crispier. Fridge-cold tap or sparkling water can be substituted but the pancakes won’t stay crispy for as long.
- Overmixing the batter causes dense pancakes. Small flour lumps will cook out.
- Korean pancakes are crispy on the underside and edges, but the surface is not that crispy.
Leftovers Fridge 3 days but, sadly, will lose crispiness.
DEVOUR – MAPLE SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH TAMARIND DRESSING Serves: 2 as a main. Prep 20 minutes. Cool 35 minutes.
This salad takes a bit more effort than ripping open a bag of leaves, but it’s absolutely worth it! Tamarind puree and maple syrup in the dressing seem like an unlikely team but work incredibly well, giving the salad an unusual sweet and bright flavour. I love to cook the sweet potatoes so they develop lovely caramelised edges. Marinating the kale is my other trick, which tenderises and seasons these robust leaves. The crowning glory is a hefty shower of toasted pumpkin seeds and crunchy wild rice (yes, I need you to do a 10-second mini deep-fry). It’s a celebration of flavours and textures dialled up to 11!
INGREDIENTS
2 tightly packed cups (90 g) kale leaves*, cut into 3 cm pieces
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1⁄4 red onion, very finely sliced 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
MAPLE-ROASTED SWEET POTATO
400 g sweet potato, skin on, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1⁄4 tsp cooking salt*
1⁄8 tsp black pepper
2 tsp maple syrup
TAMARIND DRESSING
11⁄2 tbsp (30 g) tamarind puree*
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
3 tbsp (45 ml) maple syrup
2 tsp light soy sauce*
1⁄4 tsp finely grated garlic*
1⁄4 tsp cooking salt*
1⁄8 tsp white pepper (or use black)
11⁄2 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise*2
CRISPY WILD RICE
1 cup (250 ml) canola oil
2 tbsp wild rice
Pinch of cooking salt*
Maple-roasted sweet potato – Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Toss the sweet potato with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, push the potato together on the tray, drizzle with maple syrup, then briefly toss. Spread out again on the tray and roast for 10 minutes. Flip the sweet potatoes, then roast for a final 5 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature on the tray (20 minutes).
Tamarind dressing – Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well until combined.
Marinate kale – Tenderise the leaves and season the kale by placing it in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Scrunch firmly with your hands for 20 seconds (don’t hold back here!), then set aside for 20 minutes. This will soften and flavour the kale.
Crispy wild rice – Heat the canola oil to 210°C4 in a small saucepan. Add the rice and cook for 10 seconds – it will pop, puff and the white insides will be exposed. Scoop out and place onto a paper towel–lined plate and immediately sprinkle with salt. You will end up with about 2⁄3 cup (30 g) crispy rice – it expands a lot!
Make salad – Place the kale, roasted sweet potato, cherry tomato and red onion in a bowl. Toss with about three-quarters of the dressing.
Serve – Transfer the salad to a large serving bowl or plate. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and sprinkle with the crispy rice and pumpkin seeds. Serve!
- RecipeTin Eats NOTES
- Or almond flakes or sunflower seeds. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes until lightly golden on each side.
- Just a bit of mayonnaise really improves this dressing by adding a luxurious mouthfeel. However, to omit, add 1 tablespoon extra grapeseed oil plus
1⁄4 teaspoon white sugar. - Wild rice has a beautiful nutty flavour. Find it at independent grocery stores and some large grocery stores (rice or health-food aisle). The recipe won’t work with other rice (I tried). Substitute with store-bought plain puffed rice (sprinkle with a pinch of salt) or 1⁄4 cup (20 g) store-bought crispy fried shallots*.
- See Oil temperature testing in the Glossary (page 361) for directions.
- garlic press rocker
Leftovers Fridge 2 days, though it’s best made fresh.
RecipeTin Eat Dinner by Nagi Maehashi is published by Macmillan Australia, RRP $44.99, photography by Nagi Maehashi.
Check out our other fav ramen cookbook and fav ramen drawing inspired Studio Ghibli Japanese recipes here.
