Simple miso & honey chicken ramen

Noodles, broth, protein and vegetables is my most frequented combination for dinner. I call it ramen for ease, but really, it’s brothy noodles with a few delicious toppings. Ramen-making is a curated skill and art to master, and usually takes hours in the double digits to create. This is a sort of nod to ramen but is more suited to weeknight cooking for the average home cook. The broth for this miso and honey noodle soup/ramen is made with the marinade we cook the chicken thighs in and the fond that’s created as we cook said chicken. ‘Fond’ is simply a fancy French term used for the delicious, crispy and flavour-packed bits left at the bottom of the pan after you’ve roasted, seared or sautéed something. We simply add chicken stock to it in this case and you’re left with a simple but delicious broth with no extra effort. If you’re craving restaurant style chicken ramen but are short on time (or the want to cook), this is the recipe for you!

Miso

Miso has become a buzzword in recent years but I think this is fully justifiable and is thankfully the reason it’s so widely available now in supermarkets across the UK. It’s essentially a Japanese seasoning and is a fermented soybean paste. It’s deeply savoury, salty and rich. My favourite ways to use it are either in broths or ramen like this, or as a glaze for fish and chicken. There are so many types of miso available, including red miso, white soybean miso and barley miso. White soybean miso is always my favourite type and is the one I use here for this simple miso chicken ramen.

Chicken thigh, not breast!

We’re relying on the chicken here to create the fond which will form the base of our miso and honey chicken ramen broth and so we want to draw maximum flavour from it. You can’t do this with skinless chicken breast because there is no fat or flavour for it to impart into the broth. Chicken thighs are more flavoursome, more economical and are less prone to drying out, so go for skinless and boneless thighs, here.

What kind of noodles?

I always want my recipes to be adaptable and so I would say go for any noodle you like and cook to packet instruction! I use instant ramen noodles a lot of the time and discard the seasoning sachet because they’re affordable, easy and I like the chewy texture. Ramen noodles, soba and udon are all great for this, I think.

Topping ideas for ramen

What I love about ramen is how adaptable it is to whatever you have in, what’s in season and how much variety you can have in terms of flavour and texture in a bowl of it! For this miso and honey chicken ramen, I’ve kept it simple with spring onion, coriander and some sesame seeds. I’ve listed below some of my favourite topping ideas for ramen:

Shop bought crispy shallots/onions

Spring onions/scallions

Chilli oil

Chopped peanuts

Nori

Pickled ginger

Kimchi

Simple miso & honey chicken ramen ingredients (serves 2)

Chicken

4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs

2tbsp white miso paste

1tbsp runny honey

1/2tsp chilli flakes (optional)

2 minced garlic cloves

1tbsp neutral oil

Broth

600ml chicken stock

2 nests ramen noodles

Toppings

1 soft boiled egg

1 pak choi sliced in half lengthways

Coriander and spring onions

Sesame seeds

Method

Whisk together the miso, honey and garlic.

Heat some water in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.

In a large non stick pan, add the oil and cook the chicken thighs on one side for around 3-4 minutes on a medium heat until they start to turn golden brown. Flip over and using a silicone or pastry brush, brush the miso paste mixture over both sides of the chicken and keep turning for another 7-8 minutes until both sides are golden brown and crusted with the miso marinade.

When the chicken has been cooking for around 6-7 minutes in total, add the pak choi to the pan with the chicken flat side down and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Gently lower a room temperature egg into the saucepan filled with boiling water and set a timer for 6 minutes 45 seconds for a jammy egg. Remove the egg from the pan with a spoon and add to a bowl of cold water to allow to cool slightly before peeling. Add the noodles to the pan of boiling water and cook to packet instructions.

Remove the chicken and pak choi from the pan and set aside on a board. Add the stock to the pan the chicken cooked in and whisk to deglaze the pan.

Slice the chicken and assemble your bowls by first adding the drained noodles. Pour over the broth. Add the sliced chicken thighs on top of the noodles and surround with the herbs, pak choi, egg and other toppings. Enjoy!