Birria Ramen with Soy-Marinated Egg
Mexico meets Japan: red birria consomé deepened with ginger and soy sauce, poured over fresh ramen with shredded beef, a jammy marinated egg and lime.
Method
Cut the beef into 5 cm chunks, pat dry and season with the salt. Heat the oil in a heavy 20 cm · 1× pot (the number after · is how many batches) over medium-high heat and brown the meat for in total, until deep brown on every side. Wash hands and board after handling raw meat.
Add in this stepBeef chuck, in one piece 400 gSalt ¾ tspVegetable oil 1 tbsp
medium-high heatRemove the stems and seeds from the chiles. Toast them in a dry pan over medium heat for , pressing down, until fragrant (burnt chiles are bitter). In a small pot, simmer the chiles, tomatoes, roughly chopped onion, garlic, sliced ginger and part of the stock over medium heat for , until the chiles are soft.
Add in this stepDried guajillo chiles 4Dried ancho chiles 1Tomatoes 120 gOnion (medium) ½Garlic cloves 4Fresh ginger 10 gBeef stock 350 ml
medium heatBlend everything, liquid included, with the cumin, oregano and cloves until smooth, then press through a sieve into the meat pot. Add the rest of the stock and the bay leaves, bring to the boil over high heat and skim, then lower to low heat, set the lid ajar and braise for , until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.
Add in this stepGround cumin ½ tspDried oregano ½ tspWhole cloves 1Beef stock 1,050 mlBay leaves 1
high heat→low heatWhile the beef braises, make the eggs. Bring water to the boil in a 16 cm pot and keep it at medium-high heat. Lower the cold eggs in gently with a ladle, cook for exactly , then cool in iced water and peel. Put half the soy sauce and half the mirin with the same amount of water in a small zip bag and marinate the eggs for at least 30 minutes.
Add in this stepEggs, fridge-cold 2Soy sauce 1½ tbspMirin ¾ tbsp
medium-high heatLift out the beef and pull it into large shreds. Skim the red fat from the broth into a small bowl; it becomes your chilli oil at the end. Remove the bay, add the remaining soy sauce and mirin and simmer over medium heat for . You need about 400 ml per bowl, so top up with hot water if needed and taste.
Add in this stepSoy sauce 1½ tbspMirin ¾ tbsp
medium heatBring 3 L of water to a rolling boil over high heat in a large pot, loosen the fresh noodles into it and cook for , stirring with chopsticks (follow the packet if it differs). Drain and shake off as much water as possible.
Add in this stepFresh ramen noodles 260 g
high heatPut the noodles in warmed bowls and pour over the hot broth. Top with the shredded beef, halved eggs, spring onions and coriander, drizzle with the red fat and serve with lime to squeeze over.
Add in this stepSpring onions, sliced 2Fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped 2 tbspLimes ½
Cook's tip
No need to salt the noodle water; the broth is seasoned enough. If you can't find fresh ramen, use dried ramen or Chinese wheat noodles cooked to the packet time. 6 minutes 30 seconds gives a jammy, just-runny yolk.
Cooking it at camp
Make the broth, shredded beef and marinated eggs at home and pack them separately in the cooler. At camp you only need two burners: one to bring the broth to a rolling boil, one for the noodles. Short on water, you can cook the noodles straight in the broth, though it will turn a little thicker.