Soto Ayam Ramen

Method

1. Bring a 14 cm pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat, lower in the eggs straight from the fridge with a spoon and boil for exactly 6 min 30 sec. Plunge them straight into iced water for 5 minutes, then peel. Mix the soy sauce, mirin and water in a zip bag, add the eggs, press out the air and marinate in the fridge for 2 h. Short on time, even 30 minutes helps.

   Add in this stepEggs, straight from the fridge 2Soy sauce for the eggs 3 tbspMirin 1½ tbspWater for the eggs 3 tbsp

   high heat

2. Roughly chop the shallots, garlic and ginger and blend with the turmeric, coriander and 2 tablespoons of water to a smooth paste.

   Add in this stepShallots 3Garlic cloves 3Fresh ginger 8 gGround turmeric 1 tspGround coriander ¾ tsp

3. Heat the oil in a 20 cm pot and fry the paste over medium heat for 4 min, until the moisture has cooked off and it smells toasty. Add the bashed and knotted lemongrass and the lime leaves and fry for 30 seconds more.

   Add in this stepNeutral oil 1½ tbspLemongrass stalks 1Makrut lime leaves 3

   medium heat

4. Add the stock and chicken, bring to a simmer, then turn to medium-low heat, cover and cook for 15 min. The chicken is done when the thickest part shows no pink and the juices run clear (75 °C in the centre).

   Add in this stepChicken stock 850 mlBoneless, skin-on chicken thighs 300 g

   medium-low heat

5. Lift out the chicken and pat it dry. Lay it skin side down in a dry 24 cm non-stick pan and fry over medium-high heat for 3 min, until the skin is crisp and brown. Slice 1 cm thick.

   medium-high heat

6. Remove the lemongrass and leaves from the broth, add the coconut milk and soy sauce and heat over low heat for 2 min. Keep it just below a boil; boiling makes coconut milk split. Season with salt: ramen broth should taste slightly too salty to sip on its own.

   Add in this stepCoconut milk 100 mlLight soy sauce 2 tspSalt to taste

   low heat

7. Bring a large 24 cm pot of water to the boil over high heat, shake the noodles loose into it and cook for 2 min. For the last 30 seconds, blanch the bean sprouts in a sieve in the same water. Warm the bowls with hot water and drain the noodles very well.

   Add in this stepFresh ramen noodles 240 gMung bean sprouts 80 g

   high heat

8. Pour the broth into the warm bowls, add the noodles and straighten them with chopsticks. Top with the chicken, sprouts, halved eggs, sweetcorn and sliced spring onions, scatter with fried shallots and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.

   Add in this stepSweetcorn kernels, drained 4 tbspSpring onions 1Crispy fried shallots 2 tbspLime ½