Tom Kha Coconut Miso Ramen
Tom kha's coconut-galangal broth deepened with Japanese white miso, poured over springy ramen noodles and topped with a jammy soft-boiled egg.
Method
Bring plenty of water to a rolling boil in a 16 cm pot on high heat. Lower in the fridge-cold eggs with a ladle and boil for , then plunge them straight into iced water for 5 minutes and peel. You get set whites and sticky, jammy yolks.
Add in this stepEggs, straight from the fridge 2
high heatPut the stock, coconut milk, galangal sliced 2 mm thick, bashed lemongrass cut into 4 cm pieces and the lime leaves (centre rib removed, torn) in a 18 cm pot. Heat on medium-high heat until it bubbles at the edges, then turn down to medium-low heat and simmer gently for to infuse.
Add in this stepChicken stock 500 mlCoconut milk (unsweetened) 300 mlGalangal 20 gLemongrass stalks 1Makrut lime leaves 4
medium-high heat→medium-low heatSlice the chicken 5 mm thin and add it, along with the pak choi halved lengthways, and cook on medium heat for . Lift the pak choi out as soon as the stems turn bright green. Once the chicken is white all the way through, fish out the galangal, lemongrass and lime leaves.
Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 200 gBaby pak choi (bok choy) 2
medium heatTurn the heat off (heat off). Put the miso in a small sieve or ladle, lower it into the broth and stir until dissolved with no lumps. Boiling kills miso's aroma, so always add it off the heat. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and taste.
Add in this stepWhite miso (shiro miso) 1½ tbspFish sauce 2 tspFresh lime juice 1 tbsp
heat offBring 3 L of water to the boil in another large pot on high heat, shake the noodles loose into it and cook for , separating them with chopsticks (the packet time comes first). Drain and shake off the water hard; leftover water dilutes the broth.
Add in this stepFresh ramen noodles 240 g
high heatPut the noodles in warm bowls and pour over the broth and chicken. Top with the pak choi, halved eggs, bean sprouts and sliced spring onions, drizzle with chilli oil and serve at once.
Add in this stepBean sprouts 60 gSpring onions 10 gChilli oil 2 tsp
Cook's tip
Cook the noodles only once the broth is finished so they don't go soft. Korean doenjang is saltier than white miso; use two-thirds of the amount. For more heat, add more chilli oil or sliced bird's eye chillies.
Cooking it at camp
With two burners you can make the broth and noodles at once. With one, cook the noodles first, rinse them in cold water and dunk them in the hot broth for 30 seconds just before eating. Boil the eggs at home to save time.