This recipe is very forgiving: You can choose to sear the pork before hand or not, you can combine everything in the slow-cooker to save prep time if you would like. If you can’t find high-quality fresh ramen noodles, use fresh thin Chinese egg noodles or fresh linguine. Serve the soup with your favorite ramen embellishments.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3 equal pieces
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (if including the optional browning step)
- 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 leek, halved lengthwise and coarsely chopped (white and green parts)
- 1/4 pound cremini or button mushrooms, brushed clean and coarsely chopped
- Low-sodium soy sauce, for seasoning
- Sesame and/or chile oil, for seasoning
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh ramen noodles
- 8 large eggs (optional soft boiled)
- About 4 green onions, finely chopped (white and pale green parts)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
- Season the pork with salt.
- (OPTIONAL) Heat frying pan stove-top over medium-high heat, then add the oil and warm until hot. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, add the pork pieces and sear them on the first side without moving them until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the pieces and sear on the second side until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer to slow cooker.
- (OPTIONAL) Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat and return to medium-high heat. Add the yellow onion and sear, without stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and 1 cup of the broth and deglaze the pan, stirring, and scraping up any browned bits, then let simmer for 1 minute.
- Combine the pork, yellow onion, garlic, ginger, leek, mushrooms, and broth in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on the low-heat setting for 6-8 hours (be sure the pork is cooked through).
To assemble:
- Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Using 2 forks, break the pork into bite-size chunks, removing and discarding any large pieces of fat. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard the solids.
- Using a large spoon, skim off and discard any fat from the surface of the broth. Return the pork and broth to the slow cooker and season to taste with soy sauce and sesame and/or chile oil.
- Cook the ramen noodles according to the package directions.
To serve:
- Ladle the broth and pork over the noodles, then top with the green onions and anything else you would like.
