Local Cuisine From Marcille's Hometown

Do you enjoy gigantic leaps forward, Dungeon Meshi Maniacs? Because that is what we do this week!  Seriously, we are jumping nearly ten chapters between dishes.  I said that we are barreling towards the end of this story which means taking the time to cook is few and far between.  No lie, there are only TWO dishes left after this week?  All good things, DMMs.  And what a good thing we are eating this week!  Granted, the name doesn't give too much away but take a look at the Local Cuisine From Marcille's Hometown!

No real mystery is it, DMMs? A King Food!  Ramen! But how do we get from serving elves afternoon tea to making ramen.  You know I do everything I can to avoid spoilers. I know not all DMMs are caught up on the story.  But there's no good way to tell what happens next without a major spoiler.  If that bothers you then shut your eyes, scroll to the bottom and read from the bottom up.  That way you know when to stop!  Okay....you've been warned.  The Canaries push Marcille a little too far and....

Don't corner a cute elf, DMMs. You never know what they are capable of.  I'm saving Marcille's wish for next week.  For now just know that she is in control of the dungeon and all the monsters inside.  That makes her and the gang Public Enemies #1-5!  So what becomes of the Gang while Marcille is enjoying being a dark lord?

They get away.  And yes, that is an elven werewolf up there.  Trust me, read this manga! The gang manages to avoid so many elf traps and attacks to get back with Marcille.  It's all happy up until it isn't and Marcille has her Homunculus Dad take them into custody!

What?  It's not her real dad. That dude is super dead.  No, this is like an android the Winged Lion made to keep Marcille company.  He is very strong, very loyal and has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Marcille.  Including her favorite dishes!  The Gang comes up with the idea of making Marcille a nostalgic dish as a way to calm her down and talk.  That's actually a pretty good plan if I'm being honest!  Very rarely can people be mad on a full stomach, DMMs!  So they pump Fake Pa for info and they get an odd mix of favorites.

Vegetables, broth, noodles and roasted pork?  That's ramen 101, DMMs!  Speaking of Ramen 101...what is ramen, exactly?  That's a fantastic question with an easy answer. It's one of the best dishes humanity has to offer!  I'm not making this statement lightly, DMMs. Ramen is one of my top comfort foods!  It's a perfect mix of everything I love.  But where does it come from?  Well....Japan.

Yokohama, Japan to be exact!  That is the location of the Yokohama Chinatown.  Where a large number of Chinese immigrants came to live in the city.  Sometime in the late 1800's/early 1900's a local dish called ramen became popular in that part of the city. This isn't to be confused with the lamain found in actual Chinese cuisine. No, this dish is more from the southern region of China where these immigrants originated. The noodles are made with alkaline noodles that consist of wheat flour, sale, water and kansui (a type of alkaline mineral water). Of course the Japanese weren't interested in ramen initially.  Why?  Good old fashioned racism and classism.  It had the one two punch of being both foreign and what poor people eat.  Gotta admit, DMMs, I'm getting tired of finding out so many awesome foods being this way.  Lucky for us not everyone was a fool, the first ramen shop Rairaiken was opened in 1910 by Kan'ichi Ozaki.

Ozaki didn't share his countryman's views of the Chinese as he grew up in Yokohama.  Getting to know a people is a good way to not hate them! Who knew, DMMs?  The shop actually stayed open until 1976 so Ozaki was onto something. But we cannot talk ramen without mentioned one of the greatest men to ever live. Momofuku Ando, creator of Instant Ramen.

Also, one handsome dude!  Some people really got it all, DMMs!  Ramen was pretty well known by World War II but it did not become a staple of the Japanese diet until after the war when rations were low and rice harvests were poor.  The US Government sent of bags of wheat flour to help and the Japanese government suggested the people make bread with it. Ando asked why not noodles since those were things the people were more familiar with.  The problem is fresh noodles aren't very shelf stable and are time consuming to make from scratch. Bread is far easier to make. He set to develop a way to make noodles just as easy to make. So after a LOT of trial and error he perfected the flash-frying method that made one of the world's greatest inventions possible.

I have no idea if that card is any good, DMMs. I do know that instant ramen is one of the best things we've got going.  Ando believed that "Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat" and I believe that as well.  Scoff if you want at how simple instant ramen is but you gotta admit it'll always be there for you, DMMs.  But we aren't making instant ramen this week!  Nope, we are going to put in a little more effort and make not just the broth but Chashu as well.  Let's start there!  What is Chashu?  It's the piece of pork you always get in ramen from fancy shops!  We start with a cut of pork belly.

Yes, that does look like bacon, DMMs!  You have a good bacon spotting eye.  Bacon typically comes from the belly of the pig.  We won't be making bacon, however. We will be SLOOOOOWWW cooking this.  First, you gotta trim off some of that fat.  If you are lucky enough to buy your pork belly from a butcher you can ask them to do it for you.  Otherwise, get a knife and do it yourself.

Love the serrated knife for this task, DMMs.  Just hacks right through that fat.  Try and save it if you can. It will freeze and you never know when you'll need pork fat!  Now to cook this pork.  We don't need much beyond the pork belly itself.

Cup of water, some ginger, soy sauce, sugar,  and chives.  A nice green onion would work in place of the chives if you have one available.  To start we need to sear the pork belly.  Heat a pan over medium high heat and add about half a tablespoon of oil.  Don't worry, the pork belly will provide the rest of the fat.  Once that's heated up add the pork belly fat side down.

Snap, crackle and pop, DMMs!  Let that sear for about five minutes and then give it a flip.

This will cook for another five minutes.  It will also splatter grease EVERYWHERE so be sure to wipe up as you go or you'll have a very slick kitchen.  While that finishes cooking take out a large pot and put in the cup of water, about 1/3 cup of soy sauce, all the chives or green onion, ginger, and three tablespoons of sugar.  Add the pork belly one it has finished searing.

Bring this to a boil then crank that temp down to Low, DMMs.  Now for something fun. This is going to cook for a solid hour. To make sure you trap in as much moisture as you can cover it with some tinfoil with a few slits cut into.  This slows down the evaporation rate!

Flip the pork belly every 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on the liquid level but you should be done in one hour.  At that point take the cooked pork belly out and let it rest somewhere.  It's been working hard for an hour, DMMs. It's earned a rest!

Try to not cut off a piece and eat it, DMMs, no matter how tempting.  Ehh...go ahead. It's delicious! The next step is the most important.  The one thing that will elevate any ramen to the next level. Perfect this and you will be 90% of the way to making super ramen.  Of course I am talking about...the boiled egg!

That's right, DMMs, the key to any ramen is the egg.  It not just gives you needed protein but it can soak up the broth making for a nice gooey finish to your meal.  What you have to get is a soft boiled egg.  That way the egg white is cooked but the yolk is right at the crossover from liquid to solid. Start by boiling a pot of water.  Once it gets rolling you will slowly add the eggs with a slotted spoon.  Once that time is up carefully move them to a cold water bath.

Now for a tough part, you will have to peel these right now.  The eggs may be in a cool bath but that is more to stop the cooking process.  The eggs will still be hot so remember to use the cold water to your advantage.  Once they are peeled cover them with soy sauce and move them to the side.  This golden goodness will also be taking a rest.

Delicious.  I'm not kidding, DMMs. Do this and even a 50 cent packet of ramen you bought from Kroger will be fantastic!  Hard as it may be we need to move on from the eggs and onto the broth.  This is the most subjective part of any ramen.  So much so that every region of Japan has its own preferred way of doing things and the people from that region will let you know about it!  I'm sure you even have your own preferences when it comes to ramen broth but I'm going to keep it simple today.  We will be making a miso broth!  Quick and easy!  This is all you need.

Miso, sesame oil, sugar, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, and pork...if you want more in your soup.  And I do!  To start heat a tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat.  To that we are going to add three garlic bulbs and about a tablespoon of ginger.

Smelling good!  And that's all you need. Heat until it is fragrant. That's when you throw in the pork.  Anywhere from a fourth to a half a pound depending on how meaty you want your broth.

Cook this until the pink pork turns brown!  Remember to keep stirring it while cooking.  You don't want to risk burning the garlic.  This won't take long, DMMs, so be ready to add the miso.  Throw in three tablespoons of miso straight to the pork and stir!

Stir like your ramen depends on it because it does!  You don't want the miso to burn.  So many chances for this to go wrong, DMMs!  Once the miso has spread all over it's time to add the liquid.  Four cups of chicken broth go straight into the pot along with a tablespoon of sugar and a good amount of white pepper.

If it tastes how you want go ahead and cover the broth.  If you are going to add mushrooms this is the time to do that.  I went with shitake!

Cover the pot and finally, after long last, cook the noodles.  We are not going to be making noodles by hand.  Mainly because it is beyond my capabilities and also I'm fine with store bought noodles.  Find a brand you like, follow the directions and you'll be set!

I love watching ramen cook, DMMs. It's like they are going into a hot tub!  These noodles only need four minutes.  Once the noodles are finished just assemble the ramen the way you want. Cut the Chashu into thin slices and put around the edges of the bowl.  Put the egg on top of the noodles.  Other toppings are 100% your call.  I like enoki mushrooms and that little fishcakes with the pink swirls!

This is as good as it gets, DMMs. I love ramen. I'd eat it every day if I could. And seeing how Ando lived into his 90's and credited his long life to eating chicken ramen once a day maybe I should start?  This recipe is a lot of work, not gonna lie. But your effort will be rewarded!  Treat yourself.  And if you don't have the time at least perfect the egg. Trust me on that, DMMs!  That egg makes all the difference.

That's it for this week, DMMs!  We got to talk about one of the King foods.  Be sure to come back next week when we'll cover Marcille's wish. Which means we will be talking death, dying and the quality of life!  Trust me, it's not as heavy as it sounds.