MAPO RAMEN

Aarhtey bowl of tastiness.

“So much of Japanese culture has direct, traceable roots in China: Everything from religion and orthography, to tea bowls and noodles,” says 2011 Masterchef champ and restaurateur, Tim Anderson. “And despite the political issues between the two countries, there’s still a lot of positive cultural exchange between them. One of the more interesting examples of this is ramen, a dish that in Japan many still consider Chinese, but that can now be found all over China, sold as a distinctly Japanese dish.” veen“more complex is the recent trend of ‘mapo ramen’ in Tokyo: A combination of a traditional Chinese dish (mapo tofu) with a Japanese version of a Chinese dish (ramen), the result of which is very Chinese in terms of flavour, but that wouldn’t be found in China. It’s a kind of culinary orphan, neither Japanese nor Chinese but also kind of both. But then again, who cares? It’s really delicious and that’s all that matters.”

Serves 4 Ingredients:

600g-700g firm or extra firm silken tofu

Water

Big pinch of salt 2tbsp Sichuan pepper

4 dried red Chinese chillies 4tbsp vegetable oil

2 anchovy fillets (optional)

1 bird’s eye chilli (or more, to taste), finely sliced

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced 15g piece of ginger root, peeled and finely shredded

300g minced pork 1tbsp preserved black beans 80g doubanjiang (black bean sauce) 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar 500ml chicken stock 1tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with a little water Worcestershire sauce and/or soy sauce, to taste

4 portions thick ramen noodles For the garnish:

Small handful of coriander, roughly torn Sesame seeds, toasted until deep golden brown Plenty of sansho pepper

Method:

»» 1. Cut the tofu into 2.5cm (1in) cubes and bring a pan of water to a low simmer along with the salt. Carefully add the tofu to the salted water and poach for ten minutes.

»» 2. Remove gently with a slotted spoon. T-oast the Sichuan pepper and dried chil lies in a dry frying pan until aromatic and beginning to colour, then leave to cool and grind to a coarse powder.

»» 3. Add the oil to the pan and place over a high heat, then add the anchovies, if using, and the bird’s eye chilli. Fry for a m-inute or two, then add the garlic, gin ger and pork and fry until the pork is b-rowned. Add the black beans, doubanji a-ng, sugar and the ground Sichuan pep per and chillies. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, so the flavours meld.

»» 4. Add the chicken stock and sesame oil and bring to the boil, then stir in some (not all) of the cornflour-water mixture. Let the sauce boil for a few minutes to thicken, stirring continuously; add more cornflour slurry if you want it thicker (it should be quite thick so it clings well to the noodles). Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with Worcestershire and/or soy sauces. Gently stir in the tofu, using a pushing motion with the back of your spatula and shaking the pan to coat the tofu without breaking it up.

»» 5. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the noodles until al dente. Drain well, then transfer to four bowls. Top with the hot tofu mixture and garnish with the coriander, sesame seeds and sansho.