Spicy Pulled Pork Ramen

Ingredients

Making restaurant-worthy ramen at home starts with a broth infused with Asian flavors (use with your preferred boxed or homemade stock) and a flavorful Kurobuta pork shoulder. Finish with your favorite garnishes and enjoy ramen like never before!

• 1 True Story Kurobuta Pork Shoulder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 onion, cut in half (no need to remove the skin)
• 2 carrots, peeled, one left whole, the other cut into matchsticks
• 1 stick of celery, broken in half
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped in half (no need to peel)
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger – roughly chopped (no need to peel)
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1-2 tbsp Gochujang paste, depending on spice preference
• 1 red chili, roughly sliced, seeds removed depending on spice preference
• 4 large eggs
• 7 oz dried ramen noodles, or 17.5oz cooked ramen noodles
• 1 leek, sliced
• 3 packed cups baby spinach leaves
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• Small bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp red chili flakes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300F. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot until very hot.
2. Season the pork with the salt and pepper and place in the pan with the hot oil. Sear on all sides until deeply browned.
3. Pour the stock over the pork. Add in the onion, the whole carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, mirin, soy sauce, gochujang and the sliced red chili. Bring to the boil, then place a lid on the pan and place in the oven for 4 hours. (NOTE: Check two or three times during cooking, and top up with a little boiling water if needed. You’ll need at least 4 cups of liquid left by the time the pork finishes cooking.)
4. Take the pan out of the oven and place the pork on a chopping board. Remove and discard the layer of fat. Shred the pork using two forks.
5. Place a sieve over a large bowl and strain the cooking liquid. Throw the strained vegetables away and place the liquid back in the pan with the shredded pork. Leave on a low heat to keep warm.
6. Place the eggs in a small pan. Just cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 6 minutes.
7. Remove the eggs from the heat and place in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
8. If you’re using dried noodles, place the noodles in a pan of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Then drain, run under cold water (to stop them sticking) and put to one side.
9. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan.Add the leek, season with a pinch of salt and pepper then fry for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Push the leeks to one side of the pan and add the spinach to the pan. Allow to wilt for 1 minute.
10. Divide the noodles between four bowls. Top with the hot broth, shredded pork, leek, spinach and carrot matchsticks.
11. Carefully peel the two eggs and slice in half. Place 2 halves in each bowl.
12. Garnish the soup with spring onions, then sprinkle with the white and black sesame seeds and the chili flakes before serving.