Yum Good Lobster Ramen

This isn’t just ramen. It’s a system. The lobster begins the reaction. Grilled over high heat. Smoke. Char. Sweetness. You’re taking something naturally delicate and introducing controlled combustion. Not enough heat, you get nothing. Too much, you destroy it. Precision matters. The pork belly requires something different. Time. Low temperature. Patience. The marinade penetrates while the fat slowly renders. You don’t rush chemistry. Then there’s the lobster miso dashi. This is the foundation. Lobster brings salinity and sweetness. Miso brings fermentation and umami. Dashi carries everything through the bowl. Concentration. Extraction. Balance. The noodles are the delivery system. They absorb the broth and carry it with every bite. Without them, you have components. With them, you have structure. Edamame provides freshness. Corn gives sweetness. Green onion adds sharpness. Cilantro brings an herbal note. And this? Heat. Controlled heat. Enough to change the equation without overwhelming it. The pork cracklings provide texture. Crisp. Salty. Immediate. They’re the variable that keeps the entire bowl from becoming predictable. Smoky lobster. Slow-cooked pork belly. Fermented miso. Dashi. Heat. Sweetness. Freshness. Crunch. Individually, they’re ingredients. Together…they’re chemistry…you think I’m eating ramen? I am the one who broths.

Ingredients

for 2 bowls

1 chicken lobster
6 cups white wine
4 tbs miso dashi paste
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 2×2 inch piece kombu
2 scallions
1/4 lb pork belly
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp chili sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp honey
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Salt and pepper
2 packages of ramen noodles
1/2 cup edamame
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 fresno pepper
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp neutral oil
6-8 fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp Sriracha

Directions

Prepare a charcoal grill to a medium high heat. Split the lobster in half lengthwise and remove the rubber bands from the claws. Grill the lobster over the coals for 12-15 minutes. Remove from grill and allow to cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the tail, claws, knuckles and legs, reserve the carcass and shells. Chop the meat into bite sized pieces.
In a stock pot, add the lobster carcass and shells with the dried shiitake, kombu, and white wine. Wash and slice the bottoms, most of the white part, off the scallions and add to the pot, reserve the rest of the scallions. Simmer for 30 minutes to reduce by a third. Strain stock and whisk in miso dashi paste.
Slice the skin off of the pork belly and season with salt and pepper o a small baking sheet, refrigerate until ready to cook the pork belly. In a bowl, combine the oyster sauce, chili sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic powder, ginger powder, white pepper, honey, and sesame oil. Slice the pork belly into 4 inch pieces and roll them into 2 inch rounds, secure with a tooth pick. Place rolled pork belly in the marinade and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
Pre heat your oven to 300 degrees F. Remove pork belly from the marinade, reserve the marinade, and place on a baking sheet. Bake the pork skin and the pork belly for 2 hours, basting the pork belly with the marinade every 15-20 minutes.
In a stock pot over medium high heat add your neutral oil. Slice your shiitake mushrooms and add to the pot. Saute the musrooms until they just begin to brown and add you lobster miso stock. Bring your stock to a simmer and cook your noodles per package instructions (do not use any seasoning packets that came with the noodles). Add in any small, such as leg meat, pieces of lobster and fold into the noodles.
Remove the toothpicks from and slice your pork belly into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Slice and crumble the pork skin. Slice the remaining scallions and thinly slice, on a mandolin, the fresno pepper.
Pour half the miso broth into each of your bowls and divide the mushroom lobster noodles evenly between the bowls. Top the noodles dividing evenly between bowls with pork belly, corn kernels, edamame, scallions, Fresno pepper slices, cilantro and finally the large pieces of lobster.
Top the lobster pieces with Sriracha and pork cracklings.
Serve