20gramskombudried kelp either in knot or sheet form (optional)
1tablespoonmisoor more to taste if your stock isn’t already salty
12ozramen noodles3oz/person or 4 packs
Soy sauceto taste
1ozdried shiitake or other mushrooms
Garnish Ideas
Baby bok choi
Sauteed shrimp
Soft boiled eggs
Fresh Herbs
Sour bamboo shoots
Instructions
Put the venison shank in whatever it will fit into, I used a stock pot. Hind shanks will comically stick out of most pots as they cook unless you saw off a good hunk of bone--don't worry about it, as long as the meat is covered, you're good, and it's better to have a little less water, than a little too much. Barely cover the shank with water (about 8-10 cups should do) add the shiitake, galangal, lemongrass, shrimp shells and kombu and simmer or bake, covered, for 4 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone.
Allow the shank to cool in the liquid, or if you're in a time crunch, remove it and wrap in cling film so it doesn't dry out, then pick the meat and chop roughly, discarding any connective tissue that won’t taste good. Strain the liquid and reserve. Taste the liquid, the whisk in some miso and soy sauce to taste—I usually season it pretty aggressively.
To plate, Boil the ramen noodles until tender. Meanwhile, have the stock simmering, adding fresh ingredients at the end you want to cook, such as bok choi, etc, along with the reserved pieces of venison shank. Drain the noodles, add the to deep bowls, pour over about 2 cups of piping hot stock, garnish with your choice of fixings and serve.
Notes
Notes and Ideas
Build flavor with both meat and shellfish in your broth if possible. Just like a lot of other cuisines around the world, combining forces of meat bones and things like dried crayfish, shrimp paste, or, in this case, shrimp or crab shells adds a great depth of flavor.
Aromatics in the broth are great too. Ginger, lemongrass, galangal, garlic or shallots, star anise, lemon zest are all good things to look at, especially if you're going to the Asian market.
I like to think of the garnishes as a challenge to use up random things in the fridge, the last two eggs in a carton, a slightly tired radish, whatever herbs I have, etc. Whatever you use, try to imagine how the ingredients will get picked up by chopsticks as you eat--I like to keep things chunky so I can pick up individual ingredients.
I always have some flavorful oil for garnishing. Typically it's sesame, but Smude's brand sunflower oil is great, as is roasted peanut, or another nut or seed oil. Take your pick. Chili oil is always good too.