Author Notes
Enter the Dragon. I love spicy ramen style soups with a hearty, meaty broth. And I love watching the noodles being cut and dipped in and out of boiling water before being plunged into your soup. But unless you are an expert at cutting your own ramen noodles I would suggest substituting lo mein. —pierino
Ingredients
- For the soup
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4
large collard green leaves, washed and stemmed
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1 1/2
cup thinly sliced daikon
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1 teaspoon
Szechuan peppercorns
-
8
ounces lo mein noodles
-
2
dried arbol chiles
-
2
scallions thinly sliced (when in season by all means you may substitute ramps)
- For your broth
-
2 pounds
oxtail sections
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2
sweet onions such as Vidalia or Maui
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2 tablespoons
gochugaru (Korean hot pepper powder)*
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1
Tough green leek tops (yes, really) thoroughly washed. Save the tender whites for something else, like a quiche or whatever…
-
1
bunch parsley
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2
whole star anise
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1
small piece fresh ginger
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Sea salt
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Water to cover (about 1 quart
Directions
-
Rub the oxtail pieces with the gochugaru and place in an oiled roasting pan along with the quartered onions and roast at 400F until everything is browned nicely.
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Use the leek greens to make a bouquet garnie; tie in a bundle with the parsley.
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Transfer the oxtail and onions to a stock pot. Toss in the bouquet, the anise, the ginger and salt. Cover with 2 quarts water and bring to a simmer. Do not boil! Scoop off the foam as it comes up. Continue this process for about six hours with a lid on the stock pot, slightly askew.
-
Scoop out the ox tail pieces and refrigerate overnight.
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Discard the bouquet and strain the stock through a cheese cloth lined chinois and refrigerate that in a separate container and hold it overnight as well. On the next day skim off that fat cap which will have formed. Underneath that cap you should have a nice jelly.
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Scrape as much meat as you can get from the oxtail spine. Set aside.
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Soak the arbol chiles in water and put those aside.
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Heat your jellied stock back up to a liquid state. You will need about 6 cups so add water if needed.
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Roll your stemmed collard leaves into a cigar shape and chiffonade into wide ribbons. Add those to your simmering stock along with the daikon and the reserved meat.
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Add in the arbol chiles and the lo mein noodles. Cook until al dente. Taste for salt.
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Finish with sliced scallions.
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*If you must, substitute a flavorful Spanish pimenton.
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.
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