Polly's SHOYU RAMEN

I am quite hyped with the noodle experience last week, so I tried some of my own recipe.   And it turned out quite good.  Here is my photo journal of my SHOYU RAMEN.

 Almost all the Japanese RAMEN were sold as "package" deal, and could not find the fresh RAMEN all by itself.  I exchanged it with Fresh egg noodles (think cut).  This is usually the noodle you find in the wonton noodle soup.  But this would do, I thought.    Bring 6 cups of water to boil.  Add 1 TB of Bonita granules, 1/2 tsp of kosher salt, 1/4 tsp of WAKAME (dehydrated seaweed), 1 tsp of soy sauce.  Add various Japanese fish cakes, if you would like.  In my case, in the picture of the pot above, you see a "CHIKUWA" being cooked in the RAMEN soup base that I am making.
In a separate pot, bring water to boil.  I am improvising a deep fryer basket to hold my noodle during cooking.
Hard boil an egg for 12 min over medium high heat.  Stir the eggs around often.  Dump the hot water out and chill it under cold running water.  This will help in separating the egg shell easier.

Spread out the noodle carefully, artfully, and divide them into four.
Roll up the noodle and save the unused portions in a zip-lock bag and freeze them.
Add the noodle to the basket, and boil for 3 minutes.
Add the soup to a large serving bowl.
Bring up the noodle basket and allow to drain.
Transfer the cooked noodle into the serving bowl.
Garnish and serve with Japanese pickles or shredded dry seaweed or Japanese seven flavor chili powder - "SHICHIMI TOGARASHI."

SF Restaurant Adventure - DOJIMAYA Udon

DOJIMAYA Udon was right down the block from the Hilton SF Union Square on O'Farrell.  I was attracted by it because of the display.  There is something about the little beckoning kitty cat and all those realistic plastic dishes in the display case.  Just bring back the memories of our Sunday trip to ISETAN in Japan.  Anyways, there was a long line there as well.  Many Japanese were dining in there.  It must be good, right? 

I quickly noticed the bar counter, and I managed to get a seat quickly for myself.  I ordered the TERIYAKI Salmon and Tempura (not very creative and not my real favorite).  The guy next to me had a large bowl of NABE Udon.  It looked so good.  That's what I should have ordered.  But here is my dinner.  I was surprised by the tasty jumbo shrimps.  They were really jumbo.  Salmon tasted fresh, I enjoyed the meal.  But when they brought a bowl of rice, I thought, wow, they must be really busy.  I know this is a UDON ya-san, but it's a "Japanese" restaurant.  They are familiar with 'rice' and how to cook it.   I ate the rice reluctantly.  It was like the mushy rice that they scooped from the end of the bottom of the rice pot.  The next evening, it was a down pour in SF.  I was coming out the of the class very late, and don't know where to go for dinner so late, so, I decided to go back to DOJIMAYA  and ordered the same thing.  When they brought out the bowl of steamed rice, I knew then that they don't care.   That was disappointing.

Better rice next time.

SF Restaurant Adventure - KATANAYA Ramen

So, my friend wanted to try this KATANAYA Ramen.  We followed along, but it was so crowded and seating were tight that I decided to allow the four some to go that evening.  I visited it later on for lunch hour.  Luckily, the seating for one person is easy, anywhere.  Just go straight to the bar counter and have a seat.  So, that's what I did.  I was not sure what to order.  And luckily the young lady seating next to me was having a large bowl of noodle.  It almost looked like a NABE (pot) noodle.  So, I decided to have what she got - Spicy Beef Stew Ramen.  I am so amazed with the unison taste of the soup.  It was very well balanced and spiciness did not overtake the flavor but complimented it.  I really love it.  I have never eaten any other Ramen before, except the normal SHOYU ramen.  I was a happy camper.