Ginger Chicken Meatballs and Winter Vegetable Ramen
Serves 4.
From “Warm Your Bones: Cozy Recipes for Chilly Days and Winter Nights” by Vanessa Seder, who writes: “Many Americans perceive the word ‘ramen’ as a synonym for ‘cheap Asian noodles with flavor packets eaten by off-campus college students too busy to regard food as anything other than fuel.’ In many other parts of the world, however, ramen is a complex and delicious, freshly prepared food for adults (though even the sophisticated kind is slurp-able, always a good thing in my book). Ramen also makes splendid cold-weather food. My version features broth made with fresh ginger and soy sauce and flavorful, tender ginger chicken meatballs, along with a slew of nourishing winter veggies — a full meal in a bowl." Find plain dried ramen in the Asian section of supermarkets or in Asian or international markets. (Union Square & Co., 2024).
For the meatballs:
- ½ c. grated carrot (about 1 medium)
- 3 scallions (white parts only), finely chopped (2 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
- 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- 2 tsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 lb. ground chicken
For the soup:
- 8 c. low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ c. mirin
- ⅓ c. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
- 8 oz. dried ramen noodles
- 1 (1-lb.) Japanese sweet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced into ⅛-in.-thick pieces
- 2 c. thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (from 4 oz. shiitake mushrooms)
- 1 bunch spinach (about 12 oz.), stemmed and well washed
- Thinly sliced scallion greens, for serving
- Toasted sesame oil, for serving
- Toasted sesame seeds, for serving
Directions
Make the meatballs: In a medium bowl, using clean hands, combine the carrot, scallions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, egg and chicken, then gently shape the mixture into 1 ½-inch meatballs (using about 2 tablespoons for each); you should have about 16. Set aside.
Make the soup: In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken broth, mirin, soy sauce and ginger. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, about 15 minutes. Add the noodles to the broth and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes.
Leaving the broth in the saucepan, use tongs to divide the noodles evenly among the four soup bowls. Add the sweet potato to the broth and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Still reserving the broth in the saucepan, use a slotted spoon to transfer the sweet potato to the bowls with the noodles.