I'm one of those people who can have a piping hot bowl of noodles at any time of the year. Have you ever seen lines of people waiting for ramen when it's 95 degrees outside? Chances are, I'm one of those people. What can I say? I just can't resist perfectly cooked noodles in a savory broth. So, today I'm giving noodles all the love with this miso ramen hot pot. Make the broth, add whatever vegetables you like, add some noodles, and serve with ponzu sauce. It can't get easier or more delicious than that!

Recipe

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Miso Ramen Hot Pot

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: vegetarian

Servings: 2

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Dashi broth

• 2 quarts water
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 1.2 inch x 5 inch konbu square
• 1 cup bonito flakes

Miso hot pot

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3 garlic cloves grated
• 1 teaspoon ginger grated
• 2 scallions
• 6 cups dashi broth
• 2 tablespoon mirin
• 2 tablespoon sake
• 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce
• ¼ cup white miso paste
• 2 tablespoon ground sesame seeds
• white pepper to taste
• 2 carrots thinly sliced
• 3 cups napa cabbage chopped
• 14 ounces firm tofu sliced
• 4 ounces enoki mushrooms
• 12 ounces ramen noodles
• ponzu for serving

Instructions

• Make the dashi broth. Pour 2 quarts of water in a large pot along with the dried shiitake mushrooms and konbu. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add 1 cup bonito flakes, and cover the pot. Let the broth sit for 10 minutes. Strain the broth, reserving the mushrooms and discarding the bonito flakes and konbu. Thinly slice the mushrooms and set them aside.
• Slice the scallions, separating the white stems from the green tops. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the grated garlic, ginger, and white stems of the green onions until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add 6 cups of the prepared dashi broth along with the reserved shiitake mushrooms. Cover and bring to a boil.
• Season the broth with 2 tablespoon mirin, 2 tablespoon sake, 1 ½ teaspoon soy sauce, ¼ cup white miso, 2 tablespoon ground sesame seeds, and ground white pepper to taste. Add the sliced carrots, napa cabbage, and tofu and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7-8 minutes.
• Add the ramen noodles and enoki mushrooms and cook until the noodles are cooked. Remove from heat and garnish with the green tops of the scallions. Serve the miso hot pot with ponzu for dipping sauce if desired.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

So what exactly is hot pot? It's when a pot of broth is placed at the table and you cook the vegetables and meat tableside. The meat is sliced thin so it cooks in a matter of seconds and is served with a dipping sauce. If you have a flavorful broth, hot pot can be incredibly delicious. I decided to make a Japanese version by seasoning the broth with white miso and serving it with ramen noodles. This is a vegetarian recipe but you can easily change that by serving it with whatever protein you like.

To make the broth, first make dashi. Normally I only use konbu and bonito flakes but to add a little extra umami, I decided to add dried shiitake mushrooms. Simmer the konbu and dried shiitake mushrooms for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Add the bonito flakes, cover the pot, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Strain the stock and the dashi is ready.

Now that we have the base, it's time to add all of the seasonings. White miso paste is the main source of flavor but we're balancing it with soy sauce, ground sesame seeds, mirin, sake, and aromatics. Let the soup simmer and give it a taste before adding the vegetables. We want to make sure the soup is delicious before adding the remaining ingredients.

Napa cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, tofu, and some sort of leafy greens are common vegetables for hot pot but you can be creative and use what you like. Sweet potato, fish cakes, even corn on the cob are all suitable ingredients. If you want to add shrimp, beef, or any other type of meat, add it at the very end once the vegetables are almost done.

Finish the miso ramen hot pot by adding the ramen noodles. The noodles only need a couple of minutes so keep an eye on the pot. Finish the hot pot with scallions and serve with ponzu as the dipping sauce.

This hot pot is different than the Chinese hot pots but I still loved every bite. The broth is light but still flavorful and the ponzu dipping sauce is the perfect compliment. Seconds anyone?

For more Asian soup inspiration check out this Chinese chicken and rice corn soup!