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This Week in the Kitchen: Ramen Night with Tank Garage Winery

Cold winter nights call for a soul-warming bowl of soup, and in Tank Garage’s opinion, that soup is ramen. Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup, with a combination of a richly flavored broth, with noodles and a selection of meats or vegetables, often topped with a boiled egg. 

Tank’s recipe isn’t your dorm room Top Ramen, but it also won’t take 48 hours babysitting a broth over the stove. So, pour yourself a glass of The Benefits of Solitude, whip up the recipe below and enjoy the pairing magic.

Ingredients (Makes ~ 2 servings):

• 1 pkg Shin Ramyun
• 6 oz Braised Pork Shoulder
• 2 Eggs, Soft Boiled
• 1/2 cup canned Bamboo Shoots, Julienned
• 1/2 cup Green Onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup Mung Bean Sprouts
• 1 cup Spinach
• Soy Sauce, as needed
• Hot Sesame Oil, as needed
• Sriracha or other hot sauce, as needed

One of Tank’s favorite things about ramen is that the dish is completely customizable. The above ingredients are their favorite combination, but feel free to add things like sliced shitake mushrooms, nori (seaweed), bok choy, swap the pork for your favorite meat or add any of your favorite vegetables. 

A note on making soft-boiled eggs: Boil for ~5 minutes in shell and transfer to an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. This will yield an egg with set whites and creamy yolk.

Directions:

Begin by bringing ~3 cups of water to a boil. Add the seasoning packets that come with the noodles and stir to combine. Add uncooked noodles and simmer for five minutes. Remove noodles and save the cooking liquid. 

Using two large soup bowls, add cooked noodles and arrange the pork shoulder, soft-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, mung bean sprouts and spinach on top. Ladle hot cooking liquid between the two bowls and garnish with chopped green onion. 

Season to taste with soy sauce, hot sesame oil and your favorite hot sauce (Tank Garage uses Sriracha). 

Pair with 2019 The Benefits of Solitude, a red wine blend comprised of 53% Cinsault, 38% Pinot Noir, 7% Grenache, and 2% Mourvèdre, all sourced from some of Tank Garge Winery’s favorite vineyards in northern California.
Cheers!