For those dinners when the same soup just won’t cut it, try this exciting mashup that is simply the best of both worlds. You have the perfectly fluffy matzo balls in a rich, salty, totally special ramen broth. All in under two hours. For fancy Shabbat meals, this is an every-time-hit!
Matzo Ball Ramen
Servings
6 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 whole chicken
- ¼ cup ginger cut into chunks
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- Water
- 3 large pieces of kombu seaweed/kelp available on Amazon and most supermarkets
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- Ramen noodles
- Sesame seeds for garnishing
- Green onions for garnishing
- Chili flakes for garnishing
- 1 cup matzo meal
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Pour olive oil into a large pot over high heat. Add the chicken to the pot and allow the skin to get crispy after a couple minutes, then flip.
- Add the ginger and garlic. Cover with water then bring to a boil. As chicken impurities rise to the top of the pot, skim it off (to achieve a clearer broth). Cover and simmer for one hour.
- In the meantime, make the matzo balls. In a large bowl, add the matzo meal, baking powder and salt. Mix. In a separate bowl, mix together three eggs and four tablespoons of olive oil. Pour the egg mixture into the matzo meal and mix gently until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes. Then shape into balls.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully add the matzo balls, cover and simmer on low-medium heat for thirty minutes.
- Once the soup has simmered for at least an hour, remove from heat to cool a bit, then remove the chicken and strain the soup if necessary. Slice the chicken into strips for adding to the soup later. We like to keep the initial soup cooking time to one hour to retain flavor in the chicken meat.
- Add the kombu (seaweed), soy sauce and sesame oil. The kombu adds that indescribable deep flavor that ramen should have! Cover and simmer for 15 minutes- enough time to release flavor from and hydrate the seaweed. Then remove the kombu and slice into strips.
- Top each bowl of broth with a matzo ball, cooked ramen noodles, sliced kombu, sliced chicken, sliced green onions, sesame seeds and chili flakes for those who like it hot!
Yes, any store with a great Asian section has it, maybe the health food store too.
The seaweed in this recipe is different from what is used in sushi. It gives a nice depth of flavor and umami, but it is hard to describe. You can go ahead without it, but it will likely lose some of this unique Asiany flavor. You don’t have to eat in the soup later but it adds a lot to the broth.
Do they even sell kombu here in Israel
What taste does the seaweed add to the soup? I don’t like sushi so I don’t eat seaweed