This carbonara-style ramen uses a one-two punch of smokiness: from a simple dashi-like broth made with bonito flakes; and lightly crisped guanciale. We highlight the former with savouriness from toasted seaweed; and the latter with a silky parmesan sauce.
Serves 2, 10 minutes prep time and 30 minutes cook time.
A fusion of ramen & carbonara does not have to be stressful.
I know carbonara is supposed to be easy to make, but transforming whole eggs into a sauce without having it scramble can be intimidating! And you have to make sure the pasta is cooked *just* right too? Talk about stress. Here’s where the ramen comes in.
Using ramen instead of spaghetti.
Ramen is a wheat-based noodle that has been treated with an alkaline: Kansui, sodium carbonate, etc. This treatment gives ramen its distinctive chew, flavour, colour and ability to retain some of its firmness, even when it’s slightly overcooked. We’re going to use this forgiving noodle in this recipe instead of spaghetti. We’re also using the “fresh” ramen – they’re usually sold refrigerated or frozen, and require pre-cooking and rinsing. They’re often bundled in 150 gm portions and dusted with flour.
Instant ramen is ramen that is deep fried and dried into bricks so that it’s shelf stable, and requires no rinsing during cooking. It is possible to use instant ramen in this recipe as well, but I find it takes longer to cook — and then it cooks… well, instantly. So for instant ramen, watch your timing, aim to undercook (i.e. ramen can be slightly crunchy) and rinse thoroughly to halt the cooking process.
This recipe combines one simple skill (tempering eggs) and two of my favourite things together: ramen and cheesy sauce.
Eggy cheesy carbonara sauce is heaven.
The traditional carbonara sauce uses few things: eggs, cheese, parmesan, pepper, and a bit of the pasta cooking water. To keep the eggs from scrambling when coming into contact with heat, the raw beaten eggs are often tempered with the hot pasta cooking water before being tossed into the hot pasta to transform into a sauce. We won’t have any pasta water in this recipe and we won’t be using the ramen cooking water. Instead, we’re going to make a simple dashi-like broth from bonito flakes.
What are bonito flakes?
Bonito flakes (or, Katsuobushi) are fermented, smoked, dried fish that have been shaved thinly. It is often used as a garnish or for flavouring a broth called dashi.
The bonito flakes will amp up the smokiness of the guanciale. For this recipe, we’re using bonito flakes to create a simple hot broth to temper the egg sauce; and we’re also using it also as a garnish.
Carbonara-style ramen with guanciale and bonito
Course: MainDifficulty: Easy2
servings10
minutes30
minutesIngredients
2 sheets toasted snack seaweed (approx. 1″ x 3″ per sheet)
5 tbsp. bonito flakes, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped uncooked guanciale, pancetta or bacon
2 servings (approx. 10 oz/300g) of fresh or frozen uncooked ramen noodles
Directions
- Cut toasted snack seaweed into small strips to be used as garnish. Set aside.
- Place 3 tbsp. bonito flakes into a bowl and pour boiling water over top. Let bonito soak for 2 minutes and strain, saving water and discarding the soaked flakes. Season broth with salt and set aside. You should have around 1/3 cup of broth.
- Beat eggs in a separate bowl and mix in parmesan. While still mixing, slowly incorporate the hot broth (if the broth has turned cold, heat it in the microwave). Mix well.
- In a medium saucepan, cook ramen noodles as per package directions, minus 1 minute of cooking time (some fresh ramen cooks in 1 minute. If that’s the case, cook ramen for 15 seconds: just enough to wash off the alkaline agent and excess flour).
- Drain ramen in a colander. Lightly rinse noodles in cold water. Set aside.
- Heat medium saucepan on medium-low and cook guanciale until slightly crisped. Scoop guanciale out with a spoon and let drain on paper towels, leaving the oil in the bottom of the saucepan (should be around 2 tbsp.).
- Keep the saucepan on medium-low heat and add ramen into the pot, stirring with tongs to ensure noodles are coated in oil and the ramen is heated through (around 30 seconds to 1 minute).
- Remove the saucepan from heat and slowly add egg mix onto the noodles while stirring them with tongs to coat. Add half of the guanciale. Continue stirring for 1 minute until the sauce looks silky and cheese has melted.
- Plate noodles. Garnish with remaining gianciale, toasted seaweed, and 2 tbsp bonito flakes.
Inspiration
More than a decade ago (before Airbnb existed), my husband (then boyfriend) and I rented an apartment in Rome so that we could explore the city and restaurants; but also enjoy home-cooked meals made with fresh bread, pasta, and cheese we could buy locally. After an exceptionally long, sunny walk along Via Veneto, we settled into the solarium of a restaurant nestled in the middle of the sidewalk. Everyone was ordering these large¸ thin pizzas to which they were drizzling olive oil over before taking bites. Well – when in Rome – we ordered a similar pizza and a carbonara to share. A young, very thin man sat down next to us. He was clearly on his lunch break from a corporate job nearby and never looking away from his phone during his entire meal. He ordered exactly what we did, ate all of it on his own (and in about half the time), gulped down a glass of wine and left. He was so distracting, I almost forgot to enjoy the perfectly rendered diced pork from my carbonara on my plate.