- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a pot.
- Add dry noodles into the pot, breaking up as soften.
- Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat. Add 2 Tablespoons of ramen soup base, stir it well.
- Transfer into the serving bowl. Add garnishes as desired.
Soft or hard texture? Hiyashi Chuka Cold Ramen
Not mushy versus fried, but rather the firmness of the cooked noodle, is the topic here. To ensure that the noodles cook evenly, bring your pot to a rolling boil and stir occasionally. For proper cooking, the intention is to maintain a rolling boil in the pot.
Cook to the 2:00 minute mark for a firm noodle. If you prefer a particular level of noodle firmness, this might be the best option. If you cook the noodles for just 30 seconds longer (2:30–3 minutes), the noodles will be softer. Hard noodles that have been dried and fried have only one texture: mush. They frequently absorb too much water because they are not made with high-quality ingredients.
We have to boil the noodles a little bit harder for hot soup noodles because they are cooked while being topped with and served in hot soup. You must wash and chill the noodles in cold water if you’re making cold dishes like Tsukemen or Hiyashi Chuka cold ramen. In order to make these noodles softer, you must cook them for a longer period of time.
When we take noodles out of the pot, we should strain as much cooking water off noodles as possible because cooking water remaining on noodles dilutes your soup. Using a strainer, shake the water off the noodles by tossing and catching gently to shake off the water.
Typically, hot ramen broth and your preferred toppings are added to the bowl before the noodles. This is how eating ramen normally would be at home!
Did you order noodles from our website?
We have done extensive food safety testing. Our noodles eventually start to ferment if left out of the refrigerator, much like bread dough. They are not food unsafe, but the texture is compromised. When the bag starts to puff and the noodles become difficult to separate, we know this process has started. If a puffy bag comes with the product you order, we will happily replace it. (We will replace any product that doesn’t meet your standards. The noodles should be put in the refrigerator or freezer as soon as you receive them if the bag is not puffing and you received the package within four days of shipment.
We have to boil the noodles a little bit harder for hot soup noodles because they are cooked while being topped with and served in hot soup. You must cook these kinds of noodles for a longer period of time to make them softer if you’re making a cold dish or tsukemen that must be washed and chilled in cold water. If you cook and serve noodles for maze-soba, a type of ramen dish that combines small amounts of soup or sauce with noodles, they will have a poor texture and slimy starch on them. Noodles should be cooked, then the starch should be removed. You can serve the noodles unheated for cold dishes, but you must reheat them for warm dishes. Thus, when calculating cooking time for a warm maze-soba dish, remember to reheat the noodles.
To prevent the noodles from solidifying, we should first add some to the boiling water and stir them quickly with chopsticks. Noodle strands have a tendency to stick together if we simply put them in and do nothing, making it difficult to distribute heat evenly throughout the noodles. Reduce the heat slightly after the boiling resumes because, if we maintain the state of rolling boiling, the noodles will continue to hit each other and develop rough surfaces.
Additionally, since the pH level of cooking water affects the quality of boiled noodles, we should check it. When boiling noodles at various pH levels, we previously conducted tests to compare how much of the cooked noodles melt into the cooking water. Let’s look at this chart here. The right-hand figure displays the pH of the cooking water and the percentage of noodles that have been melted in the water. We discovered that neutral pH 7 causes a lot of noodles to melt, whereas light alkaline pH 9 to 10 causes less loss of noodles during boiling Additionally, we discovered that the kansui used in ramen noodles, which slightly alkalizes cooking water, prevents noodles from dissolving into the liquid. But as we cook more ramen over time, the pH level of the cooking water rises or becomes more alkaline, and we lose more noodles that have melted into the cooking water. Therefore, in order to maintain effective noodle cooking, we must occasionally replace the cooking water with clean water.
Okay. We now understand that for effective and efficient noodle cooking, the water should be soft and slightly alkaline. But how do we actually prepare noodles? I explain in the following how to prepare noodles. Some of you may think this is common sense, but trust me when I say it I’ve encountered a lot of people who don’t know how to properly cook noodles, including some professional chefs.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that we never add water to the cooking water mid-cooking in order to follow good cooking practices. When we add water, the cooking water level drops so low that the noodles do not properly cook. I understand that you might want to add water to the cooking water to maintain or improve its quality (as it becomes cloudier with more kansui from cooked noodles over time), but kindly refrain from doing so.
FAQ
Do you need to boil fresh ramen noodles?
Our noodles are raw and fresh, so you must cook them before you eat them by boiling them in water. The starch used to coat them will muddy your broth if you add them directly, and you won’t get properly cooked noodles unless your broth is rapidly boiling.
How long do you boil fresh ramen?
For proper cooking, the intention is to maintain a rolling boil in the pot. Cook to the 2:00 minute mark for a firm noodle. If you prefer a particular level of noodle firmness, this might be the best option. If you cook the noodles for just 30 seconds longer (2:30–3 minutes), the noodles will be softer.
Should you rinse fresh ramen noodles?
The noodles should be cooked, then drained and rinsed under a stream of cool water to stop the cooking process. The greasy boiling water should be discarded. To make your soup broth, bring fresh, clean water to a boil. Then, add the noodles and packet seasoning back in. If you want, top with additional ingredients.
Should I cook ramen in broth or water?
Noodles: Just prior to serving, the ramen noodles should be cooked in boiling water. Noodles that have been boiled in the broth risk becoming gummy. Alternately, prepare the noodles in separate batches with just water, drain, and then add to the individual bowls of broth.
