Lemongrass Chicken

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/lemongrass-chicken-october-2007


Chef Way Eric and Sophie Banh marinate the chicken in a mixture of curry and fish sauce for up to 2 hours before stir-frying.
Easy Way A five-minute marinade allows the curry flavor to develop quickly.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 fresh lemongrass stalks, tender inner white bulbs only, minced
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3 serrano chiles, seeded and minced
5 cilantro sprigs
Steamed rice, for serving

Directions
In a bowl, combine the fish sauce, garlic, curry powder, salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar. Add the chicken to coat.
In a small skillet, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of the water and cook over high heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring until a deep amber caramel forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Transfer to a very small heatproof bowl.
Heat a wok over high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the lemon­grass, shallot and chiles and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and caramel and stir-fry over moderate heat until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and top with the cilantro. Serve with rice.

Ramen

http://www.japanesecooking101.com/ramen-recipe/

3-4 servings

Ingredients

Salted pork
1 lb pork
1 tsp salt
Soup
6 cups water (1.5L)
50g ginger root
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onions
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sake
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
Noodles
9 oz fresh angel hair pasta (225g)
8 cups water (2L)
2 Tbsp baking soda
Topping
boiled egg halves
bean sprouts, blanched briefly
green onions, cut finely
Instructions

Rub salt on pork and let it sit overnight in the fridge.
In a pot, put water, ginger root, garlic green onions and salted pork, and boil at high heat. Skim fat and other floating scums. Then cover, reduce to low heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Let the broth and pork cool completely in pot. Strain and save pork. Slice pork and set aside for a topping.
Prepare the rest of the toppings now as well (boiled eggs, blanched bean sprouts, cut green onions), before making the soup and noodles. Once the noodles are cooked, you will need to add the soup and toppings right away or the noodles will get soft, so you won't have time to prepare the toppings at the end.
Boil the broth and add soy sauce, sake, salt and sesame oil. Let it simmer at very low heat until noodles are ready.
In boiling water in a pot, add baking soda (be careful, it may boil over), then add the fresh angel hair pasta. Cook the pasta for 30 seconds, and strain. Immediately divide noodles into bowls and add soup onto noodles. Top with boiled eggs, bean sprouts, green onions and sliced pork.

Notes:

Center cut pork loin roast worked perfectly.  

For dry pasta, let pasta cook for 4 minutes before adding baking soda.  Add 2 minutes to suggested cooking time.