Birria Ramen
- Preparation
- 20 min
- Cooking
- 4 h
- Yield
- 4 servings
Imagine a world where yakuza mingle with Mexican cartels, where geisha dance to narcocorrido and samurai wear sombreros. We’re making birria ramen, want a bite? Ramen is often viewed by North Americans as poor man’s food. But the real deal is far from the dried-up square bunch of wheat noodles with packets of flavor powder we find in most supermarkets. Speaking of poor man’s food, the Spanish word birria is used to describe things without value or quality. It seems the conquistadores’ dislike for goat meat, and the native's amazing slow cooking techniques may be responsible for our newfound obsession with birria ramen. Although Simon’s birria ramen is not made with goat, it’s yet another evolution of what was once a poor man’s dish.
Ingredients
Preparation
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the dried ancho chiles to the water. Boil until anchos are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the boiled ancho chiles to a blender or food processor with ⅓ cup boiling water and blend into a smooth paste. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan over high heat, sauté beef and lamb cubes in vegetable oil with Roasted Honey rub until browned. Reduce to low heat and add 8 ½ cups of water, the beef broth concentrate, thyme, oregano, chipotle in adobo sauce, cilantro and the ancho chile paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 4 hours. Add bones for a more flavorful broth.
- Remove meat from the broth and shred. Set aside.
- Pass the broth through a sieve to remove any chunks.
- Cook ramen noodles for 2 minutes in boiling water.
- Serve noodles with 1 or 2 cups broth and garnish with shredded meat, chopped green onions, and cilantro.