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–+ servings

Taiwan Mazesoba (Nagoya's Spicy Brothless Ramen)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients 
 

Pork mince

  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • ½ tbsp garlic paste
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 red chili pepper deseeded
  • 150 g ground pork
  • 50 ml dashi stock or water
  • 1 ½ tbsp sake
  • ½ tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp chili bean sauce (toban djan)
  • ¼ tsp Japanese sansho pepper optional

Tare & Noodles

Toppings

Instructions 

  • Heat a frying pan on low and add 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 red chili pepper, 1 tsp ginger paste and ½ tbsp garlic paste. Mix together and heat until fragrant.
    chili, garlic and ginger in a frying pan
  • Turn up the heat to medium and add 150 g ground pork. Mix and fry until cooked through.
    ground pork in a frying pan
  • Add 50 ml dashi stock (or water), 1 ½ tbsp sake, ½ tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 pinch ground black pepper, 1 tsp chili bean sauce (toban djan) and ¼ tsp Japanese sansho pepper, mix until evenly distributed.
    seasoned ground pork with condiments
  • Simmer on medium for 5 minutes or until liquid is mostly evaporated but still glossy (not completely dry). Once cooked, turn off the heat and leave it on the stove to keep it warm.
    Taiwan mazesoba seasoned pork in frying pan
  • Boil 2 portions thick ramen noodles according to the instructions on the packaging. While they're cooking, add ½ tsp soy sauce, ½ tsp Chinese chicken stock powder, and 1 tsp sesame oil into each serving bowl and mix.
    Simple tare of dashi, soy sauce and chicken stock in a black ramen bowl for Taiwan mazesoba
  • Once the ramen noodles are cooked, drain the water and distribute in each bowl. Mix thoroughly until evenly coated in the tare.
    Thick ramen noodles mixed with Taiwan mazesoba tare
  • Place the seasoned pork mince in the middle and arrange the other topping around the outer edge. Top with a raw egg yolk. 
    Taiwan Mazesoba served in a black ramen bowl
  • Mix well before eating and enjoy!
    Mixing and lifting Taiwan mazesoba with wooden chopsticks

Notes

Mix harder than feels natural: Plunge in and toss from the bottom up until pork, tare, aromatics, and yolk tangle into a single glossy mass. Under-mixing leaves the tare puddled at the bottom and bare noodles on top. This is the bowl's #1 failure.
Use a pasteurized egg yolk for the raw topping: Davidson's Safest Choice in the US, Lion-mark in the UK. If neither is available, a 63°C (145°F) onsen-style soft yolk keeps the same runny binding.
Start the bouillon powder light and taste: Brands vary wildly in concentration, and all the salt for the bowl lives in this tare. Begin under what you think you need, taste a drop, then nudge up. No broth here to dilute an over-salted tare.
Drain well, but do not wring them bone-dry: A faint film of moisture helps the noodles take the tare. A puddle thins it. Shake the strainer a few times until nothing drips, then straight into the hot bowl.