Alkaline noodles
400g Flour
200ml Water
12 g Baked Soda*
- Dissolve the Baked soda in half the water (warm) then add the other half (cold).
- Add the flour and knead for 5 minutes, it’s tough work rather like kneading a brick.
- Wrap in cling-film, leave for 20 minutes at room temp.
- Knead for another 5 minutes, it’s a little less brick like but still damn hard work.
- Re-wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Cut into 5 portions and run through a pasta machine getting it down to the 2nd thinnest setting.
- Either slice by hand or run through the fine cutter.
Cook for 2–3 minutes in plenty of salted water and give a quick rinse in cold water once cooked.
*Cook baking soda in a 120ºC oven for an hour.
Pork Cheek
Pork Cheek
Ginger
Garlic
Chilli flakes
Katsuobushi
Oyster sauce
Cider vinegar
Soy sauce
Water
Tamarind
Rice wine
Fennel
Red onion
Celery
Apple
Parsley
Star anise
Bay
- Heat a heavy based oven proof dish over a medium high heat, brown the cheek all over.
- Add the vegetables, large dice, and all the liquids & spices, add enough water to almost cover everything. Place on a lid and braise for 2.5 hours at 130ºC.
- Cool, remove meat and refrigerate in a tight fitting container with some of the cooking liquid.
- Strain the remaining cooking liquid and refrigerate, when cooled the fat will solidify on the top, use this to crisp up the sliced pork cheek.
Dashi
- Put 3 Litres of water in a pot, add 4-5 six inch pieces of kombu to the pot, bring to the boil cover and turn off the heat, leave it for an hour.
- Add a packet of dried shiitake mushrooms, simmer for 30 minutes.
- Scoop off the mushrooms and put in a container, cover with soy sauce, cool and place in the fridge (soy pickled shiitake).
- Add a good portion of katsuobushi, about 1 cup heaped, simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Strain, cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
Soup base
Add a 50/50 mix of Dashi and pork cheek cooking liquid to a pot and bring to a simmer, adjust seasoning with vinegar, chilli flakes and salt.
13 minute egg
- Bring a pot of water to 75°C, using a large volume of water will make maintaining a constant temperature easier.
- Place eggs into the water and cook for 13 minutes, don’t use eggs straight from the fridge. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath to cool.
- Reheat the eggs at 60°C for 10 minutes (run under the hot tap), or store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Crack around the fat end of the egg, remove the shell and pour the egg out.
Build the bowl
Add the cooked noodles to the bowl and lay on slices of the pork cheek, either sliced thinly cold or sliced thicker and grill to give it a nice caramelised side and warm through, pickled vegetables (ginger, daikon), soy pickled shiitake, chilli flakes or fresh slices, scallions, nori sheets and 13 minute eggs, up to you really. Gently pour over the soup base.
