Foryoueats: Tsukemen (Dipping Ramen Noodles)

Ingredients

• For the Dipping Soup Broth:
• ½ tsp ginger (grated, with juice; from a 1-inch, 2.5-cm knob)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1.8 oz shimeji mushrooms (½ package)
• 1–2 shiitake mushrooms (use more if it‘s a small piece)
• 2 green onions/scallions
• ½ lb sliced pork belly
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp doubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste) (you can use eitherthespicy or non-spicytype, or usegluten-freedoubanjiang)
• 1 tsp soy sauce (gluten-free soy sauce for GF)
• ⅓ cup mentsuyu (concentrated noodle soup base) (store bought or make my Homemade Mentsuyu)
• 1 cup water
• 1½ Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
• ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (optional; as needed to taste)
• For the Ramen Noodles:
• 2 servings fresh ramen noodles (we typically use thick noodles #18 (1.7 mm)—see the blog post; 10–12 oz, 283–340 g fresh noodles; 6.3 oz, 180 gdry ramen noodles; for gluten-free, useGF ramen noodles)
• For the Toppings (Prepare Ahead):
• 6 cooked shrimp (blanch the shrimp until cooked in 1½ cups of boiling water + 1 Tbsp sake; at room temperature or cold)
• 4 slices narutomaki (fish cakes) (at room temperature or cold)
• 2 Ramen Egg (Ajitsuke Tamago) (sliced in half lengthwise; make myRamen Eggsrecipe at least a day in advance; at room temperature or cold)
• 1 sheet nori (dried laver seaweed) (cut into quarters)
• ⅓ oz katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (2 individual packets from a pack of katsuobushi)