Class Breakdown
Everything you can expect during a Baba Ramen Cooking Class
Get Together
Meeting point is at Taiko Bridge, Meguro, a lovely area next to the Meguro River where I will meet you and the rest of the group for that day and take you back to the restaurant.
Class Introduction
This will be the introductory part of going through a brief synopsis of the history of ramen, going over the basics and breaking down what is actually in a bowl of ramen. Thereafter, I will cover what we will be cooking over the next 3 hours!
Broth - 1st stage
Always pre-treat your bones, for your broths! The beginning of the class, we begin with breaking the pork bones in half with a hammer and going over the importance of cleaning all the bones.
After taking the konbu out of the pots, we add the bones accordingly between the clear and white soup and designate a student to each.
Ramen Noodles - 1st stage
Here we mix the various things needed in ramen noodles and I go over where they are from, importance of having such ingredients and possible alternatives for when you make it at home.
We then leave the prepared dough to sit for 30 minutes.
Chashu
Here we roll the pork belly so it has a cylindrical shape and talk about how restaurants make their chashu, in comparison to what we are doing within in our time constraints.
We all prepare, as a group, everything needed for the tare (sauce) that we would be cooking the pork belly within.
Ramen noodles - 2nd stage
Stage 2 of ramen noodle making!
Here we run the noodle dough through the noodle machine to ensure an evenly hydrated dough and then, thin it down to size based on the individual's preference. Thereafter we cut them to size and store them, ready for the final plating.
Gyoza Dumplings
Whilst some of the group are on the noodle making station, the rest of the group are preparing the various ingredients needed for gyoza and then wrapping the little dumplings individually.
Topping time
Towards the last 30 minutes of the class, we get the various toppings ready.
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Chashu is being cut to size and blow torched
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Ajitamago (ramen egg) is being made and branded with the logo
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Getting the vegetable toppings ready
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Weighing of everyone's noodle portions ready for the final stage (between 120 - 140grams)
Plating stage
Final stage of cooking!
Here, myself and 2 others from the group will be serving the broth and noodles for everyone else. We ask each person their preference of whether they like it soft or hard noodles depending on whether they have thick or thin noodles and I change the timings accordingly.
Whilst the noodles are underway, another student will prepare the broths and after a minute, we add the noodles to each bowl.
Final plating
Upon getting their own individual bowls of ramen, the final stage!
Everyone adds the various toppings that we made throughout the course. The very final layer being the aroma oil with 15mls of chicken fat alongside the option of Rayu (chili oil) or Mayu (black garlic oil).
Eating time!
After 3 hours of hard work and working as a team (like real ramen restaurant!) we all get to sit down and enjoy our own individual bowls of ramen.
Sometimes with a cheeky beer or sake!
Takeaway
There's always the option of making double portions so you have enough of each ingredient to be bale to go home and make another whole bowl of ramen - most likliood another day!