delicious UK – April 2018

the Sapporo Brewery (sapporo-bier-

garten.jp). Then there’s the local

salmon and its glistening orange

roe, served as sushi or piled onto

rice bowls. The crab is a must as

well, especially if it’s from Kani

Honke(kani-honke.jp), where

spiny specimens shuffle around in

artificial ponds before being

dispatched, then perfectly cooked.

Andtogowith?Beer,andlotsof

it–whetherit’sfreshlocallageror

somethingmorerobust,Sapporois

simply silly for suds. I’d recommend

payingavisittoMugishutei

(mugishutei.com), the oldest

specialitybeerbarinJapan,runby

a burly American named Phred.

He’llsortyououtwithsometruly

world-class(anddangerous)

imperial stouts and barley wines.

Butmyfavouriteexampleofthe

wonderful fusions found in

Hokkaido cuisine is Sapporo’s

famously rich miso ramen, topped

with slowly melting butter and

plumpsweetcorn–hardtofindin

restaurants outside Japan, but

actually surprisingly easy to

re-create at home, even if you’ve

never cooked Japanese food before.

MAKE

AHEAD

Complete the recipe

to the end of step 3

up to 48 hours

ahead. Keep the broth,

mince, garlic, spring onions

and sweetcorn in separate

airtight containers in the

fridge. Reheat the broth and

mince separately, then

complete the recipe from

step 4 to serve.

• 1.2 litres good quality
  fresh chicken stock


• 10g dried mushrooms
  (shiitake, porcini, or any
  kind will do)


• 120g brown miso (use red
  miso or barley miso if you
  can get it)


• 4 spring onions


• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra
  for frying, if needed


• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced


• 198g tin sweetcorn, drained


• 1 small red onion, roughly
  chopped


• 2 anchovy fillets in oil,
  drained
  •250gporkmince
  •1tspchilliflakes
  •½tbspwhitesesame
  seeds, toasted in a dry pan
  •¼tspblackorwhitepepper
  •¼hispicabbage(also
  called pointed or
  sweetheart cabbage), core
  removed, roughly chopped


• 150g beansprouts
  •2tsptoastedsesameoil
  •240gfreshorfrozenramen
  noodles (or dried will do)
  •60gbutter,dividedinto4

1 Combine the chicken stock

anddriedmushroomsina

panandbringtoasimmer.

Bubblegentlyfor10minutes

to rehydrate the mushrooms

andflavourthestock,then

remove with a slotted spoon,

squeezingthemoutasyou

do. Chop roughly and set

aside.Add80gofthemisoto

the pan and whisk to

dissolve, keeping the broth

at a low simmer. Meanwhile,

bring 2 litres water to the

boil in a separate saucepan.

2 Finely slice the green parts

of the spring onions and set

aside. Coarsely chop the

white parts. Put the 2 tbsp

oil in a frying pan over a

low-medium heat and add

the garlic, frying slowly until

golden and crisp (take your

time with it; don’t let the oil

get too hot or it will burn).

Remove the garlic from the

oil with a slotted spoon and

drain on kitchen paper.

3 Return the pan to a high

heat and add the sweetcorn.

Cook for 3-4 minutes until

browned, then remove with

a slotted spoon and set

aside. Add a little more oil to

the pan if needed and return

to a high heat. Add the

spring onions (white parts)

and the red onion. Fry for

4-5 minutes until starting

tocolour,thenaddthe

anchovies and mash into the

oil using a spatula. Add the

pork mince, chilli flakes,

Tim’s Sapporo-style butter corn miso ramen

SERVES 4. HANDS-ON TIME 50 MIN, SIMMERING TIME 10 MIN

sesame seeds, pepper,

remaining miso and the

mushrooms, then stir-fry for

8-10 minutes until the pork

is cooked through and

slightly browned, breaking

up any chunks of mince or

miso. Remove from the heat.

4 Blanch the cabbage and

beansprouts in the pan of

boiling water for 30-60

seconds, then remove with

a slotted spoon to a bowl and

toss with the sesame oil.

5 Cook the noodles in the

same pan of water according

to the pack instructions. Stir

the broth, then ladle into

4 warmed deep bowls. Drain

the noodles and divide among

the bowls, top with the other

ingredients and, finally, add

the butter just before serving

so it doesn’t fully melt before

it gets to the table.

PER SERVING 609kcals, 32g

fat (12.4g saturated), 17.6g

protein, 59.3g carbs (11g

sugars), 4.3g salt, 6.8g fibre

TIM’S TIPEnjoy piping hot

with a cold Sapporo beer.

For more ideas for brown

miso,seeLooseEnds→

hungry traveller.

PHOTOGRAPHS: TIM ANDERSON, ISTOCK, F

AITH MASON. FOOD STYLING: JEN

BEDLOE. STYLING: MORAG FARQUHAR