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Ramen Smash: Chilli Oil Ramen over Cheesy Mash

Recipe by The Cozy Bowl Kitchen

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  • Total Time40 minutes
  • Yield2 bowls 1x

Cheesy mash spread in a shallow bowl and topped with chilli oil dressed ramen noodles, a runny fried egg, crispy onions and spring onions. Soft, savoury and much better than it sounds.

Ingredients

Scale

For the firm cheesy mash

  • 700 g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into even 4 cm chunks
  • 2 tsp fine sea salt, for the cooking water
  • 70 ml whole milk, warmed
  • 40 g unsalted butter
  • 110 g mature cheddar, coarsely grated
  • 1/2 tsp English mustard
  • 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
  • Fine sea salt, to taste

For the chilli oil noodles

  • 150 g fresh ramen noodles, or 100 g dried ramen nests
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp mirin
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 to 2 tbsp crispy chilli oil
  • 1 small pinch caster sugar

To finish

  • 2 large free-range eggs
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
  • 30 g mature cheddar, extra, coarsely grated
  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp crispy fried onions
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • Extra chilli oil, to serve

Instructions

  1. Put the potato chunks in a pan, cover with cold water by 3 cm, add the salt and bring to the boil. Reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
  2. Drain thoroughly, return the potatoes to the empty hot pan and set over a low heat for 2 minutes, shaking occasionally, until steam is rising and the surfaces look floury.
  3. Take off the heat and mash immediately with a ricer or hand masher. Beat in the warmed milk and the butter until smooth, then the mustard and white pepper. Season with salt.
  4. Off the heat, stir in the 110 g cheddar in two handfuls until fully melted. The mash should be firm enough to hold a peak on a spoon. If it is loose, stir over a low heat for 2 minutes. Cover the surface with buttered paper and keep warm.
  5. Warm your serving bowls with boiling water, then tip it out.
  6. Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, chilli oil and sugar together in a large bowl.
  7. Cook the noodles in unsalted boiling water, draining 30 seconds before the packet time. Tip them straight into the sauce and toss immediately until glossy and separate. If liquid pools in the bowl, lift the noodles out and leave it behind.
  8. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the eggs for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whites are set and crisp at the edges but the yolks still wobble. Do not flip.
  9. Spread the hot mash across the base of each warmed shallow bowl in an even layer rather than a mound. Scatter over the extra cheddar so it melts.
  10. Pile the dressed noodles on top of the mash, then slide a fried egg over the noodles.
  11. Finish with a drizzle of chilli oil, the spring onions, crispy fried onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Notes

The mistake to avoid: Adding broth, or leaving the noodles wet. Any free liquid thins the mash into a cheesy puddle within a minute. Dressed noodles only, and if there is a puddle in the mixing bowl, leave it there.

Make the mash slightly firm: Hold back about 20 ml of the milk compared with standard cheesy mash. You want it to hold a peak so it stays a defined layer under the noodles.

Make ahead: The mash can be made up to 2 days ahead and reheated in a pan with a splash of warm milk. Leftover mash is ideal for this dish. Noodles and egg must be made to order.

Variations: Leave out the chilli oil and use 1 tsp toasted sesame oil plus a pinch of sugar for a mild version. Stir 1 tbsp full-fat soft cheese into the dressing for a creamy version. Ladle onion gravy over the mash instead of chilli oil. Add 2 to 3 slices of warmed cooked chicken, beef or sausage over the noodles. Use a halved soy marinated ramen egg instead of a fried one.

Equipment: A large saucepan, a colander, a potato ricer or masher, a second pan for the noodles, a frying pan and wide shallow serving bowls.

Allergen note: Always check the label of every ingredient you use, as recipes and allergen information can change. People with food allergies or intolerances must also consider cross-contamination.

Take particular care with the milk, butter and cheddar (milk), mustard (mustard), noodles (wheat, egg), soy sauce (soya, wheat), oyster sauce (molluscs, wheat), chilli oil (sesame, soya, sometimes peanuts), the eggs, sesame seeds (sesame) and crispy fried onions (often wheat flour). Allergen information must be confirmed by The Cozy Bowl before it is relied upon.

This is a home recipe inspired by a dish or flavour available at The Cozy Bowl. It is not the restaurant’s exact commercial recipe.

Find it online: https://thecozybowl.co.uk/ramen-smash-cheesy-mash-noodles/