Tim Anderson's Caesar Ramen Salad
Unconventional but delicious 'chicken' ramen Caesar salad from Tim Anderson's Ramen Forever cookbook. Can be made with both real or faux chicken.
Equipment
- Oven for baking croutons
- Bowl likewise
- small pot for cooking ramen
- Large bowl for making dressing and salad
Ingredients
For the croutons
- 4x1 cm-1/2" slices of baguette
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 clove garlic finely grated
- pinch sea salt
For Tim's version of the dressing
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 clove garlic finely grated
- 20 g-0.7 oz miso
- 10 g-0.35 Parmesan finely grated+extra for garnish
- 1/2 t katsuo dashi powder
- 1/2 t mustard English mustard preferred
- black pepper freshly ground
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 t sesame oil
- 1 T olive oil
- 100 ml-3.5 fl oz vegetable oil
For PDXolveguy's version of the dressing
- 1/4 C mayonnaise he likes Duke's, I like Amora 5 ingrédients
- 1/2 t garlic powder he likes Burlap&Barrel purple stripe
- 1 T fish sauce he likes Red Boat, I like Squid Brand
- 1 T wine vinegar I use apple cider vinegar
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T Parmesan finely grated
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
For the salad
- 2 portions ramen noodles cooked and chilled under cold water
- 1 'chicken' breast or plant-based equivalent cooked and shredded
- 1 head cos (romaine) lettuce chopped
- big pinch sesame seeds toasted
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
- handful chives thinly sliced
Instructions
To make the croutons
- Preheat your oven to 180°C-400°F.
- Mix 1 T of olive oil with 1/2 finely grated garlic in a bowl and toss in 4x1 cm-1/2" thick slices of baguette, before placing the pieces on the wire rack in the oven and baking for about 15 minutes. They should be completely dried out. Remove from the oven, leave to cool and break into small pieces.
For Tim's version of the dressing
- Whisk together the egg yolk, 1/2 a finely grated garlic clove, 20 g-0.7 oz miso, 10 g-0.35 oz finely grated Parmesan, 1/2 t of dashi powder, mustard, a grind or two of black pepper and the juice of 1/2 lemon in a large bowl.
- Combine 1/2 t of sesame oil with 1 T of olive oil and 100 ml-3.5 fl.oz. of vegetable oil in a jug and slowly drizzle the oil mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly to emulsify.
- Keep whisking and drizzling until all the oil has been incorporated and you're left with a thick, creamy dressing.
For PDXoliveguy's version of the dressing
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 c of mayonnaise, 1/2 t of garlic powder, 1 T of fish sauce, 1 T of wine vinegar and 2 T of extra virgin olive oil until well-combined. Stir in 1 T of finely grated Parmesan and a few grinds of black pepper in the end.
For the salad
- Tip your precooked noodles, precooked and shredded 'chicken' and chopped salad into the dressing and toss until evenly coated.
- Serve with the croutons, sesame seeds, extra Parmesan and thinly sliced chives.
Notes
- I'm sure you can make this with store-bought garlic croutons, I do find home-made ones always pack an extra punch however, and they tend to be a bit more interesting texturally.