Mazemen with the ramen kit, brothless noodles to mix
No broth in the bowl: the concentrate becomes the dressing and the noodles are mixed while hot with the toppings.
Mazemen is ramen without broth: maze means to mix. It is said to have been born in Tokyo in the 1950s, almost at the same time, in two places in the Tama area, Chinchintei in Musashino and Sankō in Kunitachi, under the name aburasoba, «oil noodles». No broth: just a sauce based on sesame oil and soy sauce, and vinegar and chilli oil on the table.
There's no precise definition: in Japan they call it aburasoba, mazesoba, mazemen. Since 2007 brothless noodles have become a trend, and in Nagoya the «Taiwanese» version was born, with spicy minced meat, a raw yolk and a spoonful of rice at the end, to pick up the leftover dressing.
With the kit you do it like this: the concentrated broth becomes the dressing, in a smaller amount, because here it all stays on the noodles. There's only one rule: mix straight away, while the noodles are hot.
No broth in the bowl: the concentrate becomes the dressing and the noodles are mixed while hot with the toppings.
- Active time
- 10 minutes
- Hands-off time
- As long as the water takes to boil
- Makes
- 1 person
You'll need
- A pot
- A sieve
- A wide bowl
- Chopping board and knife
- Kitchen scales, if you have them
Ingredients
- 1 Noodz ramen kit
- 1 spring onion, green part only
- 1 sheet of nori seaweed
- Menma, if you have some
- 1 very fresh egg yolk, if you like
- 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
- Shichimi Togarashi
- Chilli oil, if you have some, instead of the sesame oil and Shichimi
The kit you use
Method
- The bowl
- Massage the broth sachet to mix it back together and squeeze half of it into the bowl: about 20 g with Shoyusen, 16 g with Tori Chintan.
- Slice the spring onion into rings and cut the nori into thin strips: mixed with the noodles, it gives the dressing depth.
- The noodles
- Cook the noodles for 5 minutes in boiling unsalted water. Separate them only towards the end of cooking.
- Before draining them, set aside 2 tablespoons of the cooking water.
- Drain them well, put them straight into the bowl with the cooking water and mix vigorously, until the dressing coats them all.
- Taste: if you want more flavour, add a little of the remaining broth, a bit at a time.
- At the table
- On top put the spring onion, the nori, the menma and, if you like, the yolk in the middle.
- Dress with a drizzle of vinegar, the toasted sesame oil and a sprinkle of Shichimi Togarashi. If you have chilli oil, use a few drops of that instead of the sesame oil and Shichimi.
- Mix everything well, yolk included: it breaks and coats the noodles. Then eat straight away.
Tips
- Toasted sesame oil is dark with an intense aroma: you'll find it in Asian food shops and sometimes in the world-food aisle of the supermarket. The light, untoasted kind is easy to find in supermarkets and is more delicate.
- The broth left in the sachet, with about 150 ml of boiling water, makes a cup of broth to drink alongside.
- With Shoyusen, leave out the yolk and the dish stays vegan.
- The yolk is eaten raw: use very fresh eggs.
