Spicy Pork Ramen Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 kg rolled pork shoulder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2 carrots peeled. One left whole, the other cut into matchsticks
• 1 onion cut in half (no need to remove the skin)
• 1 stick of celery broken in half
• 3 cloves garlic chopped in half (no need to peel)
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger roughly chopped (no need to peel)
• 2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Gochujang Paste this can be found on the speciality aisle of larger supermarkets
• 1 red chilli roughly sliced (remove the seeds if you don’t like it too hot)
• 4 large eggs
• 200 g dried ramen noodles
• 1 leek sliced
• 100 g packed baby spinach leaves
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• Small bunch spring onions scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp red chilli flakes

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 150C/300F. Place a large casserole pan on the hob, add 1 tbsp of the oil and heat until very hot. Season the pork with the salt and pepper and place in the pan with the hot oil. Seal on all sides.
• Remove the pork, turn down the heat to medium and add in add onion, the whole carrot, celery, garlic and ginger. Fry for 5 mins until the onion starts to soften, then add in the stock, mirin, soy sauce, gochujang, the red chilli and the sealed pork. Bring to the boil, then place a lid on the pan and place in the oven for 4 hours. Check two or three times during cooking, and top up with a little boiling water if needed. You’ll need at least 1 litre of liquid left by the time the pork finishes cooking.
• Take the pan out of the oven and place the pork on a chopping board. Remove and discard the layer of fat. Shred the pork using two forks.
• Place a sieve over a large bowl and strain the cooking liquid. Throw the strained vegetables away and place the liquid back in the pan with the shredded pork. Leave on a low heat to keep warm.
• Place the eggs in a small pan. Just cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Place the noodles in a pan of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, run under cold water (to stop them sticking) and put to one side.
• Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and heat. Add the leek, season with a pinch of salt and pepper then fry for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from the pan, add the spinach to the hot pan and allow to wilt for 1 minute.
• Divide the noodles between four bowls. Top with the hot broth, shredded pork, leek, spinach and carrot matchsticks. Carefully peel the two eggs and slice in half. Place 2 halves in each bowl. Garnish the soup with spring onions, then sprinkle with the white and black sesame seeds and the chilli flakes before serving.