By Henry Gould – Jan 8th, 2019

Warning to all food purists and authenticity snobs: this recipe is likely to cause immense grief and frustration! It’s not quite traditional soba, not really miso soup, and definitely not what might charitably be called “ramen”.

But is it delicious, inexpensive to prepare, and incredibly healthy??? Yes. Yes it is.

Although this preparation takes hints and cues from all of the above dishes (miso soup, ramen, soba) it’s more of a mashup of all 3, using chicken drumsticks as the basis for the protein and soup component. Basically you are roasting chicken drumsticks in the oven, taking the meat off the bones, then boiling the bones with vegetables and flavorings, and finally putting it all back together. It does require a bit of time, so probably better to make the day ahead, store the meat and broth separately, then reheat the next day.

In terms of additions and toppings, those are entirely up to you. I’ve given a big list of ideas, but use your imagination. Perhaps there’s a favorite item you like adding to your ramen? Put it in! Don’t like onions? Take them out!

Recipes like this are a great vehicle for anything you have leftover in the fridge, so long as the core of the recipe is in tact. As well, most of the speciality ingredients like miso, soy sauce and fish sauce can be purchased once and used for months.

Enjoy!

---

Chicken “Miso Soup” w/ Gluten-Free Soba Noodles

• Chicken Drumsticks (ideally a large family pack)
• Soba Noodles (look for 100% buckwheat, which are gluten-free)
• 1 Onion, peeled and cut in half
• 5 Garlic cloves
• 1 large piece of ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• 1 Jalapeno, cut in length
• 1 Celery stick, chopped roughly
• Soy Sauce
• Thai Fish Sauce
• Miso Paste
• Toppings (optional)
  • Blanched spinach
  • Chopped green onions
  • Soft boiled egg
  • Mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, oyster, button)
  • Seaweed
  • Kimchi
  • Bamboo shoots
  • Chili oil
  • Lemon wedges

Heat your oven to 425F. Get a roasting pan or frying pan that can go in the oven, rub some oil on it, then put in all your chicken drumsticks. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Throw in the oven for 30 minutes, then check. The drumsticks should be getting nice and crispy and brown. If not, cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove the drumsticks from the pan and allow to cool. Pour a little water in the pan used to roast the drumsticks, and scrape all the brown “fond” off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Then pour this liquid into a large pot that will be used to simmer the broth.

After the drumsticks have cooled, pull all the meat off the bones and set aside. Throw all the bones into your pot for the broth.

To the pot, add the white onion, celery, jalapeno, ginger,garlic cloves, a little fish sauce and a little soy sauce. Fill to the top with cold water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat all the way and simmer for 1-2 hours, depending how much time you have.

Strain the broth and put back into the pot and bring to a boil. Get all your toppings ready along with your bowls to serve in. Once the broth is boiling, add your mushrooms if you’re using them (raw mushrooms can be toxic) and cook for a few minutes. Add a spoon of miso paste and break it up in the liquid with a spoon. Have a taste, and adjust the seasoning with more miso, soy, fish sauce, salt, pepper, as per your taste.

To the boiling broth, add 100g of soba noodles per person, and boil as per package instructions. They usually cook quick, and will keep cooking in the bowl, so cook less than you think.

Divide the noodles into each bowl, garnish with your toppings of choice, along with the shredded chicken meat and as much of the broth as you like.