Strawberry Yuzu Ramen
The concept of dessert ramen exists in Japan and causes a particular kind of discomfort in people who have strong feelings about what ramen is supposed to be, which is a good sign that you should try it. Japanese cuisine has a long tradition of cold noodle dishes, and the leap from savory cold noodles to sweet cold noodles is shorter than it looks from the outside. Yuzu is the citrus that makes this possible. It has a tartness that isn't quite lemon and isn't quite grapefruit and isn't quite lime but has the best qualities of all three, and when it meets fresh strawberries in a chilled, lightly sweetened soup, the result tastes like something someone invented specifically for a warm evening when you don't know what you want but you want it cold. This is that thing.
Yuzu stings the lip—strawberries bleed into silk—no fire, just cold sweet
Let Me Tell You...
Japan does cold noodle dishes with the same precision it applies to everything else.
Hiyashi chuka is a summer staple, cold ramen with sesame dressing and a rainbow of toppings, and it is taken seriously as a seasonal dish and not as a novelty, which is a useful frame for approaching the strawberry yuzu version.
This is not a joke.
It is cold, it is sweet, it is precisely constructed, and it is worth eating in a garden on a Sunday afternoon with someone who will not ask too many questions about why there are ramen noodles in their dessert.
They'll finish softening in the cold soup and you want them to have some resistance left.
Yuzu juice is the structural element here, the thing that keeps the dish from being just strawberries and noodles.
It cuts the sweetness and creates a tartness that makes every bite reset your palate slightly, which is exactly what you need in a dessert that you're going to be eating for ten or fifteen minutes.
Fresh yuzu is nearly impossible to find outside of Japan, but bottled yuzu juice from a Japanese grocery store is excellent and works perfectly in this context.
It should taste slightly too sweet and too tart at room temperature.
Cold mutes both and brings them into balance.
The noodles need to be rinsed under very cold water after cooking and then kept cold until serving, which is easy and also correct because warm noodles in cold soup create a lukewarm situation that serves nobody.
If you're making this ahead, keep the noodles and the soup in separate containers in the refrigerator and combine at the last minute.
The soup doesn't get absorbed by the noodles this way, and the texture stays clean.
Eating a bowl of this in July is a specific experience.
It is cool and sweet and slightly tangy and the noodles slide around in a way that is completely different from a hot broth bowl, and by the time the bowl is empty you're not sure if you had dinner or dessert but you're glad you had it.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (plus extra for topping)
- 3 tablespoons yuzu juice (bottled)
- 3 tablespoons honey or to taste
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon yuzu juice (for cream)
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil (for tossing noodles)
Preparation
- Make the strawberry-yuzu soup: Combine hulled strawberries, 3 tablespoons yuzu juice, honey, cold water, and salt in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness. Strain through a fine mesh sieve for a silkier texture, or leave unstrained for a more textured soup. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook ramen noodles for 2 minutes (slightly undercooked). Drain and immediately rinse under very cold running water until completely chilled. Toss with 1 teaspoon neutral oil to prevent sticking. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Make yuzu cream: Combine heavy cream, 1 tablespoon yuzu juice, and powdered sugar in a bowl. Whisk until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- To assemble: Divide cold noodles between chilled serving bowls. Pour chilled strawberry-yuzu soup over and around the noodles.
- Add a spoonful of yuzu cream to each bowl. Top with halved fresh strawberries and any optional toppings. Serve immediately.