Culinary Travel: Nagasaki Champon Noodle Soup Recipe

Nagasaki Prefecture is famous for its Champon noodle dish. Champon is typically made by frying pork, seafood and vegetables with lard; a soup made with chicken and pig bones is added. Ramen noodles made especially for champon are added and then boiled. Unlike other ramen dishes, only one pan is needed as the noodles are boiled in the soup. However, in Hirado there are many different types of Champon such as those with stock made from flying fish or with regional ingredients as special toppings. There is even a Dutch Champon, prepared with cheese, milk, butter and potatoes, a special Hirado Champon variety celebrating the historic relations with the Netherlands. Depending on the season and the situation, the ingredients differ. Hence the taste and style may depend on the location and time of year. 

Ingredients
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 ounces thinly sliced cooked pork, cut into bite-size pieces
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
4 ounces squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
4 ounces scallops, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
4 ounces small shrimp, peeled
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into 2 inch long pieces
½ onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
4 ounces cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces
½ cup sake
2 quarts ramen soup base, hot
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 cups milk
4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced on an angle into 1-inch pieces
4 packages fresh-frozen ramen noodles 
1 tablespoon ground sesame

To Prepare The Champon Soup
Heat the sesame oil in a saucepan over high heat.
Add the pork and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
Add the squid, scallops, and shrimp, and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds more.
Add the carrot and onion, and cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the shiitake mushrooms and napa cabbage, cooking and stirring for 1 minute.
Add the sake and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the ramen soup, salt, soy sauce, and mirin. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add the milk and spring onions. Cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat.

To Prepare The Ramen
Fill a large stockpot with water and place over high heat. Ready 4 large bowls on a work surface.

When the water boils, add the noodles. Stir the noodles for about 10 seconds, so they separate and cook evenly.

Cook for about 2 minutes, until the noodles are cooked through.
Drain the noodles into a colander and divide them among the 4 bowls.
Pour a quarter of the Champon soup into each bowl, over the ramen.
Make sure the pork, seafood, and vegetables are divided evenly.
Garnish with ground sesame and serve piping hot.

Serves 4 

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