[Family Time] Homemade Chicken Chashu and Menma Ramen Party: Recipe Included

[Rapa]

The heated battle for Japanese men to stake their lives on
conquering "Ramen"

That is[Rapa].

*

My husband's birthday is approaching.

What my husband loves is "ramen."

Because of the current situation,
we haven't eaten out in the last few months.

But my husband loves "ramen."

(Ramen, huh...)

When the long spring break started,
I tried to enrich our family time
by holding various parties at home.

However, things have been a bit stagnant lately.

(I want to have a fun festival for the first time in a while...)

Ramen + Festival = [Rapa]

Yes. This is
the secret story behind the birth of [Rapa] that appeared at the beginning.

(Sorry for starting off like that)

Alright! Let's have a ramen party at home.

We've been living under self-restraint for so long.

Since we don't want to risk anything by going out unnecessarily,
our family has basically been staying home.

We only go out for things like grocery shopping.

With the rain continuing, we can't even go to the park.

We can't go anywhere even during the holidays.

That's just suffocating.

During spring break, didn't we work so hard to
"make our family time more fulfilling"?

We held various home events that we called "parties."

[Reference Examples]

9 Lazy Meals That Got Us Through a Long Spring Break

Recommendations for a Bread Festival: Discovering Fun Home Dining. It was more popular than hand-rolled sushi.

Recommendations for a Sushi Party at Home. Don't underestimate it, though.

[Family Time] We've gotten better at enjoying ourselves than before. This time, it's a takoyaki party.

And yet.

Lately, I haven't even been doing that, just living a monotonous daily life.

Is it okay to just go on like this?

No, there's no way it is.

I decided to turn over a new leaf and thought,
"I'm going to put everything into this party!"

And so, my wife spent the day before preparing.

Finally, the time has come.

Announcement of our home ramen party

It's finally happening.

Menu for the 1st Ramen Party

・Boiled noodles
・Ramen soup (using the leftover broth from the chicken chashu)
・Homemade chicken chashu
・Boiled egg
・Homemade menma
・Bean sprout shio-koji namul
・Grilled vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, green beans)
・Corn
・Wakame seaweed
・Nori (sheet nori, shredded nori)

Add the noodles, pour in the soup, and customize with your favorite toppings.

This was more fun than I expected.

Made by me

Made by my husband

Made by my daughter (just seaweed and corn)

Just placing them on top.

And yet

Why is this so fun?
So exciting.

The energy of the whole family is definitely going up.

(Ah, it's fun)

It was a feeling I hadn't had in a while.

[Family Time] that I had almost forgotten recently

I had forgotten.

Home was a fun place after all.

With a little creativity,
time at home can be many times more enjoyable than usual.

Homemade Chicken Chashu Recipe

[Ingredients]
2 chicken thighs
2 tsp salted malted rice (shio koji)
Sesame oil as needed

1 slice of ginger
100ml cooking sake
100ml soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey

1. Make cuts in the thick parts of the chicken thighs to even out the thickness. Spread the salted malted rice on the inner side, roll them up, and tie with kitchen twine. (Do this the day before)

2. Add sesame oil to a frying pan and sear the meat until browned.

3. Wipe away any excess oil, add the other ingredients, and turn on the heat.
Once it boils, cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Flip and simmer for another 10 minutes.

4. Let it soak until it cools to room temperature.

When slicing, wait until it has cooled so the juices don't run out.
Letting it sit for a while allows the flavors to soak in better.

(Side note)
Added some medicinal herbs again this time.
Adding jujubes, daylily buds, and star anise made it look like a Super Saiyan.

It was so powerful that I couldn't sleep at night.

[Medicinal Herb Braised Pork Belly] You might become a Super Saiyan too

Homemade Menma Recipe

[Ingredients]
150g boiled bamboo shoots
1 tbsp sesame oil

200ml water
About 2 tsp onion koji (as a substitute for soup stock)
1 tbsp sake
2 tsp soy sauce

2 teaspoons mirin

1. Cut the bamboo shoots into bite-sized pieces and sauté in sesame oil.

2. Once coated in oil, add the soup ingredients and simmer over medium heat.

3. When the liquid has evaporated, drizzle with mirin and a little sesame oil, then cook until dry.

All done.

Overall Review

Everything except the noodles can be managed with homemade versions.

And it's easier than you'd think.

Yet, it's fun.

It ended with great success and was a hit with the family.

My husband said,
"Let's do Ramen Party for every birthday!"

It seems he really liked it.

A fulfilling family time spent at home.

Now, you who are reading this.

Let's have a Ramen Party!

Somen Party

Onigiri Party

Anything is fine.

Just start something.

If you have done something like a "Raha-style party,"
please let me know!

#RahaChallenge

lol

Kireido

If you are new here, click here ↓
[Self-Introduction] Nice to meet you, I am Kireido.

What I am aiming for ↓
[Food Doctor] I am starting to see what I want to do little by little