Weeknight Ramen

Mince the garlic and fresh ginger. Reserve a teaspoon or so of garlic for the breadcrumbs. Chop the dried mushrooms up a little bit.

Heat the sesame oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add the garlic and fresh ginger; and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms, the stock, and the water and bring to a simmer. Gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Add soy sauce.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower eggs into water one at a time. Cook for 6½ minutes, adjusting heat to maintain a gentle boil the whole time. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and chill until just slightly warm, about 2 minutes.

Gently crack eggs all over and peel, starting from the wider end, which contains the air pocket. Set aside for serving.

Grate the carrot on a box grater and set aside for serving.

Chop the cilantro and set aside for serving.

Mince or slice pickled ginger, if using.

Use a large sauté pan and melt the butter. Add the reserved garlic and sauté for 1 minute until it’s fragrant. Add the panko and stir often, for about 3 minutes until it’s well flavored and golden brown. Turn off the heat and continue to stir occasionally as it cools so the bottom doesn’t burn.

After the broth has simmered for 10 minutes, add the noodles to the pot. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until the noodles have softened.

Wash and shake dry the kale, some clinging water is ok. Stack and roll up the leaves and very finely chiffonade through the leaves and center stems (if your bunch of kale is quite large, just shred up about 2 cups of kale and reserve the rest for the gratin side salad from this week’s meal plan or another use).

When the noodles are tender, stir in the kale.

Serve in large bowls, ladle in broth and noodles. Top each bowl with grated carrots, pickled ginger, and a mound of garlicky bread crumbs. Slice eggs in half and float them on top. Drizzle on sriracha to taste.