Easy Creamy Pork Katsu Ramen for a weeknight dinner with an Asian inspired twist. Ready in 3o minutes, this dish is creamy, rich and super comforting. Crispy pork katsu served overtop a coconut and tomato broth, with hints of fresh garlic, ginger and chili. 

This is the quick and easy homemade version of restaurant ramen. With a twist of a coconut and tomato based broth to give it a nice creamy richness that soaks up nicely with the noodles and the pork. It’s intended to be simple, easy with a few ingredients that can pack a lot of flavour and yield something comforting and delicious. 

I could go for ramen at any time- it’s such a comforting lunch option that fills you up a little more than soup and can double as a great inexpensive dinner option. I love all the garlic and ginger that cooks into the broth that somehow always has you feeling refreshed and  better once you’ve slurped it all up. You hear that soup is soul food- well I don’t know about that but what I do know is that anytime I’m feeling meh, or blah or a little under the weather and pregnant of course a good base or broth always does it for me. I feel re-charged and back to normal. 

GETTING STARTED

We’re starting with the broth of course. Getting all our ingredients into our Dutch oven or a large soup pot. A good ramen always, always has a good broth. Usually it’s because restaurants make their stock from scratch using the carcasses, bones and extra parts from the meats they use in the restaurant and slow cook it all for hours. Well we don’t have that so we have to improvise and cheat-ish to get us from 8 hours to 30 minutes of flavour. Lots of garlic, fresh ginger and a chili paste will help boost extra flavours and we get a richness from our full fat coconut milk and the tomato paste. 

PORK KATSU

Katsu ramen is quite popular, they add that extra crispy crunchiness to finish off each bite which makes it super fun and gives it a golden colour instead of a more traditional poached pale piece of meat you often see in ramen. Since pork is more traditional with ramen we went with a pork katsu but chicken is s good option as well if you’re not a fan of pork. Of course pork is more affordable but people often hesitate because they associate pork chops as being bland and chewy and hard to eat. Well that’s why Pork katsu has revolutionized the way people feel about plain old pork chops.  The chops are pounded down so that they get tenderized and coated like fried chicken and fried until crispy and golden so that they cook crispy on the outside and a still juicy on the inside. 

FINISHING TOUCHES 

The instructions call for the noodles to cook directly into the broth until they are ready. If using instant ramen noodles they should cook very quickly. Because of this process, it is intended to be served and eaten right away. Any leftover noodles sitting in the broth will soak up all the liquids and become too soft. If you plan on having extras or saving some for another meal, we recommend cooking the noodles separately and cooking only the amount that will be eaten. Since they cook so quick, leftovers can be made by making more noodles and simply warming the liquid. Once the noodles are cooked, add them to your bowl and spoon over the liquid to combine.  No bowl is complete without the egg and extra toppings. Soft boiled eggs typically cook for 6 minutes, remove from heat and place in bowl with cold water to cool. Do not let them sit in the warm water as the eggs will continue to cook. We we’re a little too busy in taking pictures of each step and filming so our egg is a little overdone here but it was still very tasty! 

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Print Recipe

Creamy Pork Katsu Ramen

Creamy tomato and coconut broth pork katsu ramen with crispy fried pork chop topped with soft boiled egg, sesame seeds and scallions.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Mains

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 1/2 TBS ginger grated
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes optional
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1-2 tsp ginger garlic & chili paste or curry paste
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 400 ml full fat coconut milk
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 4 squares of ramen noodles
• 2 cups kale loosely packed and chopped into smaller ribbons
• soft boiled eggs for serving
• garnish: scallions sesame seeds, cilantro, chili oil and nori
• Pork Katsu
• 4 boneless pork chops
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper
• canola or vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

• 1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and optional red pepper flakes cooking in a touch of olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the colours change, about 2 minutes. Add the paste and let that cook down another minute. Pour in the broth, milk, and tomato paste whisking to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Add the noodles and let those cook a few minutes. Once the noodles are cooked finish by stirring in the kale.
• 2. Meanwhile, make the Katsu. Place the panko, and flour into 2 separate shallow bowls. Whisk eggs with a touch of water to create your egg wash. Season flour with salt and pepper, next place the pork chop in plastic wrap and pound down using a mallet or rolling pin into an even thickness.
• 3. Dredge both sides of the pork through the flour, followed by egg wash and finish in the panko ensuring to really seal and press the breadcrumbs into both sides. Set aside while the oil heats.
• 4. In a medium sized pan, heat frying oil and bring to 350 degrees F. Add enough oil to shallow fry the pork ensuring there is enough oil in the pan to cover the sides of the pork. Fry the pork until golden on both sides, flipping after 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside on paper towel to remove excess oil. Don't let the pork sit on paper towel too long as it will bring out more moisture and soften the part touching the paper towel. Transfer to a cutting board, season with a bit more salt and pepper and cut diagonally to create beautiful strips.
• 5. To serve: divide the noodles between bowls, ladle over more of the creamy broth, and place the pork katsu over top. Finish with garnishes of choice such as soft boiled egg, sesame seeds, scallions, cilantro and chili oil. Enjoy!