This dish could also be called a Phở, as it’s based on a broth with soba noodles, or a Lao-mian…
We’re diving into the depths of the slow food ocean here, with a broth simmered overnight.
The idea is to push fish-based ramen out of its comfort zone.
Usually, ramen takes you on a journey from the broth to the protein, with vegetables and neutral noodles acting as supporting players. The spotlight typically lands on the meat, fish, spices, or sauces.
Here, we’re flipping the script: the fish fillet, reminiscent of “fish’n’chips,” offers a familiar, crispy gateway. Then, celery tempura and quail eggs lead you into vegetal territory before the soba noodles and an then, the deep dive into an unwavering broth.
Brace yourself that’s a looong list.
For 4 servings
core ingredients:
- 1 large plaice (1 kg or more)
- 400 g celery stalks with leaves
For the broth:
- 3 liters water
- 1 bouquet garni
- 1 pink onion
- 1 clove
- 20 g dried kombu seaweed
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
For the noodles:
- 200 g buckwheat flour
- 100 g high-gluten flour (e.g., Manitoba, ’00’)
- 150 ml water
For the tempura:
- 150 g all-purpose flour (type 65)
- 5 g baking powder
- 150 ml water
Just for fun:
- About 20 quail eggs
Salt is at your discretion, as always
First things first: you’ll need to fillet your plaice.
I’m assuming it’s already gutted (if not, get that done—nothing from the guts is going to be used).
Take your time when filleting—it’s always a bit soul-crushing to end up with a mangled mess of fish.
Once you’ve got your fillets, reserve in the fridge. We’ll use them tomorrow. Break the fish carcass into two or three pieces so it fits into your pot.
Since plaice is a pretty strong-flavored fish, you should blanch the carcass quickly to get rid of impurities if you want a clearer broth. your choice
Cut the celery stalks into little slices, about 3–4 mm wide, and put them into the pot. Save the leafy ends (around 15–20 cm) for making tempura later.
Add the bouquet garni, cardamom, clove, and onion. Heat everything to just below boiling and let it simmer all night long.
on the next day : strain the broth. Keep the broth and the celery bits; everything else can be discarded
Now let’s do something fun with the eggs.
We’re going for “almost perfect” eggs. a bit mysterious isn’t it ?
The thing with the “perfect egg” is that the texture is absolutely amazing—silky, creamy, dreamy—but honestly, it’s a massive pain to work with in certain dishes. In ramen, for example, it’s just too delicate and messy. On the other hand, a hard-boiled quail eggs is let’s call it not the best you can get out of them.
So, we’re going to cheat a little and use temperature gradients and albumin coagulation to our advantage. (Sounds fancy, right? In practice, it’s just a two-step cooking process.)
Here’s the plan:
- Boil the eggs for 1 minute 20 seconds, then quickly cool them down.
- Toss them into a sous-vide bath at 64°C for 25 minutes. After that, peel them and set them aside.
If that all sounds like a headache, just soft-boil them instead—they’ll still be delicious!
We’re going with soba noodles here to amplify the vegetal and slightly briny vibes from the fish.
We’ll knead a soba dough using buckwheat flour mixed with high-gluten flour and 150 ml of water.
Now, this isn’t some hardcore master-level soba. Proper soba noodles are no joke—I have no idea how those folks manage with only 10% wheat flour. They must be adding straight-up gluten or some kind of magic. This version is more like a Breton buckwheat galette when it comes to the intensity of the buckwheat flavor.
Start kneading at medium speed with a stand mixer, but finish by hand for the best results. Wrap the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
next, comes the batter preparation, Mix water, flour, and baking powder together. Whisk it up, add a pinch of salt if needed, reserve in the fridge. This helps with the thermal shock when frying.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1.5–2 mm, then cut it into strips. If you’re a pasta machine pro and feeling ambitious, go for it. Personally, I stick to hand-cutting, even if it’s slower and gives uneven noodles. I like the rustic look.
Boil the noodles for 2–3 minutes in simmering water.
If you’re not up for making noodles from scratch, no judgment—there are plenty of decent dried soba options at the store. Just be sure to pre-cook them if you go .
Whatever you choose, rinse the cooked noodles well to get rid of the starch film, then store them in a slightly damp container to keep them from drying out while you finish everything else.
Peel the skin off the fillets. The trick? Sear the skin-side down in a hot oiled pan for about 20 seconds. The skin should come off easily after that. Pat the fillets dry with paper towels, then coat them in flour
Dunk everything (celery leaves and fish) completely in the tempura batter, then fry.
- Celery leaves: 2–3 minutes at 190°C.
- Plaice fillets: 3–4 minutes at the same temp.
If, like me, you don’t have two fryers, fry the celery tempura first. Keep them warm in a ceramic bowl lined with paper towels in the oven at 120°C—just enough to wick away excess oil without drying them out. Then fry the fish last.
Plating
Start with noodles at the bottom of the bowl.
Scatter the reserved celery pieces from the broth over the noodles.
Ladle in the hot broth.
Place the quail eggs to the side—cut them in half if they’re soft-boiled, or leave them whole if you did the sous-vide trick.
Arrange the tempura along the edge of the bowl or anywhere they won’t touch the broth (to keep them crispy). Worst case? Cut them up and serve on a side plate.
should look about like this
