Kimchi Ramen with Soy-Marinated Eggs

Bring a small saucepan of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Lower the eggs in on a spoon and cook exactly 6 minutes 30 seconds at a steady boil, which sets the whites and leaves the yolks jammy.

Tip: Take the eggs out of the fridge while the water heats: cold eggs crack the moment they hit the boil.

While the eggs cook, fill a bowl with ice and water. Lift the eggs straight into it with a slotted spoon and leave them 5 minutes, until cold right through, then peel them under a thin stream of running water.

Stir the soy sauce, 60 mL water, the sugar and one sliced garlic clove in a deep bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Slide the peeled eggs in and leave them to marinate at least 20 minutes, turning them once halfway.

Tip: Lay a folded paper towel over the eggs so the parts above the liquid still take on colour.

Drain the kimchi over a bowl and keep every drop of the juice. Chop the kimchi into bite-size pieces, quarter the mushrooms, and slice the remaining two garlic cloves thin.

Heat half the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lay the mushrooms cut side down and sear them 4 minutes without stirring, until the flat faces are deep golden and release from the pan on their own.

Tip: Crowding the pan traps steam and the mushrooms go grey and rubbery instead of browning.

Toss the mushrooms and cook 3 minutes more over medium-high heat, until browned all over and tender when pressed. Season with a pinch of the salt and tip them onto a plate to keep as a topping.

Add the rest of the vegetable oil to a large pot over medium heat, then the chopped kimchi and sliced garlic. Fry 5 minutes, stirring often, until the kimchi darkens at the edges and smells sweet and toasty rather than sharp.

Pour in the reserved kimchi juice and 1.5 L water, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Stir in two of the four soup-base sachets, then bring to a boil over high heat, about 5 minutes.

Tip: Two sachets is enough once the kimchi is in: keep the others for a plain bowl another night.

Lower the heat to medium and simmer the broth 5 minutes, until it turns a deep brick red and the raw garlic edge has cooked off. Stir in 1 tbsp of the soy sauce and the remaining salt.

Slide all four noodle blocks into the simmering broth and cook 4 minutes over medium-high heat, lifting and separating the strands with tongs, until they are springy with no chalky centre.

Meanwhile, lift the eggs out of the marinade and halve them lengthwise with a wet knife; the whites should be stained a deep tea colour and the yolks still soft at the centre. Discard the marinade.

Snip the two nori sheets into thin ribbons with kitchen scissors and slice the green onions on a sharp angle, keeping both dry until the bowls are filled.

Divide the noodles between four deep bowls with tongs, coiling them into a neat tangle, then ladle the hot broth over them, about 350 mL per bowl.

Top each bowl with the seared mushrooms, two egg halves, the nori ribbons and the green onions, and finish with a few drops of toasted sesame oil. Serve at once, while the noodles are still springy.