DeRusha Eats (Live): Masu Sushi & Noodles
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) –Hugely successful in Northeast Minneapolis and at Mall of America, the people behind Masu Sushi & Robata are now opening another location in the southern suburb of Apple Valley. But Masu is dropping the robata and focusing on noodles.
"One of the hot food trends in Tokyo the last few years has been Abura Soba, or what we're calling Abura Ramen," Masu Corporate Executive Will Selin said. "It's a brothless ramen served with toppings and a small amount of flavored or infused oil combined with soy or vinegar. We're calling our version Abura Ramen since we don't want guests thinking it's specifically the buckwheat noodle of the same name – in Japanese 'soba' just means 'noodle.'"
Masu Sushi & Noodle in Apple Valley has four versions of Abura Ramen on their menu: pork belly with bamboo, scallion, ginger poached egg and garlic soy; ginger scallion with chicken, pickles, mushroom, nori and poached egg; kimchi with beef short rib, poached egg, mushroom and kimchi and curry with chicken, corn, bamboo, scallion an poached egg. (See below for Masu's recipe for Beef Kimchi Abura Ramen.)
In all, this noodle-focused suburban location will have 16 different noodle dishes to choose from, including soba, udon, traditional broth-based ramen and yakisoba.
The rest of the menu is organized into sections for izakaya (small plates), sushi, including makizushi (sushi rolls) and sushi assortments featuring only sustainable seafood, and robata, a traditional Japanese grilling technique.
Masu is owned by an Eagan-based company called Sushi Avenue, which is owned by brothers Nay Hla and Nay Lin. Sushi Avenue provides chefs, recipes, seafood and other sushi-related ingredients to upscale supermarkets, universities and foodservice locations across the country.
Masu Sushi & Noodles is located at 14638 Cedar Ave., Apple Valley, Minn.
Beef Kimchi Abura Ramen
Two Servings
Masu Sushi and Noodles is introducing one of Japan's hottest food trends to the Twin Cities. Abura "broth-less" Ramen is hearty, flavorful comfort food any time of the year!
Ingredients:
- Two Packages Fresh Ramen Noodles*
- 6oz Kimchi - either homemade or from a deli*
- 3 oz Beech Mushrooms
- Two Poached Eggs **
- 6 oz Thinly sliced Steak of your choice
- Sliced Scallion, for garnish
- Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce (see recipe below)
Directions:
- Prepare Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce, set aside. (Recipe below.)
- Poach Eggs
- Grill Steak of your choice
- Sauté Mushrooms
- Bring water to boil, cook ramen noodles, stain and place in mixing bowl
- Dress the Noodles with 1/2 C prepared Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce
- Divide, dressed Noodles into individual serving bowls
- Place one Poached Egg in middle of dressed Ramen noodles
- Arrange Kimchi, Mushrooms and Beef around egg.
- Garnish with scallion.
*This ingredient can easily be found at Asian markets, such as United Noodle, and higher end grocery stores.
**To make proper poached eggs, first make sure your eggs are really fresh. Add a small dash of vinegar to a pan of steadily simmering water. Crack eggs individually into a ramekin or cup. Create a gentle whirlpool in the water to help the egg white wrap around the yolk. Slowly tip the egg into the water, white first. Leave to cook for three minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce
- 1 C Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 C Soy Sauce
- ½ C Oil
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1/3 C Sugar
- ½ C Ginger, finely chopped
- ½ C Garlic, finely chopped
- 1/3 tsp Black Pepper
Combine all ingredients and mix.