Talking Ramen with Chef Kee Chan and Gabriela Fernandez of Strings Ramen
Hello everyone! This week we visited Strings Ramen in Chinatown, Milt’s BBQ for the Perplexed, and Pete Miller’s Seafood & Prime Steakhouse in Evanston. This winter has been mild for Chicago, but the forecast this week has been chilly! And when the temps dip, my favorite comfort food is a steaming bowl of ramen accompanied by a cold beer. So, this week I spoke with Chef Kee Chan of Strings Ramen and their director of marketing Gabriela Fernandez. Want to know what “hell ramen” is? Keep reading…
Q: Ramen is trending right now with shops popping up all over town. What separates Strings from other ramen places?
Chef Kee Chan: Strings is Chicago’s first dedicated ramen shop – with 80% in-house preparation. We do our own noodles, we cook the kuro buta (pork belly) for 48 hours, and we make our broths daily. Our broths are made with bone instead of fat. Our goal is to concentrate on the healthy side of ramen, and that’s why we offer many seafood and vegetables options. We are also constantly creating new ramen bowls and offering signature dishes for each location.
Homemade noodles at Strings Ramen
Q: Although ramen is casual fare in Japan, it is a time consuming cooking process. The key to a great ramen is in the broth. Can you talk about what goes into making top-notch ramen?
Chef Kee Chan: Creating a top notch ramen presents a challenge between chef and audience. Chicago is a big city with different tastes and influences. Passion, hard work, the best ingredients, and a great team are key to the process. We are still introducing something pretty new for many, and we want people to understand the flavors. That’s why we have created simple broths with the best products. Broths are made fresh daily, and our own home made noodles are cooked for 45 seconds to perfection. People select their broth option and toppings. Our ramens are made to order, and served (and hopefully eaten!) right away.
Q. Let’s talk “Hell Ramen.” Explain what it is and how they can be part of the competition!
Chef Kee Chan: Hell Ramen is named for the 8 levels of hell and reincarnation. Our goal with this dish is to educate people not only about how the spiciness works, but also on the philosophy of life: how man can live honorably.
When someone orders a Hell Ramen, they choose a level from 1 to 5 (correlating to spiciness of chilies and peppers). If they choose level 4 or 5, they will have to sign a waiver. If you came to try our Hell Ramen, take a picture while doing it, and send us the picture. We will upload it on our website and social media. For more information about the challenges, we have a special section on our website dedicated to Hell Ramen with a gallery of guest challengers. Every day when we open our restaurants, we are ready for challengers to come in so I hope your audience comes to see us!
Hell Ramen, Strings Ramen
Q. Your original shop that we feature in this week’s episode is in Chinatown. Where is the second location?
Gabriela Fernandez: Strings in Chinatown just had its second anniversary this week. We celebrated by opening a glass patio to receive more ramen lovers! Our new location is in Lincoln Park at 1629 N. Halsted, and it opened last April.
Stay tuned for three more great restaurants and some more inside dish right here!
Cheers,
Catherine
