METHOD

1. For the broth: preheat the oven to 230°C, fan 210°C, gas 8. Toss the chicken, carrots, negi, and ginger with the salt. Rub with the sesame oil and arrange in an oven dish. Roast for 35 mins, until nicely browned.

2. Tip the chicken and veg into a large pot and add 4 ltr cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook, covered, for 1 hr.

3. Remove the chicken and shred the meat into a bowl. Wet the meat with a scoop of broth. Return the bones to the pot and continue simmering, uncovered, for 30 mins. Strain into a clean pot and discard the bones and veg.

4. Meanwhile, make the noodles. Place the flour in a large bowl and drizzle in the sesame oil. Mix with your fingers until pebbly. Make a well and break in the whole eggs and yolks. Mix with your fingers until the eggs and flour are incorporated, but the dough is crumbly. Turn out onto a work surface and knead until smooth and pliable (about 5 mins). Let the dough rest for at least 30 mins.

5. Roll out the dough using a seimenki [noodle machine] or Italian pasta machine. Cut into thin noodles, approximately 3mm wide. Cut into 22cm lengths using a pizza cutter. Sprinkle with flour and toss to prevent sticking, but keep the noodles aligned.

6. Fill a large pot three-quarters full of water and bring to a boil over high heat.

7. Bring the broth to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce it to low. Prepare 6 large donburi [deep soup bowls], measuring in your choice of flavouring: 2 tbsp miso or 4 tsp soy sauce per bowl . Whisk 4 tbsp broth into each bowl to emulsify the flavouring.

8. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook for 2 mins. While the noodles are cooking, add about 350ml broth into each bowl and whisk to combine with the flavouring liquid.

9. Drain the noodles and divide the noodles among the bowls. Working quickly (so the broth does not cool), keeping each ingredient in its own area, add 2 heaped tbsp chicken meat, 2 heaped tbsp greens, ½ tbsp negi, an egg half, and a small piece of nori. If desired, add spice with rayu (for soy sauce ramen) or shichimi togarashi (for miso ramen).

Nancy Singleton Hachisu

METHOD

1. Cut the chicken as evenly as possible into 1cm strips and then into small cubes. Mix with the marinade ingredients.

2. Peel and thinly slice the garlic and ginger, and chop the spring onions into Icm (1/2 inch) chunks. Snip the chillies into 1.5cm (3/4 inch) sections, discarding seeds as far as possible. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl

3. Pour a little groundnut oil into the wok and heat until it smokes, swirling the oil around to cover the entire base of the wok. Pour off into a heatproof container. Add 3 tbsp fresh oil and heat over a high flame. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the chillies and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry for a few seconds until they are fragrant (take care not to burn them).

4. Add the chicken and continue to stir-fry. When the chicken cubes have separated, add the ginger, garlic and spring onions and stir-fry until they are fragrant and the meat is just cooked.

5. Give the sauce a stir and add to the wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and lustrous, add the peanuts, mix them in, and serve immediately.

Fuchsia Dunlop via Sichuan Cookery

METHOD

1. Rinse and pat the chicken dry with paper towel. Cut off the head, neck, wing tips and feet - extraneous parts that are on your chicken. Use a heavy cleaver to cut the neck and wings into halves or thirds. Aim to cut through the bone. Set aside.

2. Select a pot that the chicken snugly fits into with about an inch clearance between the top of breast and the edge of the pot. Fill it halfway with water and add the extraneous parts that you just cut up, along with the ginger, onion, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat and add the chicken.

When the pot returns to a boil, lower the heat to gently simmer. Bubbles should softly dance at the surface. Basing your cooking time on the chicken's original weight, poach for 10 minutes per pound (a 31/2-pound fryer takes 35 minutes). Use tongs to rotate the chicken halfway through to ensure even cooking.

Near the end of the cooking time, get a large bowl of ice water ready and set it near the stove. Use tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and plunge it in the ice water. Turn the chicken to expose it to the cold water. Drain and place the chicken on a plate. Let it cool completely before slicing. Leave it at room temperature if serving soon, or cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring it to room temperature before cutting.

3. Meanwhile, add the fish sauce to the broth. Boil the broth until it has reduced by one-third, or until its flavor has concentrated enough for your taste. Turn off the heat and, skim the fat - reserving it for cooking the rice. Strain the broth into another pan. Discard the solids. Cover and set aside while the chicken cools.

4. For the rice, rinse the rice and let it drain for 10 minutes in a mesh strainer positioned over a bowl. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a near simmer in a small saucepan, and then cover to keep it hot.

5. In a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons of chicken fat over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and shallot and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer raw smelling, 1 to 2 minutes. Firmly shake the strainer of rice to expel any hidden water, and then add the rice to the pot. Stir constantly with a large spoon until the grains are opaque white and feel light, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly, measure out 2 ½ cups of hot broth and add the broth and expect dramatic boiling. Immediately give the pot a big stir, reduce the heat to medium to simmer, add the pandan leaves, then let the rice simmer vigorous.

Cook the rice for a few minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times, until most of the water has been absorbed and the surface looks glossy and thick; small craters/holes may form too. Decrease the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes to firm up and finish cooking. Uncover, fluff with chopsticks or a fork, and then cover. Wait 5 minutes before serving. The rice will stay warm for 30 minutes.

6. Make one, two or all of the sauces and set at the table:

For the ginger sauce, put the ginger, oil, salt, and 1 tablespoon of hot chicken poaching broth (take it from the pot) into a small electric mini chopper and process to a fine texture. Taste and add up to 2 more tablespoons of poaching broth. Transfer to a dipping sauce dish.

For the Singapore chili sauce, put all of the ingredients, the large red chiles, Thai chiles, garlic Ginger, sugar, salt, lime juice and 1 tablespoon hot chicken poaching broth into a small electric mini chopper and process to a semi-coarse sauce. Transfer to a dipping sauce dish.

For the sweet soy sauce, combine the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and chili sauce in a dipping sauce container, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

7. To serve, use a sharp knife to detach each wing at the shoulder joint. Separate the two wing sections and use a meat-chopping cleaver to chop them into smaller pieces. (Or, keep them whole.) Arrange them on one large serving plate or two small ones. Remove the breasts and leg and thigh quarters. Cut the meat off the bone and slice it into bite-size pieces. Add them to the serving plate(s) in a nice arrangement, skin side up for a beautiful presentation. (Guests may remove the skin while eating.) Finish by scattering cilantro on top.

Bring the broth to a near boil and taste, adding extra salt if necessary. Strain the broth into a large soup bowl and sprinkle with black pepper. Serve immediately with the chicken, rice, cucumber and tomato slices, and dipping sauces.

You may have guests eat the broth out of a rice bowl and the rice and chicken from a plate, using fork and spoon as primary utensils.

Charles Phan, The Slanted Door, San Francisco