(cheerful music) - As a chef and restaurateur, I know what a happy dining room feels like.

And it's gotta feel the same when I'm cooking for friends at home.

We're heaping in the butter tonight with a spicy dumpling sauce and my famous lobster ramen.

I've invited over Jordan Rodriguez, the lead server at my flagship restaurant, Mizuna, and Ryan Haarer is here too.

A good friend and real estate agent in Denver.

We're recreating some of my favorite restaurant dishes with everyone leaving my home full of life and buzzed on happiness.

We're gonna get started.

So I need to make the lobster broth before I do the appetizer.

So the Bones' ramen, you've had it a million times, Jordan.

- I have.

I miss it.

- It's so simple.

And it's really just about getting a broth when you're doing ramen.

So, I have some extra virgin olive oil.

And I know the broth changed over the years, but I'm gonna make you what it really was and how simple it really is.

And I'm just gonna do, (knife chopping) just take a little bit of onion.

(food sizzling) - [Ryan] I always love that sizzle.

- [Frank] Don't you love the sizzle?

- [Ryan] I love the sizzle.

- Everyone loves the sizzle.

Travis the camera guy loves the sizzle.

So, I think he likes the sizzle more than he actually likes me.

So, we just get that going.

And then I have the lobster.

So I bought a couple of whole lobsters.

I poached the tail and the claws.

And then these were the bodies that I didn't cook.

So when you're making a stock, or like a lobster bisque, you don't want to use cooked shells 'cause all the flavors come out of 'em when you boil them to get it off.

So I just really want to take the meat part and boil those to cook those.

So these are just simple lobster bodies.

I cleaned them off, took the lungs off, and basically I'm just gonna dump these in here.

- It's like akin to, I've done chicken stock and only chicken stock and I'd only use the carcass.

- Yeah.

- That's it, right?

- Yeah, because if you boil the whole chicken, that would be great and then you can pull the meat to make like chicken salad.

But this, I just want the flavor of the bone.

So, really simple to get this going.

I just have the bodies, the onions, a little olive oil, and I'm just gonna cover it with some water.

And I'm only making it for the two of you.

So like a half a gallon of water.

We're just gonna let this come to a simmer.

Just get to a simmer and then I can almost turn it off and let it sit for about 20 minutes.

And then I'll strain that out and that'll be the basis of our sauce.

- Nice.

So that was just onion, right?

- Yeah, just onions.

I don't want this to overpower.

I mean, you're gonna have big chunks of lobster, and there's gonna be a little bit of butter.

- [Ryan] Right.

- So I really just need a light lobster flavor for this dish.

I know when people talk ramen, and it's like all about these broths you simmer for hours, which we did at Bones with a pork broth and a chicken broth, beef broth.

This, I want just super light.

And I think fish stocks, a lot of people get that thing like you have to cook them.

For fish stocks, are like 45 minutes and they're done.

- Because the flavor's there, you don't need to - - Yeah, and it's so strong.

Whereas you have to really coax flavor out of bones and chicken.

Fish, it's right up front, right?

It's sea, it's salty.

It's like from the sea.

So, we're gonna let this simmer.

I'm gonna do just some gyoza dumplings.

So these are just simple gyoza dumplings.

It's filled with a little bit of pork, ginger, scallion, little bit of garlic, just all mixed together, and then stuffed into dumplings.

These are raw.

And then I'm gonna pan sear them.

You can buy the dumplings.

Like this is such an easy thing to do at home, right?

It's just really about gussying up them.

And I'm gonna do this with a Gochujang sauce, which is like a Korean pepper, so.. - Does the Gochujang vary in spice level?

Like, can you buy different types of spice?

Because I feel like when I'm in the store, it's one variety.

Or am I missing something?

- No, Gochujang is very similar to Sriracha.

- [Ryan] Okay.

- Right.

There's one kind of Gochujang paste and it's bright red.

It's a little bit more peppery than it, like Sriracha's got a little more vinegar to it, more of a sauce.

Gochujang is really just a pepper puree.

- With a sweet finish, right?

- Yeah, there's probably a lot of sugar or something.

- Yeah, exactly.

It's phenomenal.

- Never really read what's the ingredients on it, but just a little bit of oil in the pan, and have it just till you see it shimmering.

You want it pretty hot, so I'm going high heat.

And then, - So even if they're frozen, you can drop 'em in there like that?

- Yeah.

And I'm putting 'em the fold side down, 'cause that will get a little bit crisp.

There's that sizzle that we all love, right?

- So I always wondered, Frank, I know that Bones was a childhood nickname of yours, but how'd you actually get that name?

- It was from all the weed I smoked as a kid.

I used to smoke a lot of bones.

- [Jordan] All right.

- No, it was, (all laughing) - Never heard of that.

- I thought that was real, for a second!

Like, "Oh yeah!"

No, great story, Frank.

- It is real.

Really, it was just when people, when I was playing sports, and it was easier to just say, Frankie Bones.

I don't know why it came about.

People would probably say it was from smoking bones, but I didn't really do that.

- [Jordan] Never.

That's a story I'm gonna go with, just so you know.

- Yeah.

No, it was just to shorten up Bonanno.

There weren't a lot of us but, - Okay.

All right.

That makes sense.

- Well, I found his new nickname.

- Yeah, that's it.

So we're just gonna get these going and then I'm just looking for these to get like a little bit golden brown, little bit crispy.

So they're gonna take just a minute.

Like gyoza dumplings, they're so fun.

I think they're so communal.

- For me, it's about sauce.

I mean, if you have a good dipping sauce, that sends 'em over the edge for me.

- [Frank] What's your favorite dipping sauce?

- Something spicy.

Yeah, I do like Gochujang, so I'm excited to see what you do with that.

- So for these dumplings, I'm gonna actually make the sauce.

It's gonna be like a pan sauce.

So there's not gonna be anything to dip in.

They're just gonna come dressed.

A lot like we used to do the escargot dumplings, where they were pan-seared, and we built that sauce.

- Okay.

- With the Korean pepper.

We didn't have Gochujang back when we opened Bones.

- Right.

- This is like a new thing for a lot of people.

- Yeah.

Why is Gochujang a new thing?

Why is that popping up?

Is it a new ingredient or we just have never heard about it?

- We just never heard about it.

And Sriracha was all the rage at the time.

What was the other pepper we used a lot that we used to?

- I mean, it's sambal.

- Sambal.

- I was wondering where the sambal was at.

- No, I need to change it up.

It's been 10 years.

So I'm trying to do something different with it.

So now I can see I've got like a nice crisp, like they're nice and crispy there.

So this is where I'm gonna do the steaming of 'em.

So this is, (dumplings sizzling) And we're just gonna cover those.

Let them go for just about a minute, and then I'm gonna build my sauce.

So I have some soy sauce, a little ketjap manis, or sweet soy, which is like thick.

Little bit of rice wine vinegar 'cause we want some acid to it.

- [Ryan] Ketjap manis?

- Ketjap manis.

- [Jordan] I've never heard of that.

- Me neither.

I didn't know that.

- So it's sweet soy sauce.

- Okay.

- And it's reduced, like when you see balsamic syrups, this is like reduced soy sauce.

So it gets super thick.

- [Ryan] So it's just the soy sauce that they cook down?

Or is there added sugar, I'm sure?

- I'm sure there's added lots of things to it that we don't wanna know, - Well, I don't care about, I don't care about ingesting it.

I just care about how it tastes.

So I imagine it's a little sweeter, - Try it.

Put your finger in.

Try a little of that.

- So it's a lot sweeter.

- Lot sweeter.

- It's kind of got that kind of, almost like a fish sauce to it.

- Yeah, I'm sure there's, I don't actually know what the hell's in it.

- It tastes very teriyaki.

- Stumping Bones.

Good for me.

- So our lobster stock has come to a boil.

I'm really just gonna turn this off and set it aside.

- [Ryan] And that's it?

You just boil it?

- Yeah, I'm just gonna, I brought it up to a boil.

I'm just gonna let it sit now.

And that, in the next 15 minutes, will gimme the broth I'm looking for.

So dumplings are cooked.

I'm gonna just strain off some of this excess water.

I don't wanna drain it all off because some of the fat from the pork that's in it is in there.

- You need the fat.

- You always want the fat, right?

- You absolutely need it.

- The fat's the best part.

So I'm gonna add just a splash of vinegar to help that.

I'm gonna add my ketjap manis.

Regular soy.

And then I'm gonna add my spicy, you both said you like spicy, right?

- [Jordan] Extra spicy, please.

- Then I'm going for it all.

Here it is.

(pan clanking) - [Ryan] It's nice to get that all done in one pan too.

It just all comes together a little better.

- So that's actually helped thickening the sauce, right?

- [Ryan] Yeah.

- So now, - There we go.

- A touch.

- I was looking for it.

- Just a touch of butter.

And that's gonna really help create the sauce.

It'll also help mellow out the Gochujang, which I'm assuming is gonna be pretty spicy.

This is like my French roots coming through 'cause I gotta add butter to it.

But I've gotten like a really nice coating on these.

- Yeah, I mean if you didn't add the butter, it would all kind of run off the dumpling, right?

- Yeah.

And I want it, yeah, I want like it to be a sauce.

So we're gonna give this a try.

(upbeat music) - Looks delicious.

- I mean it's gonna be super rich, so it's not, I don't know if it's usually what you would expect from a dumpling.

So then a little bit of lime juice just to cut through it a little bit.

I know I put some, - [Ryan] Cuts the fat a little bit?

- Yeah.

And then how do you guys feel about cilantro?

'Cause I don't really care.

- [Jordan] I love it.

- 'Cause I think like a little bite of this in each one.

I think this is a great way to start the meal and get you ready.

Jordan, you were really kind, and you brought a wine for us to try.

This is a wine I know we had at Bones.

Why this wine?

- I love this wine 'cause it's a full bodied.

And it also has like some notes of lemongrass, which always goes great with Asian food.

- [Frank] But I think it's a great choice to go with this too.

- Yeah, it's nice and crisp, delicious.

Like I said, those notes of lemongrass are gonna go great with this.

- And that's kind of what you're looking for, right?

Something super spicy, rich, with all the butter, and that should cut through it.

They're probably gonna be a little hot.

- [Ryan] That's okay.

Has that ever stopped me?

- Jordan, you need a knife?

I didn't think this was knife and fork food.

- I do a frozen version of these at home.

It's like a pre-packaged.

They kind of suck honestly, coming out.

There's not a ton of flavor to them.

So I do a Sriracha thing.

The difference here, I'm going to be adding butter to whatever home sauce I do.

- I think everybody should - - [Ryan] I'm not kidding.

- [Frank] Add butter to everything.

It just makes it that next depth of flavor.

- It brings all of the things you put in the pan together.

- Is it spicy?

- It is spicy, in the best way.

- In the best way.

- In the best way.

And that char in there is so delicious, Frank, you did a great job.

- [Ryan] Love it, Frank.

- [Jordan] Mm hmm.

- I'm gonna show you how I make the Bones' lobster ramen.

It's pretty simple.

The one twist to mine is that I make a beurre blanc, like a butter based sauce to get it going.

And that's like the basis of it.

And then I pour the miso broth over it.

I have a little bit of shallots, a little bit of ginger.

Just rough chop.

That goes in here.

- Oil in there?

What are you doing?

- No.

White wine vinegar, white wine.

- Ah.

- So when I've made beurre blanc in the past, I thought that you had to have it like really thinly sliced.

So like the rough chop is fine?

- Yeah, sure.

No, like, who told you that?

- I don't know.

I think some like French YouTube show before.

- No, 'cause it doesn't matter.

- Don't you work for a chef named Frank Bonanno?

- I'm just trying to extract some flavors.

So just rough cut.

- Okay.

- It's only gonna cook for about three to four minutes until this gets kinda dry.

- Okay.

- And then I'm gonna mount in my butter and I'm straining all of those off.

So yeah, in theory, the more thin surface area you have.

- [Jordan] Yeah.

- But I don't want a lot of that flavor.

I really just want the acidity to concentrate.

- [Jordan] Okay.

- From the vinegar and the wine.

So I don't really want a ton.

Like yes, you could put some peppercorns, tarragon in it, shallots, garlic, that would be classic, but, - Yeah, rough chop is better anyways.

Less time.

- While this is reducing, I'm gonna get my stock strained.

And I'm just gonna strain this into another pot.

- Does it matter how long that's been sitting and steeping?

- So this has been going for, roughly what, 20 minutes, 25 minutes?

- [Ryan] Right.

- But smell, I mean, like that's as much lobster smell, right?

The more I cook it, the just more dirty.

it's going kind of dirty.

- That perfect I guess.

- [Frank] I don't know.

- [Ryan] I don't want any dirty lobster ramen, thank you.

That's perfect though.

It smells amazing.

- So those are lobster bodies, onions, and what else did you have in there?

- That was it.

just lobster bodies and onions.

No salt, no nothing.

I just want simple, pure broth.

And then I can start to make my miso broth.

So like you can see it's pretty clear.

Here, gimme your spoon.

Your giant spoon.

- Yeah.

What's up with the spoon?

- So just so you can try it.

If you're gonna have big soup, you need a soup spoon.

- Guess you're right.

When you're right, you're right.

- But it's really light, right?

- That is really light.

The flavors are there, but it's not, yeah... - But I'm gonna be adding miso to it and I'm gonna add a lot of miso to it.

So like more than you think.

- Oh my god.

- Like that big chunk.

- [Ryan] I mean that's a solid three quarters cup of... - [Frank] Yeah.

- [Ryan] Yeah.

- I mean, but once again, that's my whole flavor.

I just want a hint of lobster to come out.

'Cause when you're eating the ramen, I want you to actually take a bite of lobster and have that explode in your mouth.

I don't want it to be just lobster, lobster, lobster.

That's a little boring to me.

- But it definitely changes the flavor.

You add the miso but you get that subtle lobster flavor.

- Right.

So now I want to, I'm gonna taste it.

And it's gonna predominantly be like a miso soup.

I mean, like, I think that's really good.

I'm actually gonna add just a little touch more.

- [Ryan] And there are different types of miso too, right?

- So this is white miso.

It's a fermented bean paste.

- What's the darker miso?

- So there's red.

- Red miso.

- Red miso, it's a little bit stronger.

Less soup based than that.

I'm trying to think like when you go get miso soup in a restaurant and you take it, do you ever notice what it is that you're eating other than the miso, right?

Like you wouldn't know what the, most of 'em probably make it outta just water and miso, right?

- Yeah, little scallions floating on top.

- Yeah, and a few scallions and some tofu.

It's the best.

Buck for buck, it's their best seller.

So they're, "Would you like some soup with your salad?"

But I think when you try this one, this one's clean.

Since you tried the broth without it, then you try that.

- Yeah, that is next level.

Definitely elevated.

- And it's just because you're keeping it simple.

I don't want lobster to compete with it.

I just want it to be a player in the game, if you will.

- It's a part of it.

- Everything's pretty much reduced out of here, right?

So it's almost dry.

So now, over like a low heat, I'm gonna just start to whisk in butter.

So this is, I'm basically emulsifying butter into this little.

And it's gonna turn out to be a thick sauce.

- [Jordan] And what kind of wine do you have for your beurre blanc?

- [Frank] Dry white wine.

Something you drink with.

- Okay.

- Quite honestly.

And this'll take quite a bit of butter.

(pot clanking) And the thing when you're making beurre blanc is, so you don't want to keep it too hot, right?

So I'm trying to emulsify it.

You can see how thick it's getting and it's really almost turning into the consistency of heavy cream.

So if you melt the butter in slowly, off the heat, going back and forth to just get it warm enough to melt the butter.

- It's supposed to be like an elegant sauce, right?

- Yeah.

- So not like super high heat, just like low, slow temperatures.

- Yep.

I'm gonna strain it to get everything out.

(gentle music) - [Jordan] Yeah, that's the good stuff.

- Mm hmm.

The nirvana of butter.

(guests laughing) But when you think about it, so this is just really butter in a different form.

When you see it soupy like this, like thick.

So if I had just melted butter, it would not have this consistency.

But it's the adding it slowly into it that causes it to take on a different form.

So I don't really need that.

But now we are ready to assemble our lobster ramen.

I'm gonna drop our ramen.

This is only gonna take, this is fresh ramen.

It's only gonna take about two minutes to cook.

I'm gonna get the ramen started.

So just, - You're gonna add butter?

(electronic dinging) - Well, we need to add a little bit of butter.

- [Jordan] Frank.

- And then just some fresh shelled edamame.

(food sizzling) And you could smell that butter.

- [Ryan] Yep.

- And then the lobster I'm using, so this is the lobster meat from those bodies.

And you can see it's not quite, it's just cooked.

It's not quite cooked all the way, right?

- Sure.

- It's medium rare.

And I think that's the hardest part when you go out and eat lobster.

- Is it still safe to eat like that?

- Yes.

- It is?

- You could eat that all day long.

- Okay.

- It's texturally on the claw, probably not great.

'Cause usually the claw gets that nice styrofoam feel too, which is my favorite part of the lobster.

- [Ryan] So if I were to cook for let's say, four people.

How many lobsters would I use for this recipe?

- How much do you love lobster?

- Really love lobster.

- So this is two lobsters.

- That's two.

- One lobster per person because I love you guys.

- This serving here is two lobsters?

- That's two lobsters.

There's four claws, two tails, and some knuckle meat.

- So a lobster a person.

That's what I would do.

- Well, thanks for looking out for us.

- Gotta take care of my boys here!

So I have the ramen is perfect.

I'm gonna drizzle that in.

Burned the (beep) outta my hands.

(electronic beeping) Now that I've got this in here, I'm gonna turn the heat off.

This is when I wanna add my lobster.

Not before, 'cause it's, I just need to warm this through, right?

So you don't wanna, - [Jordan] It's gonna keep cooking just a little bit.

- [Frank] Yep.

(cheerful music) And just let it warm.

And then here's where I put my beurre blanc in.

And then I'm just gonna let this, I'm just gonna let this simmer for a little bit.

You notice, I haven't used salt and pepper yet, because I have the miso broth, which was, you tasted it by itself, pretty salty, right?

Miso is fermented, salted beans.

So, I don't need that to be this, this'll be super rich on its own.

So I don't wanna add too much salt to this.

So I think we're ready to try this.

- [Jordan] Perfect.

- Let's go!

- Let's play.

- I've literally been waiting a month ever since you told me about this.

- [Ryan] Yeah, so you don't have to add any salt to this, Frank, because of the miso, right?

- [Frank] Right.

And then, depending on who you're talking to, your broth to ramen ratio.

I go about 50-50 for this.

And then - - Frank.

- Thank you.

- This is really the chopstick challenge now.

- Okay.

- But I gave you a big soup spoon to roll with it.

- You're talking to a couple of experienced eaters.

I think we'll be okay.

- And then when you're having ramen, this is one thing I will stay traditional to.

I don't even know if it's traditional.

I think it's beer or sake, right?

Is what you usually have.

- [Jordan] Absolutely.

- And Jordan, you brought some sake.

- [Jordan] I did.

So I brought Nigori sake.

It's my favorite.

It's gonna be unfiltered sake.

So rice is what's used to ferment the alcohol here.

And the unfiltered version is just much more texturized, which give it some sweetness.

And so in and of itself is just an experience to drink.

But paired with the lobster ramen is just fantastic.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

- Ooh, that's really nice.

- So like I said, much more textured.

You can almost like chew through it, so.

- There's so much depth to it too.

- Yeah.

Add some sweetness.

It's my favorite kind of sake.

- True test, Frank.

Here we go.

How do you feel about slurping?

- I would be insulted if you didn't slurp.

- Highly encouraged?

Okay.

- If you lift that bowl and start drinking out of it, I'm gonna be very happy.

- Mm!

Frank, this is so good.

- So I think it's just simplicity, right?

I know it looked like a lot, but there's really only like four things in this dish.

- That's really what surprised me.

I guess with both the buerre blanc and the stock is, the stock was three, well, it was really two ingredients.

- [Frank] Yep.

Three if we count the water, right?

- Well, yeah.

But you know, so, - Sometimes with comfort food, I feel that that's what it is.

It's just simple ingredients all coming together and make a great dish.

And that's what this is.

- [Ryan] This is phenomenal.

Really, really good.

- [Frank] So Jordan brought one sake.

I have another.

This is a little different.

It's not as good as Jordan's.

But it's different, 'cause yours was a Junmai Daiginjo?

- Mine was a Nigori.

- A Nigori.

This is - - [Jordan] A Junmai.

- Junmai.

What's the difference?

- So the difference, so with sake, you're talking about the rice that's being used to ferment the alcohol.

Sake just in Japanese means alcohol in general.

Just fun facts.

But, - [Frank] Fun facts.

- Fun facts.

- We love that!

We love fun facts here.

- So with wine, you're using grapes to ferment alcohol.

With sake, you're using rice.

And the level of elegance of the sake comes from how much you polish it.

So this one, the Junmai has been polished about 50%.

And when you smell it, I love it, because it's like more tropical notes that you don't usually get with wine.

So there's like melon, there's banana, it's much more earthy.

Sake's just fantastic.

And it's higher alcohol content, which I'm on board with.

- [Frank] That one's more crisp.

- Really, this is way more up my alley.

I mean, I love both.

My wife loves the unfiltered sake.

But I love the crisp kind of.

So I get a lot of apple, melon kind of thing going on there.

Love this very - - So yeah, I would, - I'm in your boat, for sure.

I like the unfiltered.

I think there's more to it.

I can see where with a dish like this, that that crisper, more, - That's what I was gonna say.

With food, you kind of want the more crisp, filtered sake.

But like the experience of sake in and of itself, I like the unfiltered.

- For sure, absolutely.

- [Jordan] It's more of an experience.

- Cheers!

- Cheers, Ryan.

- And that's how ramen is supposed to be eaten.

(gentle music) (electronic sounds)