6 cups broth
Chop 2 inch piece of galangal and ginger both.
Cut entire bulb garlic in half.
Add to broth and start low simmer.
Add in 3-4 star anise, a cinnamon stick, black peppercorns 1tbsp,whole coriander seed 1tbsp,whole cardamom seed half tbsp, 8bwhole cloves, few allspice berries, crushed rough chopped lemon grass stalks 2, one whole Thai chili sliced in half, again all in slow simmered broth.
Slowly add in liquid aminos (I ended up using perhaps 1/4 c), and a few hearty splashes fish sauce. 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar.
Once broth is to liking, add in ramen noodles of choice and cook. I used ones made from spinach I picked up from a local Asian market. About a minute before it’s done add in sliced up baby bok choy and onions. Once plated I layered with fresh herbs like mint and basil and cilantro. Small slices Thai chili (pack a major heat! Careful) thin slices watermelon radish, and slow roasted crispy five spice pork belly. Could also add bean sprouts that would be nice as well.

Spicy and citrusy ramen with spinach ramen noodles and crispy 5 spice pork belly. Flowers make everything pretty lol. Was a great prelude to the spruce tip ice cream I made, too! With black cherry compote.

For the ice cream
Always follow the guided measurements for your ice cream maker.
I used a good cup of chopped up spruce tips. Be sure to pick out the brown husks.
In sauce pot add 3/4 cup sugar and I used 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup half and half. Sprinkle in about a tsp salt. Stir and mix until dissolved and a slight simmer happens. Be careful not to scorch the milk on the pot bottom. Add in chopped spruce and a squeeze of 1/4 lime (maybe a touch less) and even a little bit of zest.
Stir and allow to steep. I let it go for half the day.
In separate bowl add in 6 egg yolks and scramble up.
Now here you can choose to strain the cream base or do what I did which was blend it in the blender so to keep the flecks of spruce needles. The nutritional value of these guys is awesome.
I then poured it from the blender back into the pot and warmed back up slightly.
Slowly temper cream mix into raw egg yolk scramble. A little at a time still whisking making sure not to actually cook the eggs.
Once all incorporated, cover and let sit in fridge over night.
Hopfully you put your ice cream maker basin in the freezer already. Should go in for about 24hrs.
Next day, add mix to ice cream maker as directed and freeze for a few hours after its made and put in freezer safe container.
Enjoy!!!
A spring treat 💚