The Versatile Ramen Noodle

Ramen as high cuisine

So, I have decided to substitute playing mindless online games like Alchemy and Bejeweled for blogging!  Actually, I’m copying my husband as well, and possibly “Julie and Julia,” which we watched and immediately went out and bought the Julia Child cookbook (without intentions of blogging, but simply cooking good French cuisine.)  What’s more fun to write about than cooking though?  Possibly gardening, which I also intend to address.  Mainly, I want to write about living cheaply, eating stuff from my backyard, and trying to do it all while chasing around a houseful of kids.

I will get into the lovely details of our first attempt at backyard gardening, but today I want to talk about that lovely invention from Asia:  The Ramen noodle.

Most people relegate the Ramen noodle to the college apartment kitchen, and this fact is just unfair.  The Ramen noodle is so much more.  Living in Korea (which I will probably reference often,) I was introduced to the wonderful world of the cheesy Ramen.  The cheapest dish sold in the corner snack bar or take out restaurant, cheesy Ramen consists of the famous noodles, spiced up and covered in processed cheese.  Oh yeah baby!  After wiping your nose from the chili pepper paste, you think – what else besides cheese can I put in Ramen noodles!?  The choices are endless!

1. Cheese is always a good ingredient.  Cheese takes Ramen noodles to the next level, and should always be considered when making a Ramen noodle meal.  The Koreans have this very right.  You can get hot Korean Ramen packs at your Asian grocery store, or just get regular Ramen and pour on the hot chili paste.  The Korean style packs sometimes have little treats in them too, like dried veggie packets, mmmmmm….    On another note, do not limit yourself to just yellow processed cheese.  Upgrade to Swiss or Mozzerella, and you really got something good!

2. Think vegetables.  After cheese, my second favorite ingredient to add is whatever veggies happen to be in the fridge.  Today for lunch, I tried pan fried turnips, onions and spinach in butter.  Cast iron, btw, makes everything taste better – another day, another discussion.  Turnips and spinach you say!  Have you lost your mind?! …………. NO!  I have not!  Don’t be intimidated by vegetables – throw in what you have.  Lunch is a good time for experimentation in my opinion.  Actually, any time is a good time for experimentation – but lunch is less committal, especially if you are just cooking for yourself and possibly a toddler or an open-minded husband.

3. Bacon.  Bacon is just good anyway, but frying up and then crumbling bacon into Ramen is very good.  This, btw, is where you stereotype me as a typical Southern idiot who cares nothing for her arteries, but do not be so quick to judge!  I believe a well-rounded diet should include some good old-fashioned fat, which is much better for you than processed crap (exceptions include Cheese Ramen Korean style with processed cheese.)

4. Water ratio changes everything.  Do you like Ramen soup or do you like it dry?  When I taught English in Korea, kids would come with packets of Ramen, which they crushed and ate just like that.  I always thought it was fairly gross, but to each his own.   One of the best packets to get is Creamy Chicken, which requires some decent amount of water to make it good and creamy.  This pairs well with a white cheese and a green, leafy veggie.

5. Ramen + leftover meat.  Ramen works great with leftover roasted chicken, cut up pork chops, etc. on top. Don’t forget to add your veggies and cheese, if you wish.

Think of Ramen as a quick, cheap pasta base.  You can use the packet of seasoning, but you don’t have to.  You can invent your own sauce, or use something from last night’s dinner.  Ramen is a perfect lunch when you have kids who want something NOW, or you forgot that it was 12:00 p.m. but your tummy did not.  While by itself, Ramen seems a pitiful portion for lunch, full of carbs and nothing else; spiced up it is something else entirely.