Ramen

Ramen and Veg

/ featherheadlady / Leave a comment

The ramen experience! Everyone has had ramen. You can always tell when school is starting because grocery stores, particularly in college towns, have cases of ramen on an end cap! An inexpensive, satisfying, and easy to prepare meal for young people living on their own. Years ago when I was still working, a friend and coworker brought a ramen salad to a potluck we were having. The ramen in that salad is just crumbled, not cooked. The dressing hydrates it, but it still has a little crunch. After visiting the Chicago Botanic Garden Christmas light show our daughter and son-in-law took us to a restaurant that specializes in Ramen dishes (and served wonderful sushi and cocktails). After a cold, rainy walk the hot ramen was especially delicious. This doesn’t replicate the dish we had at the Torino Ramen in Wilmette, and it’s nothing like my friend’s salad recipe, or the ramen of your college days, but it is a tasty version of a ramen dish. We had this as a meal in itself, but it would also be a good side dish with a protein. This is a modified version of a recipe I saw online and, like most savory recipes, it can be further modified based on personal preferences.

Ingredients:

2 blocks of ramen

2 carrots matchsticked

2 cups of broccoli florets

1/2 red bell pepper sliced

1 cup snap peas

1 cup edamame

1 generous tsp each of ginger, paprika, Korean chili flakes, cumin and garlic

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 cups broth (I used chicken broth from Better than Bouillon)

1 T soy sauce

This is prepared stovetop in a large pot with a lid. Wash and prep your vegetables and add them to the pot along with the noodles. If you’re using the individual ramen packets discard the flavor packets.

In a bowl or large measuring cup whisk together the coconut milk, broth, and spices and pour it over the noodles and vegetables. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stopping halfway through to stir. You don’t want to overcook the noodles or the vegetables.

Plate, garnish with sesame seeds, and enjoy.

NOTE: Another recipe that can be modified based on ingredients you have on hand. The spice level is moderate. The next time I make this I will add some yellow miso paste. Miso is fermented soybean paste, and it adds great umami flavor.

Pork and Ramen

/ featherheadlady / Leave a comment

I haven’t blogged anything in months, largely because we adopted a rescue pup just prior to Thanksgiving, and he’s turned our lives a little upside down. His name is Leo, and I tell people all the time that Leo is A LOT, but that really is an understatement. Hopefully with these few months under our belts as Leo’s new parents things will calm down. Hopefully. And I have missed working on my blog. In addition to sharing recipes with people, blogging keeps recipes I enjoy making and we enjoy eating where I can actually find them. Sometimes I find ideas and inspiration from instagram reels and other online sites, make notation on little slips of paper, and then waste time searching for those pieces of inspiration. This pork and ramen recipe is my interpretation of something I saw on Instagram. It comes together quickly, can be modified based on ingredients you have on hand, and is a simple yet delicious meal.

Ingredients:

2 packages of ramen (w/o seasoning)

1 cup of broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 T toasted sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 T ginger grated

1 cup green onions chopped

1 cup bell pepper sliced

1 T cornstarch with 2 T water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sesame Seeds for serving

Anyone who cooks on a regular basis knows that whatever you’re cooking comes together much faster when the ingredients have been prepped before you get started. Now that everything is ready, cook the ground meat in a large skillet over medium high heat until browned.

Once the meat has browned add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Stir until combined. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer.

Once it’s simmering add the ramen, peppers, and green onions. Simmer for about five minutes until the noodles are tender.

Stir in the cornstarch slurry. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I did a quick stir fry of pea pods and served the meat and ramen over the pea pods. Super easy and super tasty! A quick stir fry of broccoli, bok choy, or cabbage would also all be good additions.

NOTE: Ground beef or chicken could be substituted for ground pork. I used Better than Bouillon Chicken broth but you could substitute vegetable or beef broth.

I usually buy a large knob of ginger, cut and peel it, and store it in the freezer. Recently I discovered tubes of ginger which are so convenient and easy to use.