I know it's such an Asian stereotype to say this, but I love a good bowl of ramen. No, not that nasty 11 cents a pack stuff you bought in college because you were too broke to buy the boxed macaroni and cheese. I'm talking about the fancy ramen, the ones that cost $1 a pack. The extra 89 cents is totally worth it.
Unless I'm hard up, I never eat my ramen as is. I have to make it fancy. In fact, hubby used to not be a fan of ramen and would tease me for eating it so often. Now whenever he sees me cooking my ramen, he ends up making himself a bowl.
The best ramen have several little packets of goodness inside them. Now if you're paranoid about sodium or MSG, look away now. One of my favorite ramen is pictured above. According to the label, it's Thai-style ramen, but the only thing Thai about it is that it's spicy. My mom discovered it and she sends me a case every few months. I could easily buy my own, but my mom likes to buy me things. I'd rather get ramen than ugly sweaters from her.
From left to right, we have the flavored oil packet, dried veggies, and soup powder. This veggie packet surprised me. There are little bits of silver ear mushrooms. Their crunchy texture is a good contrast against the noodles. There's also a mini packet of chili powder I forgot to photograph. This ramen is already a bit spicy so I never use the extra chili.
So what do I put in my ramen? It depends what I have in my fridge. I might add sliced chinese sausage, whatever leafy green I have in my fridge, and a squirt of lime juice. Yesterday I had leftover rotissiere chicken, so I chopped some up and threw it in the ramen. I've added collard greens, kale, even romaine lettuce in my ramen.
If I my fridge is a bit bare bones, I fry a egg with a runny yolk. The best is when the egg is crispy on the edges. After I've cooked my ramen, I pour it into a bowl with all the cooking liquid. Then I slide the egg on top and spoon the hot broth on top of the egg to finish cooking it. When I eat my ramen, I poke the yolk and let its creaminess drip into the ramen.
I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Guess what I'm going to make for breakfast?
Do you like ramen? How do you cook yours?
