Ramen: The Starving Student’s Staff of Life

It sometimes appalls me that I might have starved to death in graduate school had it not been for the cheap, frankly low-quality carbs provided by the cheap, instant noodles invented by Momofuku Ando in 1958, the year I was born. If that isn’t cosmic coincidence, I don’t know what is.  Upon hearing that Momofuku San died last year, I felt like I had lost an old benefactor.  It always kind of astonished me as a student that I could go to a local grocery store, plunk down a buck and walk out with ten packets of ramen, sometimes more if it was on sale. That would usually last me a week or so, along with a few generic goodies like instant mashed potatoes, oatmeal, occasional cans of generic canned vegetables and whatever else I could find on sale, I could survive.

My preparation was pretty artless, frankly. I liked the noodles more than the soup, so I tended to just throw in a packet of seasoning and mix it in with the cooked, drained noodles. It was adequate. Today the styles and flavors of ramen and its allied products have proliferated beyond belief, especially if you chance to wander into a large Asian supermarket. But the prices have remained fairly low, and often I can find the stuff for prices not too far from what it was in my student days.

These days, poor though I am I insist on better. This is where my good friend Davis Farnsworth comes in. Davis has graced this blog before with some excellent culinary advice and this time he also draws on an extended period of time living in Japan to give us some tips on preparing this highly versatile food:

Davis: When making ramen, I always add the flavor packet, stir, bring the water to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and then add the dry noodles, letting the noodles soften in the hot water until the desired consistency.

1. Bring the water for the ramen to a rolling boil. Gradually add one beaten egg as if for egg drop soup. (This is especially nice with poultry or vegetable flavored ramen.) Then turn off the heat and add the noodle brick.

2. I add any or all of the following items before bringing the water to a boil. That way they are cooked.

a. tablespoon of dehydrated chopped onion or an equivalent amount of fresh onion.
b. 1/2 teaspoon of dehydrated parsley flakes.
c. 1 tablespoon of canned mushrooms or two thinly sliced fresh mushrooms.
d. 1 tablespoon of thickly grated carrot (as if for a salad, not finely grated.)
e. a few bites of leftover meat. (poultry in a chicken ramen, for example.)
f. a few green peas.
g. 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery

3. I add a few celery leaves AFTER I turn off the heat.

I’m not big on broth, and I find straight ramen rather salty, so I usually only add one and a half cups of water and half the flavor packet.  I save the other half of the packet for the next ramen. This means that I build up a supply of flavor packets.  We sometimes crumble ramen over salads, which also leaves us with extra flavor packets.

Three of the same meat flavor packets and four cups of water, thickened with flour or corn starch, makes a quick gravy.  In an unheated, one-quart saucepan mix together three ramen flavor packets and 1/2 cup all -purpose flour.  Measure out four cups of tap water.  Using a whisk or fork, add a little water at a time to make a paste and gradually a sauce/gravy.  Then heat the mixture over medium high heat, stirring constantly, to boiling, which will thicken the gravy.  You must stir regularly or the flour will settle and you’ll have lumps, or it might even scorch.

Depending on what’s available, I add up to a tablespoon of dehydrated onions, or perhaps a couple of tablespoons of mushroom slices, or bits of appropriate meat to make the gravy nicer.  It is good just plain though.

I use the extra flavor packets instead of a corresponding flavor of bouillon cube in recipes, soups, or stews. For example, I use chicken flavor packets when I am making a ground turkey dish. The packets don’t go bad, and rest quite comfortably until needed in my spice cupboard.

Me again: I’ve also found that keeping some chopped green onions or jalapeno peppers in the freezer makes a quick, easy condiment. If I have them, a frozen chicken breast thawed and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes, then cooked with some vegetable oil and an equal amount of soy sauce can be mixed in with cooked and drained ramen sans flavor packet (which I save) to make a decent light meal.