Ramen: the Nostalgia Trip

Sometimes you forget the joy in eating something simple.  A memory lingers in your mind of childhood pekishness, and what you used to do when it popped up.  Make toast.  Pour some cereal into a bowl, adding milk optional.  As you get a little older you begin to understand the act of measuring and boiling water into a pot.  You have discovered ramen.  Warm, comforting, and the added bonus of being salty instead of sweet.  Your tastes are beginning to mature just a little.

Then years later your grown up.  You’ve become the worst kind of food snob; an intellectual food snob.  Okay, not really, just couldn’t resist the random Philadelphia Story reference.  But still, you poo poo instant ramen; instead of broth packages your boiling bones from last nights dinner with a plethora of aromatics and herbs.  This is all very well, but nagging in the back of your mind is a need for simpler times and simpler food.  What is it  . .  . .and then you find the last package of shrimp flavored ramen stuffed in amongst your graveyard of goodies you keep cuz they’ll just never go bad.  And then you find yourself slaving over a pot of instant ramen like never before.  Garnishing it with sesame oil doused scallions, sprinkling on seven-spice, and finishing with julienne ham.  You’ve discovered a childhood classic and elevated it just enough so you and your childhood can meet up halfway and have a reunion.  Now if only you could find that old vhs copy of Back To the Future your evening would be complete.

Shrimp Ramen with Ham and Scallions

1 package maruchan shrimp ramen

2 cups of water

1 tsp yamasa soy sauce

1 tbs mirin seasoning

Seven spice seasoning, to taste

1 fat scallion, sliced

¼ tsp sesame oil

1/3 cup spiral ham, julienne

Handful of frozen peas

1 tsp grated ginger, from ginger in a jar

sesame seeds, to taste

bring the water to a boil.  Add the flavor packet from you ramen and allow to simmer a few seconds while giving a good stir.  Add the soy sauce and mirin.  Toss scallions with sesame oil and  pinch of sea salt.  Add ramen noodles to pot and keep on medium heat.  Now lay on top the scallions, ham, sprinkle over the seven spice and sesame seeds.  Loosen up noodles with chopstick.  Now add in frozen peas and watch as they warm up and noodles cook.  This takes seconds.  Turn off the heat and add the fresh ginger and mix in.  Taste and adjust as you like.

Add more of these as you like: the seven spice, ginger, sesame seeds, mirin, soy sauce.

Eat right away with a Chinese soup spoon and chopsticks. Yummy!