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!

Chinese Hot and Sour Soup, Little Em's Favorite Food

It was a lovely afternoon.  Summer had slowly started to creep its way into Portland, and as with all Portlanders everyone was outside the minute the sun was out.  Walking, talking, hanging about the parks and going up and down on the swings.  My mother and I were on our way to pick up little Emily, my cute four year old niece, from her day care.  Emily is absolutely one of my favorite people.  I just might choose her as my companion on a deserted island; provided there is a well established food forest and I can bring my cupboard of ingredients.  My latest culinary conquest would become a regular among our edibles upon this island: Hot and Sour soup.  It is Emily’s favorite food to eat when she comes visiting, but up until this day we would go to August Moon for her soup. 

 

Since my mother and I are both struggling financially we decided to make dinners together and save money.  So on this particular evening I suggested we make Hot and Sour soup at home instead of going out to the restaurant.  I didn’t make a truly authentic version, except maybe in flavor I chose to add what I liked.  I believe in soups you should just add what you like and what’s in the fridge.  I used chicken and mushrooms because that’s what we had.  As is always the case little Em was quite excited, and no sooner had I lit the fire underneath the pot she was there standing atop a kitchen chair in apron moving a wooden spoon about in the soup pot.  The soup received an extra heavy hit of fresh ginger as I let Emily scoop the ginger out of my ginger paste jar; never mind, I thought, ginger is my second favorite aromatic, seconded only by garlic.  The sweet and earthy smelly of ginger and mushrooms frying in the pot gave a heavenly scent to the kitchen.

Within less than an hour of the soup being made it was gone.

Emily ate most of it, and asked for me to make it again the very next day.

Hot and Sour Soup

2 chicken tender loins, sliced thin

4 large cremini mushrooms, julienned (To give off the appearance of tofu and Chinese mushrooms)

Sesame Oil

1 tsp ginger

Pint of chicken stock

½ tsp light soy

½ tsp dark soy

Pacific coarse sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 TBS mirin seasoning

2 TBS cornstarch

½ cup water

2 TBS organic, unpasteurized, unfiltered Cider Vinegar (Whole Foods brand, I highly recommend this vinegar)

Heat sesame oil on medium heat on soup pot.  Add chicken and fry, tossing about sometimes, till white.  Add the mushrooms and a little more oil.  Fry till softening a bit.  Add ginger and fry tossing about till wonderfully fragrant.  Pour in the chicken stock slowly.  Bring to a boil, and during this time add the soy sauces, salt, pepper, and mirin.  Once to a boil, turn immediately to low.  Mix the cornstarch with the water and add this to the soup.  Allow to simmer till thickened to a very light cream consistency.  Add the vinegar, taste, and adjust the seasonings as you like.  I found that mine wanted a little extra vinegar.