This Month’s Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, I have recently struck up an e-mail friendship with Guy (Dr. Biggles) of Meathenge, who this month is hosting a recipe contest in which he has challenged his fellow food bloggers to WOW him with their ‘everyday recipes’. The things we make when we’re not dressing up for company.

So…Here’s my very favorite, quick & easy, middle-of-the-week recipe. I think of it as Asian Macaroni & Cheese. It’s so easy to make, doesn’t totally trash the kitchen, and there are always plenty of leftovers, at least in my kitchen, that is. With my daily food blog I keep pretty busy with lots of challenging Asian recipes. So, when I don’t have to make something exotic and photogenic, I like to keep it quick, simple, tasty, and don’t like to generate too many pots, pans and dishes that I will have to wash later. I also like to have lots of easy-to-reheat leftovers. And since I have to keep so many Asian ingredients around, that’s what’s usually on hand in my kitchen. The dish that best fits all these criteria is my Homemade Ramen Recipe, although the name is not meant to imply that I make my own noodles, which I don’t. I just call it Homemade Ramen to distinguish it from ‘cup noodles’ and such.

All the ingredients can be purchased at your local supermarket, although I like to garnish it with a type of Japanese red ginger called beni shoga, something a little more exotic (but not essential) that has to be purchased at an Asian market or a gourmet grocery (but once you find it, a jar of it will keep practically forever in the fridge…that’s IF you can resist foregoing the ramen altogether and devouring the whole jar all in one sitting). Just be sure not to confuse it with ‘gari shoga’ which is the the pink, paper thin slices of pickled ginger typically served with sushi. Beni shoga is bright red, usually available in a fine julienne rather than in slices, although it comes in a variety of chops, and has a slightly more salty and peppery flavor than its sushi cousin. The most common use for beni shoga is a component of yakisoba, a kind of Japanese griddle-fried noodle dish, ubiquitous on the streets of Japan and at all the wonderful Japanese festivals. My homemade ramen has many of the ingredients and characteristics of yakisoba, but the noodles and the preparation technique are quite different.

One of the best things about this recipe is that it lends itself to seemingly endless opportunities for improvising based on the ingredients you have on hand, and customizing according to your individual tastes. There are lots of different greens that would be suitable, including spinach, Swiss chard, and variations in the cabbage family. Other vegetables may be added too, including carrots, snow peas or green beans, any of the rainbow assortment of bell peppers, and zucchini or yellow squash. And adding some kind of exotic mushroom would definitely change the landscape of the dish.

For a little spice, you can add some chili garlic paste, or a few drops of chili oil. For a Korean flair, you can add kimchi. For a Vietnamese flavor, you can add a dash of nuoc mam (Asian fish sauce). And for a Chinese accent, a little oyster sauce or hoisin. You can also experiment with different grades of soy sauce, from dark to light and those infused with various flavorings. So, if this recipe becomes a standard favorite in your kitchen like it has in mine, you might want to add a few new Asian ingredients to your pantry.

For the basics, here’s what you’ll need to have on hand:

4 packages of instant ramen noodles (discard the ‘flavor packet’)

2 de-boned chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (You can also substitute an equal amount of beef, pork, shrimp, fish or firm tofu).

2 cups chicken stock (plain water will do if you don’t have stock on hand, but you can also use the chicken bones and your vegetable trimmings to make a quick stock)

3 tablespoons sesame oil (You can also substitute vegetable oil, but it lacks the flavor of sesame oil)

1 head of Napa cabbage, trimmed and sliced crosswise across the leaves into 1″ strips and thoroughly washed

1 bunch scallions, trimmed, washed, and finely sliced

2 cups mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (You can use any type of mushroom you like)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced

1 tablespoon ginger root, peeled and finely grated

1/4 cup soy sauce (you can add more or less according to taste)

1/4 cup beni shoga (bright red Japanese pickled ginger, optional for garnish, and not to be confused with ‘gari shoga’, which is sushi ginger)

To prepare Celeste’s Homemade Ramen:

In a large kettle, bring two quarts of water to a boil and add ramen noodles. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender. Remove from the heat, drain immediately, return noodles to the kettle, toss with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, cover and set aside. Take care not to overcook the noodles as they will undergo a little more cooking time once the dish comes together.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a large skillet or wok and stir-fry the diced chicken for 3 to 5 minutes, until just lightly browned. Add the grated ginger, garlic, scallions, and mushrooms and stir-fry until tender. Add the cabbage and stir-fry gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and the stock and simmer until the cabbage is just tender and reduced in volume. Be sure not to overcook the cabbage as it will become limp and lose color. Stop the stir-fry while it is still green and slightly crisp.

Remove the stir-fry mixture from the heat, add to the kettle with the cooked noodles and toss gently but thoroughly. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Serve in shallow soup bowls, garnish with pickled red ‘beni shoga’ ginger, and eat with chopsticks!

Makes 4 to 6 main course servings.

A Call for Chopsticks Click here for details.