Monday, July 9, 2012

Ramen

Noodles will always be at the top list of comfort foods, and my all-time favorite is ramen. I've had my first taste of ramen when I was a child, and the most popular brand then was Nissin's Ramen.  It disappeared then came back again years ago, but the flavor is no longer the same.

There are three top local brands of ramen here in the Philippines: Lucky Me, Payless, and Maggi. Each of them have different flavors and consistency of noodles, but the one I like the most is jjampong. As for foreign brands, the best out there for me will be Shin noodles.

Shin noodles are really spicy and I like the noodles because they are thick. When I eat ramen, I always have kimchi as a side dish. Ever since I tried paring the two, ramen is just bland and flat without kimchi. The one in the picture above has kimchi, gyoza, and tamagoyaki along with it. I made the gyoza and tamagoyaki, of course

There's an ongoing debate over where ramen origninated. They said ramen is traditionally from Japan, but the concept came originally from China. Regardless of its origin, ramen is good for a quick hunger fix and can effectively heat your insides during a cold, rainy (or snowy) day.

How to Cook Ramen

Cooking instant ramen is really simple and easy, but each person prefers to prepare this flavorful dish in their own way. For me, this is how I do it:

  1. Take out the flavoring of a packet of ramen noodles and put the powder into a bowl.
  2. Boil about 4 cups of water for a pack of ramen. Once the water comes to a bubbly simmer, take out about 2 cups of the hot liquid and put it into a bowl with the flavorings.
  3. Bring the pot back to the heat and let it boil this time. Now add your noodles and any dried vegetables that come with it and cook according to package instructions.
  4. Once cooked, take out the pot and strain the noodles and veggies. Others rinse the noodles, I don't.
  5. Place the noodles and veggies in the bowl of flavorings then mix.  Top with a tablespoon of leek/scallions and mung bean sprouts if you prefer.
To Slurp, or Not To Slurp

I used to eat noodles primly by twirling the noodles with a fork as it's rude to make a sound while eating.  However, after watching a sort of documentary on how Japanese people eat their ramen, I tried to do the slurp. 

They said slurping makes the aroma circulate in your mouth as well as your nose, so you'll get a deeper perception of flavor. I don't know if it is psychological or not, but when I tried it, it really puts your ramen eating to a whole new different level.  Of course to make your slurping "legal," you have to use chopsticks.  It's sort of "corny" to eat ramen and slurp with the use of a 4-pronged utensil.  ;)
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