fatbastardeats.com

As an addendum(look it up you savage) to my diatribe against ramen/ideas to make it food I forgot there is a situation I use ramen for exclusively. I always keep 2 packages of ramen in a large Tupperware bowl with a spoon in the trunk of my car. That way I always have something to eat. I’ve yet to find the place I couldn’t get hot water. And you can actually make ramen even with hot water from the sink, but be prepared to give it a half hour or so to soften up.

But I always use good ramen, bought from a properly stinky asian store and preferably with an extra packet of grease in addition to the dried spices.

photo credit: joelogon

So what do you use ramen for? Leave a comment and let me know.

Here’s a little video I made on the when, why and how of reusing oil.

photo credit: jetalone
Got an email from Paul the other day, asking about possible toppings and ramen noodle recipes he could use . I was very excited because this was another person I could add to my ‘To Kill’ list for his part in the breakdown of the modern world. People who know so little about cooking and are so terrified of learning they will just boil water and add powdered packets of artificial shrimp rather than take the time to make an actual meal are…not my favorite.

But then I realized it’s not an entirely bad source of food, just overused and under appreciated. And he’s making an effort, not just stuffing his gullet with anything you can buy for less than a quarter. And for a lot of people it could be a good starting point for learning to cook, after all historically a lot of food started with a boiling pot and whatever was within arms reach. So I’m going to offer a little compromise, I’ll give a few ramen noodle recipes, tips actually, and tomorrow I’ll explain how to make a perfect plate of pasta that’s just as cheap and (in my opinion) way better than ramen.

And Paul, I’m going to move you from the ‘To Kill’ list to the ‘Might Kill’ list. Congratulations.

So when trying to figure out how to liven up ramen we have to take a few things into account. What does ramen have going for it? It’s cheap(dollar for calorie) and easy(time for taste).We want to add flavors and nutrients without upsetting that balance(no safron please).

So everything I suggest here doesn’t need to be cooked outside of our boiling water and nothing is so expensive you’d be better off just having something else. Keep what’s great and make it better.

Bulk
One of the main things we will want to add are calories and protein, 2 things that can be a little light in straight ramen. We have to be careful though to make sure that what we add doesn’t conflict with the flavor that comes with the soup(surprisingly, powdered fish entrails does not go with everything). My favorite two are

• Eggs Beating a couple of eggs and dropping it into a boiling pot of ramen is a great way to turn it from a snack into a meal. It’s a poor man’s egg drop soup. Just make sure you beat them before you add them to the water, or you’ll end up with big clumps of egg white.
• Cheese Melting some sharp cheddar into your ramen is awesome. I suggest slowly adding a half of cup of shredded cheese while cooking so it melts evenly. If you pour out most of the broth(or all of it) before doing this you get a psuedo Japanese Mac and Cheese.

photo credit: shibainu

Fresh
One thing missing from ramen is the fresh taste, so dropping a few ingredients you just picked up from the farmers market can really make it seem home made.

• Onions Some diced onions make ramen feel like an actual soup and not a precursor to the Jetson’s food pills. I suggest about 3 green onions, they are easier to cut, they don’t need to cook as long and they have a milder flavor.
• Mushrooms 5 or 6 fresh sliced mushrooms will bring their own unique flavor, their own unique texture and their own unique mushroomness. And they’re like little flavor sponges so when you bite one you actually get a burst of the soups underlying spice.
• Herbs If you have any fresh herbs laying around from last nights dinner just throw them in the pot. They can really change things up, and damn near any herbs will do. I really like cilantro or basil in there myself, about a tablespoon chopped.

Vegetables
While ramen is cheap in terms of calories, it’s actually expensive in terms of nutrients. Throwing some veggies in there can offset ramen’s main failing while keeping it just as easy.

• Tomatoes Dropping about half an 8 ounce can of diced tomatoes into your ramen adds a great contrast and a real nice acidity. And this goes with any flavor(even powdered fish entrails).
• Spinach For about a buck you can get a box of spinach from the frozen food section and add some earthiness to your ramen. I’d cut it(still frozen) into 8 pieces and drop one into my pot just as it reaches a boil. It makes it more like collared greens, but without the suck.

Tommorow I’ll get into ramen alternatives but if you’re going to eat it(and I know you philistines are) at least use some of these ramen noodle recipes to make it a true meal and not just a slow poison shipped from Japan that they’re using to make us weak in preparation for Perl Harbor 2.

photo credit: auer1816

photo credit: bayat

Being able to eyeball common measurements is a necessity if you’re a cook. It’s way faster, especially for things that need to be cleaned off your measuring spoons before you can use them again(damn you olive oil). It’s also more intuitive and you have to develop those senses if you plan to start experimenting and moving up the culinary ranks. So here are a few tips on getting started eyeballing it:

1. When don’t you eyeball it: Generally if you’re adding something for flavor then estimating it is fine. If you’re going for some kind of chemical reaction, then eyeballing it is not acceptable. This is why cooks are usually terrible bakers, they refuse to follow the book. But 1 pint of buttermilk and 1/4 tsp of baking soda will raise 1 cup of sifted flour. 1/5 of a tsp of baking soda will not work.
2. Use the same dishes: You have to learn by looking with the same dishes each time. A half cup will look different in your ice cream bowl or your coffee cup, use the same one each time until you know what you’re doing.
3. Learn by feel: Humans have an amazing capacity for muscle memory and learning timing. That’s why I can still get through the first level of Super Mario Bros. in 48 seconds. Use that, remember how long pouring a tablespoon of oil feels like.
4. Set out to learn: You have to decide you’re going to learn. You have to look at a 1/3 of a cup in a dish and take that mental snapshot so you can get that measure next time. You have to think about how long it’s taking you to pour a tablespoon or that muscle memory isn’t going to set up. Spend a few nights making meals you already know so you can concentrate on getting the measures down.
5. Remember the easy ones:
   1. 1 squeeze of the honey bottle is about 1 tbs
   2. 1 pinch = 1/8 of a tsp

Spend a little time practicing. In the long run you’ll not only save time(both cooking and cleaning) but you’ll develop a feel for cooking you never could have otherwise.

You might notice, if your eye is drawn to the lower right hand corner, that I’ve added the foodie blogroll to this site. It’s the ill-sized box with a header graphic that looks like clip art from 1997.

Design issues aside it’s a great way to find new and interesting food blogs you might not otherwise run across. I’m a huge fan of things that take me out of my “information comfort zone” and bring me things that aren’t in my normal internet circle.

So check it out when you get a chance.