Ramen (ラーメン)

Jump to Recipe

Background

Ramen (opens new window) (ラーメン) is a noodle soup dish that was originally imported from China and has become one of the most popular dishes in Japan in recent decades.

I've always been interested in Japanese culture and even took it as my foreign language credit requirement in college. If I ever visit Japan (and I intend to one day!), I should remember proper chopstick dining etiquette (opens new window).

But I was eating ramen way before I even cared about Japan. Growing up in the household of a Mexican family, I lived on ramen as a staple meal. Specifically, Maruchan® (opens new window)'s Instant Lunch (opens new window), which I'd often have for dinner loaded with whatever hot sauces were available; usually Valentina (opens new window) or Tapatío (opens new window). It wasn't until later in life that I was introduced to the ultimate hot sauce, Blair's Mega Death (opens new window).

As a broke college student, I survived off of ramen as well. In addition to being so active all the time (skating around campus and doing yoga classes), I actually ended up losing a lot of weight. I joked that it was because of my "ramen diet". Which is funny, because I was only half joking.

Now that I am an adult with the luxury of time and money, I've upgraded my ramen game, considerably.

I've enjoyed many hours watching popular animes like Naruto and Dragon Ball. I've always liked the food scene's where Naruto is dining at Ichiraku's (opens new window) famous ramen shop or Goku is stuffing his face.

Perhaps this helped establish ramen as the iconic food in Japan that it is. Either way, I started looking into videos on YouTube for what real ramen looked like. This (and Naruto) is where I got the inspiration to simply add pork loin, Nori (opens new window), a soft boiled egg and some vegetables to the mix. I realized you could also replace the pork loins with sushi if you'd like.

Recipe

1 serving. 20-30 mins. prep time.

Ingredients

1           pork loin
1           Maruchan® Gold packet
500   mL    water
1           soft boiled egg
1/2   sheet Nori
1/2         sliced jalapeños
2     tbsp  chopped green onions
2     tbsp  grilled white mushrooms or chopped carrots
0.021 tbsp  pepper*

* Precise measurements are important.

Instructions

1. Begin boiling water for your soft boiled egg. Boil the egg for 7 mins. If you're smart and prepare the eggs ahead of time, you can also marinate the eggs in soy sauce for added flavor.
2. Microwave noodles and water in a bowl for 4 minutes.
3. Slice pork loin in half, lengthwise. I find the thinly sliced pork loin easier to bite out of.
4. Grill pork loins in a frying pan. Also grill mushrooms if you are including them as your preferred vegetable.
5. Chop the rest of your vegetables. You can do this while you are grilling the steak.
6. Cut your Nori into two squares.
7. Combine ingredients. By now, your ramen should be done microwaving and your soft boiled egg should be almost done. Mix the ramen packet's sauce into the bowl, stir, and add vegetables. Garnish with pepper. Adorn steaks and Nori to the side of the bowl.
8. Remove boiled egg from water. I usually use tongs for this. Place into a cold bowl of water for a minute. Carefully crack the shell and peel. Slice the egg in half. Place in ramen.
9. Eat it.

Tags: Recipes