Not your college ramen. Most people hear ramen and think overly salty powdered broth and limp noodles. I use ramen noodles as a pasta base for many things they are quick cooking and in a convenient shape for long noodles. If you thing of them simply as another pasta option and use the powder for other things you will actually find them both convenient and economical. Grab a pack, or more likely half a pack and some freezer sauce and you have a fast hot lunch for the office or anywhere you can find a microwave.
On the other hand you can also top them with pretty much anything leaning Asian too as I did her with meatballs, veggies, soy sauce and other Asian flavors.
Frozen meatballs, the last of the stir-fry veggies and a ramen pack, There wasn’t much left of the stir-fry veggies, so I fortified with some sweet peppers and a handful of mixed veggies, garlic and ginger. Sesame oil, fish sauce, soy sauce.
Check your ramen package, most are two servings! Who knew? However if you look closely you can see they are carefully folded, you can open the fold and they will pop perfectly (sorta) into two servings. Put a bit of sesame oil into a pan with a bit of cooking oil. Heat over medium high heat. Add the veggies to the hot pan. Stir fry the veggies, let them sit for a time, then stir, sit, and stir. Meanwhile thaw 4 meatballs in the microwave. Add garlic and ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce and 1 tsp (half) of the seasoning packet powder.
Pour a bit of the pasta cooking water into the pan to deglaze and make sauce/broth.
Stir in the hot meatballs to brown and coat with the sauce, add more pasta water to desired consistency. Place the noodles in a shallow bowl.
Top with the veggies, and meatballs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Add a salad for some freshness – I mixed sesame oil, cooking oil, soy sauce and vinegar for a quick dressing and topped the salad with sesame seeds.
I have always cooked, I was that person who could make a meal from an empty fridge. I have lived alone and with large and small families, I have cooked for camps on wood stoves, and in professional kitchens. I have lived and worked all over the west from Montana, to Seattle to Arizona to San Diego. I have traveled, maybe not 'all over the world', yet, and have collected tastes recipes and techniques everywhere, and every one I meet.
