When I was a little girl my dad was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, outside of Las Vegas. We lived there for five years. When I was 7 or 8, the Coopers moved into the house next door. I don’t remember much about them, except that they had two daughters, Becky and GinGin. They were younger than I was (and I don’t even know which was which), but so were my own brother and sister, so I was used to “little” kids. I mostly remember two things about Becky and GinGin. Once, my dad made ice cream in our old hand-crank ice cream freezer. After it was finished, he dumped the slurry of rock salt and ice out in the back yard, and told us not to mess with it. One of those girls ate some of it, and got sick. Why? I have no idea. Did we coerce her? Possibly. I do know we got in trouble for it.
The other thing I remember is that their mother introduced our mother to something we all called “Korean Noodles.” I loved them. They were totally different from spaghetti or macaroni (the only other noodles I was familiar with), and it was always a happy day when dinner was accompanied by their long, thin, twisty savoriness.
Turns out–those were Ramen noodles. I didn’t understand until I was an adult that packaged, instant Ramen noodle soups are a staple of college-student cheap eats. Or that they’re basically fried, then dehydrated, so that the end product is deceptively high in fat*. But even more recently, I’ve made an even more interesting discovery: real Ramen. In Japan, Ramen soups, made with fresh, high-quality ingredients, are a familiar, nutritious meal-in-a-bowl.
Now, as an adult, I still love the long curly noodles. I buy them at my local Asian market; nutritionally, they’re more like the high-carb, low-fat pasta we’re all familiar with. I don’t necessarily put them in a soup–I like this version, which uses them as the base of a stir-fry, complemented by plenty of veggies and just enough protein. Meal-in-a-bowl.
This recipe is from Nina Simonds’ Asian Noodles, out of print, but still pretty easy to find, and one of my favorite (and most heavily used) cookbooks. This formula specifies Napa cabbage and carrots, but I always just make do with whatever vegetable I happen to have in the crisper–stir-fry is always a good way to clean out the fridge. As with any stir-fry, the bulk of the work is prepping the ingredients–cut, marinate, mix, chop, and have everything right ready to go before you put your skillet on the heat. Then you’ll have dinner ready in the time it takes the kids to set the table.
Spunky Stir-fried Ramen
6 servings1 pound chicken cutlets, cut into thin julienne strips (Simonds calls for pork loin)
Marinade–Mix together:
2 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 T. minced fresh ginger
1 T. minced garlic2 cups sliced onions, cut into thin julienne shreds
1 t. crushed red pepper, or to taste
4 cups sliced Napa cabbage, julienned (but I used snowpeas in the above photo)
1 cup grated carrots (I used fresh shitake mushrooms)
1 1/2 T. rice wine or sakeSauce–Mix together:
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 T. rice wine or sake
1 1/2 T. sugar
1 1/2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. toasted sesame seeds3/4 pound fine dried Japanese ramen, Chinese egg noodles, or angel hair pasta, cooked until just tender, and drained
In a bowl, mix the meat with the marinade, toss lightly, and let marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat a wok or skillet and spritz liberally with pan spray. Add the chicken, stir-fry until cooked, and remove.
Let the pan heat up again, and spritz liberally again. Add the onions and crushed pepper, and stir-fry about 1 minute. Add the cabbage shreds (or whatever vegetable you’re using). Toss lightly for 1 minute and add the carrots and rice wine. Cook for another minute and add the sauce. Heat until boiling. Add the cooked chicken and the noodles, and toss lightly to blend. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.
*For the record, a store-bought package of instant Ramen contains more than 30% of calories from fat, more sodium than you want to know, and pretty much nothing nutritionally useful.