VIDEO: Four Ways With Ramen — Food Waste Feast

Mar 27

Mar 27 VIDEO: Four Ways With Ramen

Hero Recipes, Stems+Stalks+Buds+Flowers, Quick Recipes, Other Veggies, Meat and Seafood, Fresh Herbs, Eggs, Allium

This episode is about everyone’s favorite pantry noodle - the ever-so-delicious and versatile ramen noodle. Mel and Mei make 4 different ramen dishes and talk about their favorite brands and flavors. Plus there may be Pokemon outfits and there is definitely some pina colada, food waste style.

ramen grilled cheese, ramen egg nest, garlic butter anchovy ramen, souped up ramen

Ramen Grilled Cheese: Mix cooked and drained ramen noodles with a lightly beaten egg and a pinch of salt. Form into patties and griddle over medium-low heat until browned on the bottom, then flip and top one patty with cheese. Once melted, top the cheesy patty with the other patty and make sure both are browned and crispy on the outside before eating.

Egg In A Ramen Nest: Put cooked ramen in a bowl with a splash of sesame oil, soy sauce, scallions, cooked meat, if using, and mix it up. Transfer to a nonstick pan coated in oil and make a well in the center. Crack an egg into the center and cook over medium heat. Leave it alone until the egg is cooked and the bottom of the nest is deliciously crispy and brown.

Ramen Noodle Salad: This is an incredibly versatile hero recipe where you can use tons of different cold dressings or vinaigrettes, add your choice of protein, and top with just about any vegetable you like.

Here’s the basic formula: Cooked & drained ramen noodles + dressing (like this soy-tahini or peanut butter sauce) + raw or cooked vegetables (we used raw carrots, cucumber and jicama) + protein (we used fried tofu) + garnish (we used sesame seeds, fresh mint and chili crisp).

Garlic Butter Anchovy Ramen: Melt 3 tablespoons salted butter in a medium pan, then add 2-4 cloves garlic and 2-4 anchovies. Let cook until the garlic is fragrant and the anchovies have mostly dissolved into the butter. Meanwhile, cook and drain one package of ramen, discarding or saving the spice packet. When done, add the hot noodles to the garlicky butter and top with grated Parmesan.

Ramen, But Extra: When you’re just making basic ramen with the spice packet, you can jazz it up with things like: nori/seaweed, jammy 7-minute eggs, white or black sesame seeds, spinach, scallions, chili oil, fried onion, sauteed mushrooms, fresh ginger, a fried egg, sesame oil, cilantro, meatballs, rotisserie chicken, leftover meat or veggies of any kind, or making egg drop soup. For easy egg drop soup, just lightly beat an egg and drizzle it into the ramen broth about a minute before the noodles are done.