Blue Ribbon Ramen

Day 31: The Last (soup) Supper

A few months ago, after I had been laid off, my friend Margaret brought by an unemployment "care package". This basically consisted of a few snacks, a couple of bottles of wine, and two packets of Top Ramen. I don't actually think I can remember the last time I had Ramen and I thought it would be a brilliant way to end my 31 days without having to actually cook anything. Jay more or less refused to eat it, but I heated up a bowl for myself (Jay got himself some leftovers) and we sat down with a side salad for our last soup supper. As we ate I reviewed the ingredients of the Ramen and it occurred to me how simple it would be to to prepare without need of msg and corn protien and pondered if it would be better or not (lets face it, Ramen is good, it just feels wrong to eat 910 mg of sodium in one meal). I popped up mid meal to take on the challenge and quickly threw together a competing soup. Jay and I both thought it was much better and just as easy:

Blue Ribbon Ramen

1 serving

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp dark soy sauce

4 oz somen noodles

5 frozen broccoli florets

salt to taste

Boil broth and soy sauce over high heat. Add noodles and broccoli and cook for 3 minutes until noodles are soft. Salt to taste.

Jay's review:

Top Ramen: 3 yums (out of 5!) Undergrad

Blue Ribbon Ramen: 4 yums (out of 5!) Grad

Curry Noodle Soup

Day 12: #27

So eleven days in I really wanted to cover my proverbial bases. Brainstorming, Jay and I figured we would try a Thai style soup - something a la my absolute favorite # 27 from Mae Phim. #27 is, I think, some version of heaven. It is also very rich. So when I made it I tried to make it a little less so, and add some veggies for some degree of nutritional value. We went to the new QFC in our hood, which didn't have a great selection of Asian style noodles, so we ended up with a Japanese style somen noodle. I think I would have preferred it with a wider udon. Other than that it turned out well, just the right amount of spice and flavor but not nearly as rich as the original #27:

Curry Noodle Soup

1 medium onion, 1/4 minced, the rest diced

2 tbsp ginger, minced

3 lemongrass stalks, the bottom 4 inches minced

3-6 tbsp good quality yellow curry paste (amount will vary depending on quality and type - look at the instructions on your curry paste for typical coconut milk/paste ratio)

2 cups vegetable broth

4 cups light coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 block nigari tofu (any extra firm tofu will work, chicken might be nice as well), cubed

1 tbsp canola oil

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 carrots cut on the bias into 1/2 inch pieces

2 small jalapeno or thai peppers, seeded and minced

10 oz. udon, soba, or rice noodles, cooked

2 green onions, thinly sliced

good quality chili paste to taste (optional)

In a soup pot heat 1/4 cup vegetable broth over medium high heat. Add minced ginger, lemongrass and onion for 3-4 minutes until just cooked. Add curry paste and mix thoroughly. Add 2 cups of coconut milk and, whisking thoroughly, heat to a boil. Add remaining coconut milk, remaining broth and fish sauce. Heat to a simmer and add cubed tofu. Simmer while you prepare the rest.

In a wok, heat canola oil over high heat. Saute each of the veggies (remaining onion, carrot, bell pepper and jalapeno) one at a time until just barely soft. As the veggies are cooked add them to the curry broth pot.

To serve place a 1/2 cup noodles at the bottom of a bowl. Ladle curry broth and veggies over until covered. Garnish with green onion and chili paste (if desired).

Jay's review:

4.0 yums (out of 5). A thicker noodle would have made this even better. Nice.

Miso Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings

Day 6: Mee-so Yummy!

After having the leftovers from the chicken and dumplings last night for dinner, I was craving something light and healthy for tonight's soup. Nothing is lighter than the brothy earthiness of a simple miso. That said, miso alone does not sustain, so I set about finding a recipe with a little more "there" there. On Epicurious, I found a recipe for White Miso with Sweet Potato Dumplings, which appealed two me. However, I much prefer yams to sweet potatoes and white miso, as commented in many reviews, Is far too light of a miso to compete with the flavor of either.

Miso is made from the fermentation of rice, barley, and/or soybeans, the most common varieties being white, red, barley, and soybean. Red miso is made from white rice, barley, and soybeans and is red to brownish. Red miso is high is protein and is strong in flavor. White miso is made of rice and a small amount of soybeans. It tastes the sweetest on account of a high carbohydrate content. Barley miso has no rice and is made from barley and soybeans. It has a very dark color, is saltier than other miso, and is very rich in taste. Soybean miso is made only from soybeans and is reddish-brown and somewhat chunky.

I used barley miso, frankly because it is what I have, but I also prefer barley miso because of its strong flavor and beautiful brown color. I think red miso would work well with this soup as well if you prefer a less rich flavor. In addition I added some ginger to the dumplings and altered the soup ingredients. All in all I would say this soup followed the concept of the Epicurious recipe, but varied pretty widely in its execution. I served with steamed edamame.

Miso Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings

2 large garnet yams, cooked, peeled, and mashed

1 tbsp canola oil

1 medium shallot, minced

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 in fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

12 wonton wrappers

2 cups sliced bok choy

2 carrots, diced

1/2 cup dried sliced shitake mushrooms

5 cups water

2-3 tbsp brown miso paste (depends on your miso paste)

1 tbsp soy sauce or to taste

2 scallions, thinly sliced

In a skillet heat oil and cook shallots, garlic, and ginger for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more. Combine with mashed yams and salt and pepper filing to taste. To make dumplings, drop a heaping teaspoon into the center of one wonton wrapper, moisten the edges and draw the corners together pressing the seams together. Set aside.

Boil 5 cups of water, using 1 cup of boiling water cover the dried mushrooms and set aside. Add miso to the remaining water. Add soy sauce to taste and set aside, keeping it warm. In another pot place vegetables, dumplings, and a small amount of water. Boil for 4 minutes or until dumpling wrappers are translucent. Remove mushrooms from soaking liquid and add soaking liquid to miso. Serve by dropping a few dumplings and veggies in the bottom of a bowl and cover with broth. Garnish with scallions and serve.

Jay's review:

4 yums (out of 5). Dumplings rock!