Everybody Loves Ramen

What else is there to say? It’s so true, right? EVERYBODY loves ramen (and don’t say you don’t, because I know you do)! Something about it always makes my mouth water, no matter how not hungry I am. Maybe it’s because it is so quick and easy to make. Maybe it is because it is just so darn yummy and satisfying. Maybe it’s because it is so versatile – you can add just about anything, and it will still taste good!

Ramen really is like the Asian version of American fast food. It is quick-to-make, delicious, and unhealthy (ramen is super high in sodium and contains MSG)! It’s available in practically all grocery stores, and since it is so inexpensive, many college students depend on it to survive! Ok maybe not, but you get the picture. Ramen is good.

Here’s a short lesson on ramen! Ramen (aka instant noodles) is actually a packaged product named after a real Japanese dish called ramen. In Japan, ramen is an actual noodle soup dish (made from real noodles, not instant ones), served in a savory meat broth and topped with slices of meat (like pork), seaweed, and other good stuff (just look at the picture on your instant noodles package). If you go to Tokyo, don’t be surprised to find ramen restaurants as well! But here in the United States, we refer to instant noodles as ramen, even though they are different.

How I like to make ramen:

The ingredients I use are: 1 egg, 1 package of instant noodle (spicy flavored), 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of chicken broth powder, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and a sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds.

Directions:

1. I first bring 2 cups of water to a boil on the stove.
   
2. Still on medium high heat, I add the noodles, chicken broth powder, soy sauce, and a sprinkle of the spicy chili powder (that came in the packaged ramen).
   
3. Once the noodles are cooked, I take them out and put them in a serving bowl – keeping the soup portion in the hot pan on the stovetop (in other words, don’t take out the soup!).
   
4. Next, I crack the egg into the hot soup broth (see where I’m going with this?) and cover it on medium low heat for 3-5 min until the yolk is a little firm.
   
5. Lastly I pour the soup and egg on top of the noodles in the bowl.
   
6. And then I dig in!
   
   

This is how I made the wondeful bowl of ramen pictured at the top of this post! Doesn't it look yummy?

Enjoy!

Chinese eggs and tomato.

This is one of my all-time childhood favorites. I know, you're probably thinking, What is he talking about? How about the mac & cheese, chicken casserole, and homemade chocolate chip cookies? Well, when you grow up in a traditional Chinese household like I do, you usually don't see those foods on the dinner table. On my table, there's usually food like pig tongue, chicken feet, and definitely Chinese eggs and tomato.

When I was a kid, I use to beg my mom to make this for me every night. So what is Chinese eggs and tomato? Well, let me first tell you what it isn't. It is not American eggs and tomato - it's nothing like an omelet. And it isn't like Italian eggs with a tomato marinara. Chinese eggs and tomato is actually quite a simple dish. It's just scrambled eggs with simmered wedges of tomato. Sounds kind of boring right? But when I was a kid, it was just plain darn addicting.

It's sweet, savory, great over rice, light, and...and...yummy!

Chinese Eggs and Tomato

4-5 eggs
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
2 medium sized tomatoes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

Break eggs into a bowl. Add salt and pepper and beat lightly. Set aside. Cut each tomato into 8 wedges. Heat a wok or skillet with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. When hot, pour in eggs and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until slightly underdone. Remove the egg from the pan into a bowl and set aside. Add remaining oil into the pan and add tomatoes. Add another pinch of salt and pepper and stir with wooden spoon. Add soy sauce. Cook until the tomatoes soften and their juices form a slightly thick sauce. Mix scrambled eggs back into the pan, plate, and serve. Enjoy!

General Tso’s Chicken

This is another thing I ALWAYS eat when I go to an Asian buffet. And boy oh boy is it good! Juicy tender chicken in a thick, savory, sweet, and not so spicy sauce – it’s the quintessence of American Asian buffet food!

General Tso's Chicken

1½ cup cornstarch
¼ cup water
1½ tsp minced garlic
1½ tsp minced ginger root
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup soy sauce
¼ cup white vinegar
¼ cup cooking wine
1½ cup hot chicken broth
3 lbs deboned dark chicken meat, cut into large chunks
1 tsp white pepper
1 egg
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 cups sliced scallions
16 small dried hot peppers

Mix ½ cup cornstarch with water. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, ½ cup soy sauce, vinegar, wine, and chicken broth. Stir until sugar dissolves.

In a separate bowl, mix chicken, remaining soy sauce, and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add remaining cup cornstarch and mix until chicken pieces are coated evenly. Add 1 cup of vegetable oil to help separate chicken pieces. Divide chicken into small quantities and deep-fry at 350 degrees until crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Place a small amount of oil in wok (or sauté pan) and heat until wok/pan is hot. Add scallions and peppers and stir-fry briefly. Stir the cornstarch, water, garlic, ginger mixture and add to wok/pan. Place chicken in the sauce and cook until sauce thickens. Serve this alongside a heaping bowl of hot fluffy rice and enjoy!

Braised tofu.

Ok, so this is yet another recipe my mom picked up from her Korean cooking class (hey what can I say – they’re good!). But let me tell you, this by far is my most favorite recipe out of all the ones she learned. It’s savory, salty sweet, oniony, garlicky, gingery, and not so spicy. It is topped with basically raw garlic, ginger, and scallion – but don’t worry. Their flavors marry so well together and with the braised tofu that somehow the garlic tastes less breath damaging, the ginger less biting, and the scallion less like…well…a scallion. Many times I even end up just eating the garlic ginger scallion topping by itself because it’s so lip-smacking tasty!

On the serving plate, it’s the perfect combo of juicy tofu, soy sauce, and sweet thinly sliced garlic, ginger, scallion, and red pepper. Not only is this my favorite Korean dish from the cooking class, it’s also the most appetizing. As they say, we eat with our eyes first. And as soon as you see this dish, your eyes will be stuffing themselves silly! Before I say any more that might possibly bore you out of trying this – here’s the recipe:

Braised Tofu

1 pack firm tofu
2 Tbsp starch
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
¼ oz peeled ginger
¼ oz peeled garlic
¼ oz scallion
¼ oz cleaned red pepper
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp cooking wine
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp rice wine

Cut tofu in half (not lengthwise) and then into ½ inch thick square slices. Pat tofu dry with paper towel. Sprinkle salt over one side. Coat all sides in starch and shake off the excess. Heat oil in a skillet and add tofu. Cook on both sides until golden brown. Turn off the stove. Julienne ginger, garlic, scallion, and red pepper. Mix soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and rice wine – this is for the sauce. Sprinkle the julienne ginger, garlic, scallion, and red pepper evenly over the tofu in the pan and pour in the sauce. Cook the tofu in the skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. And enjoy!

Dumplings.

Dumplings are amazing. Need I say more? They are easy to make from scratch, available in almost every supermarket, the perfect on-the-go meal, fun to pop in your mouth, great for parties, and they come in all sorts of fillings. I like to think of them as the all in one meal - meat filling, bready wrapper, and specks of green (and that's enough veggie for me!).

Last night I ate at least 20 dumplings. And boy were they good! Meaty pork filling with chopped shrimp and vegetables all boiled in a thin dumpling wrapper. A full course meal all in itself and I ate 20 of them!

I don't know about you, but I don't usually like to eat a dumpling just by itself. I love dumplings, but they often turn out to be just so darn bland. That's why I love the dipping sauces. Yes, of course you can always just dip a dumpling in soy sauce, but a special sauce can make all the difference. Here's my personal favorite easy-to-make dumpling dipping sauce recipe:

Ginger Scallion Dipping Sauce

½ cup sugar
¼ cup sake (or any other cooking wine)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon thinly slice scallions
½ teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon minced ginger

Whisk all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Chill and serve with your favorite dumpling!

I believe dumplings are not only fun and easy to make/eat - they also bring people together. Why not make dumplings with your kids or have a dumpling making party with your friends? Then, you could also have a dumpling eating contest! Dumplings are definitely a fun way to bring those you love around the family table.

Click here for Ming Tsai's amazing recipe for shitake dumplings:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_10521,00.html

Make dumplings. Come together. Share stories. And have fun!

Korean kimchi salad.

I never really liked kimchi to be honest. You know, that spicy pickeled cabbage with specks of red all over. The fact that it was always stored in a huge jar of murky vinegar (I think) didn't help entice my senses either. Kimchi, to me, always tasted like waxy spicy sour cabbage. I just didn't like it.

But Korean kimchi salad is a whole different topic.

Don't be fooled because it has the word "kimchi" in its name. Korean kimchi salad is a fresh refreshing mix of garden veggies with a "not so spicy" sweet dressing. It is nothing - I repeat NOTHING - like regular old kimchi.

The first day I tried it (the same night my mom came home with Korean style grilled chicken!), I almost finished the whole carton of it. Yes, it is that good. It's sweet, crisp, light, and refreshing - the perfect appetizer for any occasion. I highly recommend everyone to try this dish. You won't be disappointed.

Here's the recipe!

Korean Kimchi Salad

1 lb cabbage
1 Tbsp salt
8 oz radish
1 carrot
2 cucumbers
6 Tbsp vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Korean brand hot pepper paste (adjust amount to taste)
Minced garlic (adjust amount to taste)
Sesame seeds (adjust amount to taste)

Cut off cabbage root and take off each leaf carefully from cabbage. Boil the whole cabbage (until it is cooked but still with a snap) and then put leaves in an ice bath. Cut the radish and carrot into julienne strips. Cut the iced cabbage into thin strips. Mix vinegar, sugar, salt, hot pepper paste, and garlic in a bowl. Marinate all the veggies in the dressing and garnish with sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Korean style grilled chicken.

Mmmmmm. I love this stuff. One day my mom discovered this recipe when she was taking a Korean cooking class from a REAL Korean cook. She brought home a sample of it after her class and I immediately fell in love. I almost finished the whole plate before my dad could even get one bite!

Warm juicy grilled chicken with a spicy peppery garliky crust. It will make your mouth crave for more!

Here's the recipe!

Korean Style Grilled Chicken

1 lb chicken
1 scallion
1/4 oz shredded red pepper
1 tsp sesame seeds
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp ginger juice
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp hot pepper paste (this is a Korean brand - check your local Asian market)
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
2 Tbsp cooking wine

First de-bone the chicken and cut it into 2 or 3 inch pieces. Strike the chicken meat flat. Next marinate chicken meat in ginger juice, garlic juice, and cooking wine for 2 minutes. Mix all soy sauce, hot pepper paste, sugar, chopped garlic, sesame oil, sesames seeds, and black pepper to make a sauce. Combine chicken meat with the sauce and grill them in a grill pan. Finally garnish with cut scallion, shredded red pepper, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

ENJOY!