Ramen

Ramen, my favourite comfort food. Cheap, versatile, low-fat, quick and yummy. What else you could ask from your everyday grub? Basically a bowl of ramen consists of broth, veggies, meat (not necessarily tho) and noodles. Be careful when you choose noodles, some brands (most that are available in Finland) contain needless amounts of fat. Traditional recipes usually contain fish or seafood ingredients, so I have omitted those.


Cut the veggies so that they will become "aldente" in boiling water in 2-3 minutes. Veggies are not ment to be soft and soggy! On a lazy day, I dont bother to boil noodles separately but just put everything in and cook them together. For meat I usually choose pork or chicken (my first experiments with beef didnt turn out too well :D ). You can fry the meat separately and just add it to the bowl just before serving. I often buy larger quantities, dice, spice and freeze in portions, for quick everyday food.

Basic ingredients for the broth:

• Chicken stock
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Chilli
• Soy
• Dry sherry
• Salt
• Sugar
• Black pepper (ground)
• Sesam oil

For veggies I often use:

• Onion
• Celery
• Bell pepper
• Bamboo shoots

... also tomatos, button mushrooms, carrots and broccoli.

There are some things to watch for, such as overcooking the veggies, adding too much vegetables and amounts of spices. Personally, I tend to end up with too much vegetables, so especially if you are cooking for just one person, watch closely for quantities. Vegetables-meat-noodles-broth ratio must be kept such that it is still a soup, not a stew!