I have been a ramen aficionado since the wee age of 9. In fact, I do believe THIS was the first thing I ever cooked. Whether one considers making packaged ramen as actual cooking is up for discussion. Few however can debate that ramen is inexplicably delicious and always satisfying to the belly grumbles. Let’s not forget the affordability factor.
Ramen, otherwise known as the national cuisine for starved and broke college students, is not necessarily the most nutritious of options, but it gets the job done in a pinch. I enjoyed ramen as a 9 year old, unaware of its poor nutritional value and only relishing its slurptastic qualities.
I recall asking my mom to only get the one in the package not the gross cup of noodles, that was for amateurs. I would look at the colorful package with its detailed picture of the curly ramen noodles and bright veggies in a clear broth. I was stumped the first time I opened up the package and had the noodles and a flavor packet in my hands. I shook the empty plastic package furiously and was saddened that there was no egg or vegetables in the package. I peered closer to the picture and noticed in tiny print “Serving suggestion.”
This by the way, meant absolutely nothing to my 9 year old mind. I figured they just left out it out this time around. After the next time this happened I was livid.
“Mom! Why don’t I get any eggs or veggies like they show in the picture! Is there another package?! I think you need to stop buying this brand. They clearly do not have their stuff together.”
“Mila, it’s just a picture to show you what you can do. Do you want me to add some veggies in it for you?”
“No mom, I got this. But for the record, you really need to stop buying them. They are liars.”
My mom laughed and said ok. The thing of it is…I didn’t even LIKE veggies or the egg. But for some odd reason I felt they should have been in there since it was so nicely pictured. I boiled some water, poured in the spice mix and then threw in some chicken my mom had made. I placed the block of ramen into the boiling mix and methodically swirled it with my chopsticks, feeling very Asian. On occasion, when I was alone in the kitchen I would pretend to be the PBS celebrity chef “Yan Can Cook” and would address an “audience” pretending to demonstrate an ancient Asian ramen recipe. A star was clearly in the making.
As an adult, after learning how absolutely awful ramen is for you, I steered clear of it. However, I did miss it so. Truth be told, I am a ramen junky. I love the stuff and even the salty broth it comes in. Fortunately, my palate has grown quite a bit since I was 9 and one of my favorite things to do is create umami Asian broths to go along with some ramen noodles.
On one such Sunday, I happened to have some Omaha Steaks Polynesian Pork Chops defrosting. I was unsure what to do with them until I saw a shiny ramen package in my pantry.
“PERFECT,” I thought.
30 minutes later, I had a perfectly seasoned broth, tender and chewy noodles, a crispy egg and moist Polynesian pork. I was impressed to be honest. It was indeed slurptastic. The family happily slurped up the noodles alongside me. I was happy to see that my little munchkin enjoys ramen as much as I once had.
My 9 year old self would have been proud, I had finally made a ramen that would rival the photograph on the package.
30 Minute Polynesian Pork Ramen
Ingredients
- 1 Thai chili, sliced (optional, this adds a nice heat)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced on a microplane
- 1 inch piece of ginger, minced on a microplane
- 2 Tbsp. red curry paste
- 2 scallions sliced
- 8 cups of beef or chicken broth (I used beef. I find that it gives it a more complex flavor and deeper color)
- 3 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 4 Omaha Steaks Polynesian Pork Chops
- 4 eggs, fried to crispiness
- 2 packages of ramen noodles seasoning package discarded
- limes and sliced scallions to garnish
- coconut oil as needed
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pot add 1T of coconut oil, chilis, garlic, ginger, red curry paste and scallions. Over medium heat, sweat them slowly for 10 minutes while covered. There should not be any color.
- After 15 minutes add in stock and bring to a boil.
- Add in soy sauce and sesame oil.
- Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, place 1 T of coconut oil into a saute pan.
- Bring up to medium-high heat.
- Add the Omaha Steaks Polynesian Pork Chops to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for 3 more minutes.
- Remove and lay on a cutting board to rest.
- Turn down the heat to medium and add 4 eggs, making sure they have enough room to cook separately. Season with salt and pepper.
- Allow the eggs to cook for about 5 minutes or until the whites are nice and crispy.
- Add the ramen noodles to the broth and move them around to allow them to soften in the broth.
- Slice up the pork.
- To serve: Add ¼ of the noodles and broth to a deep bowl.
- Serve sliced pork on the side of the noodles as well as the crispy egg directly on top of the noodles. Squirt some lime juice on there and sprinkle the scallions.
- Enjoy!
