Ramania!

Note: This column appeared in The Chapel Hill News and is reproduced here for blog readers because the newspaper does not maintain its links.

Low on cash from all that holiday shopping? There’s a one-word culinary cure for gift-weary budgets: Ramen.

Yup, cooking with packages of the pre-cooked Japanese noodles will keep your belly and wallet full this winter.

I know, I know, this is a food column, not a financial advice article. But thanks to a little tome called The Book of Ramen, the two can coexist. Way back when I was an undergrad, the 1995 volume was a flavor packet for my soul. For those not in the know, that’s the sealed sache of spices (and salt) tucked into each Ramen pack.

Author Ron Konzak’s subtitle says it all: “Low cost gourmet meals using instant ramen noodles.” With entries like Ramburgers and Three Minute Stew, the gourmet part might be a stretch, but the book is as good an investment as the six for a buck noodles.

It contains recipes for soups, salads, main courses and desserts and even dispels that age old myth: “It is a common belief that each package of Ramen contains one incredibly long noodle curled and coiled into a solid block. I have found that this is not the case.”

The book is available on Amazon.com, where I noticed a few Johnny-come-latelies masquerading as competition. One such pretender is 2003’s Everybody Loves Ramen. First of all, they’re pronounced RAH-min, so the play on the Ray Romano sit com doesn’t really work. Second, thanks for stealing this column’s title.

To honor Konzak and inspire frugal gourmands throughout the west Triangle, I decided to invite a few friends over for a three-course, Ramen-based feast. The meal would be an exemplar of economy, a beacon of budget. But would it taste good?

Does my last name almost rhyme with spoon? You bet.

Ramania, as I called the meal, kicked off with the Spinach Ramen Salad, which used crumbled, raw Ramen as croutons. Despite my initial skepticism, the hard noodles add a nice crunch. But Konzak’s real masterstroke was mixing a flavor packet into a basic vinaigrette. While the author offers no guidance on which variety of packet to use, Oriental Flavor won a quick smell test and worked well.

Determining which main course to make was not easy. How do you choose between Rambalaya, Maca-Ramen and Cheese, and Ramelets? In the end, I went with the jambalaya adaptation mostly because I laughed every time I mentioned it.

In settling on Rambalaya, I’d forgotten that our friendly neighborhood Cajun, Peter Robichaux, formerly of St. Martinville, Louisiana, would be attending. After accepting that swapping Ramen for rice wouldn’t quite live up to his mom’s specialty, the Chapel Hill resident gave the dish his blessing. “It’s different because it’s not soupy, but it’s the best Ramen I’ve ever had,” said Robichaux.

In addition to the added beef sausage, the real secret to the concoction was a healthy sprinkling of McCormick Cajun Seasoning mix. Hardly authentic, but effective.

For dessert, Noodle Pudding sounded like a better fit than Ramen on a Stick or Nutty Noodles. Based on the available pans, it turned out to be a noodle pie. Ramania sous chef Katherine Rinaldi was pleased with the results. “I’m not one for puddings, but I would serve that to guests,” said Chapel Hill’s Rinaldi.

With the meal an unqualified success, I thought I’d ask the town’s gastronomic guru, Crook’s Corner chef Bill Smith if he’d ever cooked with Ramen. “I can’t honestly say I’ve used those in anything, although I certainly have eaten them at home,” said Smith. “Those little packets are the cheapest thing in the world. I had a roommate who used to live on them.”

Might we see a three-course Ramen banquet at Smith’s vaunted restaurant? “I don’t know, never say never,” said Smith.

Sounds to me like a guy dying to try Ramania.
END

Ramen Salad Dressing
1 flavor packet
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon garlic powder

This works with all kinds of salads. I’d advise using a little less than a whole flavor packet, though.


Rambalaya

2 packages Ramen noodles
1 large green or red pepper, sliced
½ cup canned pimentos
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon
1 cup sliced beef sausage
1 tablespoon McCormick Cajun Spice mix or paprika and garlic powder
Optional: 1 chili pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Break up unopened noodles to medium size.
In a small saucepan, boil 2 cups of water, then cook noodles for 3 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain.
In a large frying pan, sauté together mushrooms, onions, peppers, and, if brave, chili pepper. Add sausage and pimentos.
Mix ingredients in a greased baking dish and bake covered at 300 for one hour.

Serves 4-5.


Noodle Pudding

2 packages Ramen noodles
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoon butter, soft
2 egg
dash salt
dash nutmeg
dash cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Knead onopened package of noodles until fine. Beware, the packages sometimes break open—what do you expect for 17 cents?
In a small saucepan, boil 2 cups of water, then cook noodles for 3 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain.
Mix all the other ingredients with the cooked noodles in a bowl.
Pour mixture into a greased brownie tin or casserole dish.
Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes.

Serves 4-5.

Recipes adapted from the Book of Ramen by Ron Konzak.