Ramen: Greening It Up

by Ari LeVaux

Who among us doesn’t have a trick or two up their sleeve for when they make instant ramen? A vegetable or egg in the pot, your special sauce or powder, and if you’ve got some game perhaps a garnish on top. All good. Congratulations. But there are levels to this soup. 

My breakthrough happened when I stopped thinking in terms of which ingredients I should add to my ramen, and instead began looking at a package of instant ramen as itself an ingredient, a raw material to be used in the creation of a truly unique bowl of noodle soup. 

This time of year, the young farmers’ markets are awash in greenery, full of nutrients, fiber and flavor. Green tops to the radishes, and green everything else. Lettuce, kale, bok choy, herbs, pea shoots, spinach, watercress, chard, onions, chives, garlic, scallions, green onions and many other shades of green. Keeping it seasonal, like I do, means a decidedly green ramen. And minus the lettuce (eew), most any greens will work. I like to add a mix of greens to my ramen. This diversity gives the broth a unique and delicate bouquet. 

Most enthusiasts will have their preferred make and model of instant ramen. Mine is of the Korean brand Nongshim. It’s called Premium Shin Black with Beef Bone Broth, and comes in four-packs that cost north of $15. It’s also extremely spicy, though nowhere on the package is this mentioned. Another great Nongshim product is its Spicy Seafood. For me, ramen has to be spicy. If the brick I’m working with isn’t, I will have to adjust with spice of my own. 

Ingredients

1 package of Nongshim Premium Shin Black with Beef Bone Broth, or instant ramen of choice
A diversity of cooking greens, ideally three of the following: kale, bok choy, gai long, mustard greens, spinach, chard…
1 or 2 egg(s)
Mayo, hoisin, soy sauce, hot sauce, etc.
Cilantro, basil, chives or green onions for garnish

Clean and chop 4 to 6 cups of greens. Crack the egg(s) into a small bowl. 

Add 4 cups of water to a pan with a lid. With the water still cold, add the contents of the flavor packets contained within the package of instant ramen. Atop that, add the brick of noodles. Turn on the heat to high. Put the lid on. 

When the ramen reaches a bouncing boil, add the greens, spreading them out so they are even atop the noodles. Pour the egg(s) atop the greens, gently so they nest stably. Put the lid back on and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and assess. You don’t want to overcook the egg. Or maybe you do. Egg cookery is a personal thing. If you think the egg needs a bit more, put the lid back on for a minute. 

By this time, the pile of greens will have tightened into a mat atop the noodles. With a spatula or some kind of wide spoon, scoop the green puck, eggs and all, into a bowl. Then use a fork or chopsticks to transfer as many noodles to the bowl as you care to eat. 

Before you eat, pour off any remaining broth into a separate container like a small pot or a cup. Don’t leave extra noodles lingering in the broth like a damn rookie. They will suck it up and render themselves too soggy to be of any use. 

Finally, adorn your bowl with garnish and sauces. Chopped chives or cilantro. Hoisin sauce. Vegenaise, mayo.

Ari LeVaux is a patriot, mayonnaise abuser, mother lover, and native Montanan from Massachusetts. He writes Flash in the Pan, a nationally syndicated food column, which first appeared in the Missoula Independent.