blue_dolphin

After listening to a podcast author interview, I've read Peter J Kim's first book, Instant Ramen Kitchen (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) from cover to cover and think it’s quite a clever book. Peter Kim has created something akin to an instant ramen version of Samin Nosrat's Salt Fat Acid Heat with enough info in the first sections of the book to enable anyone to come up with their own instant ramen variations, learning a bunch of cooking fundamentals (the value of mise en place, dealing with differing cooking times and balancing flavors for personal taste) in the process. Armed with a bunch of instant ramen packets and some pantry ingredients, a kitchen novice could learn a ton by making a bunch of these little single-serving, low cost meals, using either the recipes or the general guidelines to come up with their own combos. Up front, he breaks down the steps (prep, pre-simmer, simmer and finishing) with example timelines, reviews types of instant ramen widely available in the US and the importance of choosing the right simmer time, usually shorter than the label specs. Next, he presents a “Ramen Flavor Wheel” which serves as a guide for choosing flavors and also introduces all the ingredients used. Each of the ingredients gets a little blurb outlining how to use it. For example, spices might get bloomed in fat before simmering or be used in finishing. There are chopping and cooking time recommendations for each veg and protein. That’s followed by a section with sub recipes for toppings, a few sauces and dressings and a couple pages of quick ideas for cup noodles.. Anyone who’s taken the time to read through these sections, is set to start creating their own dishes but there are also plenty of recipes for those who’d rather skip reading the manual and get cooking. The first few are intended to make the instant packets more ramen-ish with recipes inspired by classic ramen styles. After that, caution is thrown to the wind and the flavors and ingredients are all over the map with soups, stews and sauced noodles inspired by frijoles de la olla, moqueca, shakshuka, borscht, Thai curry, Xi'an-style cumin lamb, and Mac 'n’ cheese, among others. I think the book would be a fun gift for a beginner cook, maybe with some ramen packets and a few condiments. A more experienced cook who’s frequently pressed for time might also find useful information here, as I did when I doctored up a packet of ramen the other day. I usually think I can chop and add veg while the noodles simmer but I followed his recommendation to prep everything first. I found his veg cooking times spot on and didn’t overcook the noodles while scrambling for toppings at the last minute. He doesn’t specifically address the often alarmingly high sodium levels in ramen packets but does explain the importance of proper seasoning, reducing the amount of the seasoning packet used when salty additions are included vs using more with unsalted additions so one can be judicious there. Here's a link to The Dinner Plan Podcast episode with Peter Kim discussing the book and featuring a couple of recipes from the book. I plan on trying the spinach ramen gratin, at least.

Cavatappi with a puttanesca-ish sauce with zucchini, cherry tomatoes and arugula. Meant to cook some chickpeas for this but forgot. I’ll add them to the leftovers.

The article I cited was published in 2009 but pet foods and animal feeds produced in the US and other countries were being recalled due to melamine-adulterated ingredients imported from China in early 2007 and melamine in chicken feed was very much in the news at the time @budrichard posted his comment in this topic. Melamine contaminant found in chicken feed US says some chicken feed tainted Tainted poultry has entered food supply So I agree with your conclusion that it’s possibly related to his comment!

Given the date, I suspect @budrichard was referring to the “Melamine Incident” where both food products, particularly dairy products, and animal feeds exported from China to countries around the world were found to be adulterated with melamine, apparently in an attempt to appear higher in protein.

You didn’t ask me but I follow the Zuni Cafe Cookbook recipe which uses ~3/4 teaspoon sea salt/pound of chicken. It goes in the fridge, loosely covered for 24 hrs-3 days. Before roasting, it’s blotted dry, but not rinsed. The upper surfaces are usually nice and dry (as is the goal) but there’s often some moisture underneath and inside that needs to be blotted off.

Prima Taste brand Singapore curry noodles with added veg & egg

Thanks for sharing that, @Maison Rustique, especially the photo. When you posted about your gift, I was very curious to understand the difference between a “meal” and a tin of seasoned fish!

Chicken sando with apple chile slaw. Sorry for the crappy photo, but it was good. Yesterday, I had fancified chicken and waffles for lunch at a local restaurant. See here. Leftover chicken came home and wanted to be used. My favorite of the fancy additions was an apple chile slaw, which was really just julienned apples that tasted to me of apple cider vinegar, cayenne and a hint of cinnamon. I thought it would be a great condiment with pork or roast chicken. I transferred the flavors to a more conventional slaw with apple, cabbage and Fresno chiles, dressed with mix of honey, apple cider vinegar, a dried chile mix, cayenne, cinnamon and just enough mayo to bind it together. Happy with the result and would make again

Please update us with your thoughts on any options you try!

I went to the waffle place again for lunch. Chicken & Waffles….But Make It Fancy Two pieces of chicken breast, covered with chili apple slaw and sweet orange marmalade, on top of a golden waffle, sitting on a bed of fresh spring mix, creamy orange ricotta, and crispy bacon bits Salmon I Used To Know A trio of savory brioche waffles topped with smoked salmon, herb caper cream cheese, and peppery arugula. Finished with roasted lemon slices and pickled onions. Hass, Queen! A savory vegan waffle topped with fresh spinach, olive tapenade, sliced red onion, and crisp cucumber. Roasted cherry tomatoes and creamy roasted red pepper hummus add depth, while a drizzle of balsamic and creamy avocado complete the dish.

Be careful you don’t make it so easy to slide that it slides right off the counter when it’s running!

Yes! It's salmon roe! I bought it for one of the previously posted waffles and then checked my cookbooks for opportunities to use it again, which led me to this delightful recipe!

I have 1, 2 and 3 qt sauciers as my workhorse saucepans. I cook mostly for myself or a few others. It’s possible a 3 qt saucier may help you out with soups, etc. It’s one of my most used pans, along with a 4 qt saucepan. I also have a 12-inch carbon steel wok, which is smaller than most recommend for a wok but I find it the perfect size for me. I see a lot of 4 and 5 qt “everything” pans on the market but they tend to be a lot heavier than my wok when it comes to tossing things about and don’t offer the benefit of starting in a small pool of oil. I do have 6 and 8 qt saucepans I use for larger volumes of soups, etc. I

Another quick pasta lunch TJ's lemon pasta, yellow summer squash, sugar snaps, red bell pepper and little tomatoes tossed with TJ’s lemon pesto. Salmon roe for a salty punch instead of feta or Parm.

Thanks, @rotuts, I remember that! Here’s a gift link to that NYT obit for non subscribers. And here’s the eG topic on her viral Olive Garden review: My two favorite bits of the NYT obit: