Hong Kong Style Ramen Noodles

FACT: I absolutely adore noodles.

I have scoffed and slurped my way through endless bowls of ramen, somen, soba, egg noodles, udon and vermicilli since I was a wee nipper. I never tire of eating instant noodles, for me they represent a piece of my childhood and was one of the first dishes I made for myself. My parents are from Hong Kong and used to buy this Chinese brand called Doll noodles and then they switched to Nissan demae ramen, a Japanese brand (no, it wasn’t a car!). Funnily enough, we still call them Doll noodles at home out of tradition. Me and my sister used to watch my dad adding dried noodle blocks into a pan of boiling water. He often drained them once cooked, then added them back into fresh boiling water with seasoning, dropped in fresh pak choi and bite sized pieces of pork. Sometimes we might have a few slices of Spam with a fried egg on top, a strange combo but it really tasted great. Soon enough, I was cooking at the tender age of 6 and was so proud that a block of dried noodles resulted in a quick and satisfying meal.

Surely, instant noodles have to one of the best Japanese inventions, thank you Momofuku Ando, an entrepeneur who sadly passed away in 2007. He sounded awesome and had the idea for instant ramen when observing long queues of locals waiting to buy a bowl of ramen noodles during food shortages in post-war Japan. One day, I will have to pay homage to the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, so it’s another one on the bucket list.

Today, I really needed a quick brunch and immediately got busy in the kitchen checking my fridge for ingredients to enhance my ramen dish. I had a packet of the chicken flavoured noodles but the sesame noodles would be another of my favourites. It’s soooo easy to put this dish together. As your noodles act as a blank canvas, the trick is to be creative in adding vegetables/egg/meat that are quick to cook or already pre-cooked.

Try it and remember to slurp loudly!

Hong Kong Style Ramen Noodles

Serves 1

1 packet Nissan instant demae ramen noodles

Suggested additional ingredients:

1 fried egg, sunny side up

Blanched green vegetables: pak choi, broccoli, baby leaf spinach

A couple of slices of ham/Spam

Chopped spring onions

Sesame oil

Method

• Cook noodles in boiling water according to the packet instructions and add the enclosed seasoning.
• Transfer noodles to a large bowl with some of the noodle broth and drizzle over a little sesame oil.
• Add your desired green vegetables, ham and fried egg by arranging these in a pleasing manner.

Optional: garnish with spring onion

“Peace will come to the world when all its people have enough to eat.”

– Momofuku Ando