'Not Another Ramen Night': Peppers and Cabbage Invasion

No need for a surprised look: ramen and pho pots are the ultimate hosting/wine night favourites. Starch, flavours, spice, multiple refills? Yes. This is yet another way in which you can empty out your fridge into a soup pot and have it taste like a high-end Chinese restaurant (don’t come for me if you are a Chinese chef, it’s probably 1/100th of that). This one includes a candle-lit cooking session and an incredible childhood friend- so really, could you possibly go wrong!? I think not. I had been on the road all day that day with our little baby, and this took me no energy at all: I was talking to my friend as I was preparing it, and it was ready *and packed with flavours* in no time. I thought I could start talking about Gaby in this article, but it could go on for many pages, so I’ll wait for a Lithuanian dish homage moment. Back to ramen:

You will need,

Green cabbage (half, roughly chopped lengthwise)

Enoki mushroom (half for the broth and the other half for garnish)

Scallions (2, keep some for garnish as well)

Sesame seeds (garnish)

Sesame oil (3 tbsp)

Red pepper (1, thinly sliced)

Garlic (5 cloves, minced- as always, never too many)

Zucchini (1, roughly chopped)

Shallot (1, minced)

Salt and pepper

Ginger (1 tbsp, powdered)

Soy sauce (3 tbsp)

Hoi Sin (2 tbsp)

Chili oil ( a few drops)

Fish sauce (1 tbsp)

Chicken broth (or any, 1 box or approximately 4 cups)

Ramen noodles (2 packs, throw out the mix!)

A few simple steps,

1. Start by drizzling the sesame oil over medium-heat and stirring the garlic and shallots with salt and pepper, and then throwing in the zucchini cubes within 1-2 minutes of sizzling

2. Stir for an additional 5 minutes, you will see the zucchinis start to look toasty

3. Add red pepper, scallions and fish sauce (don't forget to keep some aside for garnish!) and keep stirring for about 3 minutes

4. Pour in the broth, while adding the soy sauce, Hoi Sin, chili oil drops, powdered ginger, enoki (keep some aside as well) and cabbage

5. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and stir

6. A good time indicator is to check the status of certain ingredients instead of the amount of minutes passed: when the cabbage softens, you can add the ramen, and the soup if ready to serve when the noodles are cooked

6. Garnish with the fresh and uncooked enoki mushrooms and scallions you kept aside, drizzle as many sesame seeds as desired and raise a cup to your talent