What do you do when you are practicing social distancing measures due to the Corona virus and it’s a cold dreary, rainy day? Why, you cook of course! Since a trip to the grocery store probably wasn’t going to result in finding ingredients I wanted or needed, I decided my best option would be to upgrade some inexpensive packages of ramen soups with some veggies in the fridge that were nearing the end of their useful lives.
I hate to waste food, so rather than throw anything out I decided to get creative and use what I had on hand. A few mushrooms, carrots, some cabbage, a bit of red bell pepper, along with a can of Spam, a perfectly cooked soft boiled egg paired with a couple packages of Ramen noodles, and I knew I had the makings for an easy, tasty dinner. No trip to the market required.
Start by prepping all of your ingredients.
I diced the Spam into 1/2 inch cubes and sautéed it in vegetable oil until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Next I added sliced mushrooms and sautéed them until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
I then sautéed the sliced cabbage and carrots until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Add a 32 0z. carton of low sodium chicken broth to the cabbage and sliced carrots and bring to a boil.
Stir in noodles, red bell pepper, and seasoning packets. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, or until ramen noodles are soft.
Return cooked Spam and mushrooms. Add salt, freshly ground black pepper, a splash of soy sauce, teaspoon garlic powder, and teaspoon onion powder. Stir to combine.
While soup simmers, it’s time to get the eggs cooked. Any good bowl of ramen needs a perfectly cooked egg. One with the whites fully cooked and a runny soft yoke that oozes into the hot broth. No slimy undercooked whites please! That’s just gross!
Follow these instructions exactly to get perfectly cooked, soft boiled eggs.
Heat 1 inch of water (no more, no less) in a small sauce pan over high heat until water comes to a full boil.
Once the water is boiling, add the eggs to the pan, cover the pan with a lid and cook the eggs for exactly 6 minutes.
TIP: Use large size eggs that you take directly out of the fridge.
After 6 minutes, remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and place them directly into an ice bath.
To serve, ladle soup into large bowls, carefully peel each egg, slice egg in half and place in each bowl of soup. Top with freshly ground black pepper and chopped chives.
Now dig in and slurp up your soup!
Ramen Soup
Ingredients
- 12 oz canister of Spam, diced
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- ½ head cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
- ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 32 oz carton chicken broth
- 1 tsp Soy sauce
- 3 pkgs Top Ramen soup, crush noodles into bite sized pieces with fist & discard 1 of the seasoning packages
- 4 large eggs
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 packets ramen seasoning
- chives, chopped
Instructions
To Cook Soup:
- Heat oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan.
- Add diced Spam to the pan and cook until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add mushrooms to the pan and cook until golden brown. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add cabbage and carrots to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, soy sauce, 2 seasoning packets and crushed ramen noodles. Stir, bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes until noodles are soft.
- Return Spam and mushrooms to the pan. Stir in red bell pepper strips. Cook until heated through, 1-2 minutes.
- Ladle soup into large bowls.
Cook Soft Boiled Eggs:
- In a small saucepan bring 1 inch of water to a boil.
- Add large eggs, directly from the fridge to the pan.
- Cover and cook for exactly 6 minutes.
- Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and place eggs directly into an ice bath.
- Peel eggs and slice in half.
- Place an egg in each bowl with soup.
- Top each bowl of soup with chopped chives to serve.
Use whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Some great tasting options to try would be broccoli, spinach, or zucchini. Frozen veggies such as peas or corn would also be delicious in this soup. There really is no right or wrong way to make this soup.
You could substitute chicken or leftover beef in place of the Spam. Try adding crumbled bacon and cilantro with a squeeze of fresh lime juice for a different flavor profile. Like it spicy? Add red pepper flakes or a squeeze of sriracha. Just use your imagination! Use what you have on hand.
Let me know what creative ideas you come up with. I could aways use some inspiration!!!
It’s just okay. Nothing new here. Ramen is still Ramen.
Yes it’s Ramen Tami, but it’s become a staple in almost everyone’s pantry and this is a great way to “dress” it up a little and make something really basic just a little bit healthier and tastier. What are your favorite ways to “dress up” Ramen?