Solstice

I was looking up some instant ramen hacks when I bumped into a recipe for something called "Kujirai-style ramen", a quick-and-easy method of turning a standard packet of instant noodles into a simple stir-fry as opposed to a soup. Turns out this recipe, which apparently went so viral in South Korea that it made it onto national television, actually originated from a manga called Furutto on Thursday — written and drawn by none other than Masakazu Ichiguro, creator of last year's 4th-best anime, Heavenly Delusion.

Anyway, because I love experimenting with instant ramen, I decided to make some minor adjustments here and there, leading to the creation of my own recipe for Kujirai-style ramen. It forgoes most of the stuff that the ramen come packaged with in favour of using (only slightly) more elevated ingredients, mostly to allow for more control over the flavour and less overwhelming sodium and spice. Also, it uses two "bricks" of noodles because I am a pig.

Note that many other versions of this recipe will add a slice of processed cheese along with the egg. I didn't include it in my recipe, not just because I am bad with lactose but also because the idea of cheese on ramen just causes my brain to short-circuit. Don't let that stop you, though, as it's apparently a pretty common thing to do among noodle aficionados. Of course, you can add in a bunch of other stuff, too!

Ingredients

• 100 ml (or 1/2 cup) high quality chicken stock
• 300 ml (or 1 1/2 cup) water
• 2 tbsp concentrated shoyu ramen soup base¹
• 2 packets of instant ramen (e.g. Shin)²
• 1 egg
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• Black sesame seeds

How to prepare

1. Pour the chicken stock and the water into a large frying pan, and bring it up to a boil.
2. Once the mixture is boiling, mix in 2 tablespoons of concentrated shoyu soup base.
3. Add the dried noodles from the packets of instant ramen. Break the noodles up if necessary, so they can be evenly spread.
4. Next, add in the dried vegetable sachets (if there are any) from both packets of ramen, as well as one teaspoon of the seasoning mix sachet from one. You can add more depending on your preferred level of spice, but keep in mind that the flavor will be more concentrated than when you prepare the ramen according to packet instructions.
5. Using chopsticks, toss the noodles vigorously as soon as they start softening in order to separate them and make sure they are cooked evenly.
6. Once the noodles have softened and loosened, and the liquid has been mostly absorbed or evaporated, create a small hole in the middle of the pan. Crack and drop an egg into the hole, then cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to low.
7. Simmer the contents of the pan for about 1 minute, until the egg white has set but the yolk is still runny.
8. Remove the lid, sprinkle on the scallions and toss everything together. Remove the pan from the heat and pour its contents into a bowl or a deep plate.
9. Sprinkle on some black sesame seeds, then serve immediately.

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1. I could just buy this at the supermarket, no idea how easy it is too find in other places around the world, though.

2. Shin are essentially the gold standard in Korean instant ramen (or ramyun). I actually don't really like the soup much, as it's way too spicy for my dainty Caucasian palate, but the noodles themselves are heavenly — firm, springy and slightly thicker than their Japanese cousins, and most importantly, you get more of them in a single packet.