Hi, My name is Emily and I recently purchased six different kinds of Ramen noodles. I took a little trip over to the largest Asian grocer in the midwest, United Noodle and embarked on what is sure to be an interesting journey into the unexpectedly huge world of Ramen noodles.
When I first visited the store the first week that I moved Minneapolis, I joked that when my money ran out, I could go to Noodle and get only Ramen and eat a different one every day. Well, last Saturday marked four months in the twin cities, and the savings I brought with me are long gone. I am underpaid and underemployed, trying to pare down and live as frugally as I can. I'm discovering a certain joy in living this way; it is a creative existence.
I'm admittedly kind of a food snob. Nothing gives me as much pleasure as cooking and eating really, really good food. I like to cook everything from scratch--I even make Ranch dressing from scratch. I think there's nothing sadder than food out of a can. Or box.
But I am also only human, and there are certain highly processed, fatty, high sodium, msg laden, nutritionless foods that I love and adore with my whole heart. Ramen noodles is one such food. I had never eaten these until I went to boarding school in the ninth grade. I found their artificiality and one dimensional saltiness to be addictively comforting, the crimped noodles to be lacy and delicate. And, when they came in a styrofoam cup, the dehydrated peas and corn kernels always seemed like a special treat.
My Korean friends always had the best Ramen: Shin Ramen. On trips to Asian groceries I would load up on these myself, surprised at the amount of types of Ramen there are. I would wonder if I'd ever be able to taste them all.
I don't think I ever will get to taste them all, and I'm okay with that. But I am excited to learn what I can about this favorite of college students and cubicle dwellers. May I find the Ramen of my dreams: rich, robust flavor not dominated by salt. toothsome noodles. vegetables that make it feel classy, not sad.
The first ramen I bought, Kung Fu Chicken Ramen, was not the Ramen of My Dreams. A total disappointment: noodles that clouded the musty tasting broth, overly artificial chicken flavor, unimaginative and utterly unspecial other than the adorable packaging. My enthusiasm for this blog plumetted. The thought of eating ramen for lunch at work every day quickly shifted from exciting to pathetic.
But I can be open to discovery. And from here forward, I'm arming myself with extras to go in my ramen: vegetables, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, curry, meat, tofu, SOMETHING.
Let's see what happens!
