In a Pinch Egg Drop Ramen
When I was a junior in college, I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark for four months. I always say, it never really hit me that I was going until I arrived. But if there was one thing I actually prepped for on that trip, it was food. At my alma mater, most students lived on campus and ate at the the dining halls all four years. At that point in my life, I was just getting out of my picky eater comfort zone, and getting interested in trying new things, but I had virtually zero experience cooking. Anytime I tried to make dinner I found it feeling more like a crazy art project or science experiment, or like when I was a young girl playing “restaurant” (but believe me, at that point, it did NOT taste like a restaurant). Knowing my capabilities (or lack thereof), I started researching recipes and ideas for how I would cook for one on a budget and with flavor while abroad. Egg drop soup was one of the first dishes I made that was not only edible, but actually quite tasty. Other memorable first home-cooked dishes were pasta with veggies (didn’t we all start there?), roasted asparagus with lemon, and chocolate muesli with milk (not a recipe, but a comfort food that I found myself turning to often). The egg drop soup was clearly the most gourmet (the bar was low), but because it’s simplicity and delicious reliability, I’ve kept it in my back pocket as a favorite 5-minute meal in a pinch. I’ve adapted it to include gluten-free ramen noodles from Lotus Foods (available at Amazon and Thrive Market as well), and sometimes I add greens like spinach or an umami punch with fresh sauteed mushrooms. Simple or dressed up, this meal is a 5-minute winner!
Ramen Cake
Chicken Stock
Egg
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Sriracha
Scallions
Bring 2 cups of chicken stock or broth to a boil. Add ramen cake and reduce heat to medium.
Crack one egg into a small cup and whisk with a fork. After the ramen cake has cooked for ~2 minutes, gently pour the egg in as a thin stream while swirling the soup with the spoon to create ribbons of egg.
Add 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Cook 1 minute more.
Pour into a bowl and top with 3-5 drops of sriracha and freshly chopped scallions. Let it cool and be careful not to burn your tongue!
