i are what i eat: a food blog

23rd November 2009

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Spicy Steak Ramen Soup with Cabbage

The way I see it, ramen is a lot like the Asian version of America’s mac-n-cheese.  Cooking it purely with its package contents leaves little to the imagination, and produces an otherwise boring meal on it’s own.  But, by adding one or two extra things you may have in hand (ie. - cut bacon strips in MnC), you add a depth of flavor that enhances a once mundane idea into a great tasting dish.  Look at the transformation bulk cabbage and leftover steak did on a bowl of ramen noodle soup.

For our anniversary, Sam and I went for our traditional steak dinner (sorry no pictures - certain special occasions are off nights!), to which neither of us could chomp down the entire plate.  The remainder of my 22 oz. Arthur’s Tavern steak rested soundly the days following our third year celebration, and I knew exactly what I had in mind with that beef.  Let’s face it: microwaves do not do leftover steak any justice.  I find that it dries it out beyond the flavor-memories of the present night’s meal brought, and I will not let that injustice stand! The logical solution: bring the juice to meat instead.

I brought a pot of a couple cups of water to a slow boil, adding chunky cut pieces of the steak into.  I let the bits stew a little, then added sea salt, black pepper, soy sauce, a little garlic powder, and a dash of cayenne.  After a few minutes of cooking, I lowered the heat and added a few handfuls of chopped cabbage, and let the soup simmer.  I then opened a package of ramen noodles, discarding the sodium death trap into the trash, and dropped the noodles into the bath.

The beef and seasoning produced a nice light, flavorful broth, which I was happy to slurp with the noodles and beef, having omitted the packaged seasoning. Good thing I only added a touch cayenne, as a rouge hot cherry pepper snuck in with my doggie bag, both adding considerable amount of heat and spice.

College students have the right idea in stocking up on the quick minute meals like ramen.  Still, one should not be content with what’s given to them alone.  By utilizing a few items that I already had in the fridge, I made a steak ramen soup was incredibly filling and tasty.  Even adding something as simple as a few leafs of cut lettuce, the additional layers bring out a much different savory side of a normally boring food.

Tagged: homemaderamensteaksoupcabbage