The Family Table: DIY ramen bowls a quick, filling dinner
Inch by inch, it’s a cinch. Yard by yard, it’s really hard.
My big brother told me that once, trying to motivate me to work harder at something. At the time, I’m sure I regarded it as nothing more than a phrase that rhymed. Thankfully, though, it stuck with me.
Now, I find myself regularly repeating it to the three kids who make up our household. In fact, I say it so often that Gabe, Wes and Josie will say it along with me once I start.
I apply my brother’s wisdom often to getting things done at home. A huge task feels daunting. Five smaller tasks that accomplish the same thing, broken up over a day or two, seem to feel less so.
With cooking in particular, I find that if I break down feeding our family of five into smaller tasks, it doesn’t seem as overwhelming.
Over Saturday and Sunday, I cook or prep for our week: chopping veggies, making grains, or fully cooking dishes that will reheat nicely. I essentially plot out a week’s worth of lunches for me and my husband, and a week’s worth of dinners with a focus on our most hectic days: Monday and Tuesday.
Both are always busy for us, and coming home from work and building a meal from scratch is more stress than I can take. On those days, I look to my slow cooker or my pressure cooker or make sure I have enough done in advance so we can heat and eat.
Putting that forethought into dinner helps immensely to reduce the feeling of rushing, and I find that it also affords us time to sit down at the table, eat as a family and talk about our respective days.
With five people eating, I count myself as fortunate that none of them are particularly picky. Everyone has things they don’t care for, but all will pick around those things if they’re included in a meal.
Wes, for example, isn’t a fan of mushrooms (texture, not taste), Josie doesn’t care much for seafood, and Gabe isn’t enthusiastic about quinoa. Mike likes to joke that he and I are human garbage disposals, which is a less polite way of saying that we eat everything … except meat, and even that deserves an asterisk.
We went meat-free about 18 months ago in an effort to eat healthier, and largely remain so. We’ll have the occasional seafood, and cheat with lamb at Christmas and turkey at Thanksgiving, but eat a primarily vegetarian diet.
When I construct recipes, I try to make them adaptable for any tastes (the kids ask for something with meat every now and again), like the do-it-yourself ramen bowls below.
They’re completely customizable, and the best part is, with the help of a slow cooker, the broth can simmer away all day and be piping hot for dinner. With some prep the day before, all you need to do to get them ready for a quick, filling meal is boil some noodles. While the noodles boil, take out the pre-cut toppings and let them come up to room temperature. The hot broth will warm them through the rest of the way.
It’s an easy way to break things down into smaller steps and make dinner feel like less of a hassle. Who doesn’t want that?
DIY Ramen Bowls
Ingredients
6 quarts broth, chicken, beef or vegetable
1 1/2 pounds of fresh mushrooms, sliced (I like shiitake, but any will work)
1 large onion, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
Topping suggestions:
10 soft boiled eggs
Sliced scallions
Shredded carrots
Diced sweet peppers
Fresh spinach
Thinly sliced fresh jalapenos
Boiled ramen noodles
Sesame oil and soy sauce for drizzling
If you want some meat: thinly slice a chicken breast, pork tenderloin or steak, season it with salt, pepper and a dash of soy, and quickly sauté it.
The day before, soft boil the eggs. I do them in my pressure cooker on the steaming rack for about 5 minutes on low pressure. When they’re done, I release the pressure, put them in an ice bath and peel them once they’re cool. My family likes them soy marinated, so I heat 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon sugar until the sugar is dissolved, and then stir in about 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce and a splash of rice wine vinegar while the eggs are cooking/cooling. When the liquid is cool, add the peeled eggs and let them sit for a few hours. I use a quart-sized canning jar, because I know they’ll stay submerged.
I also slice the scallions and dice the peppers the day before, bag them and put them into the fridge. If you want to use meat, do that ahead as well. Because it’s thinly sliced and you’re putting it into hot broth, you won’t have to rewarm it.
The day you’re going to eat it, add the broth, mushrooms, onion, ginger and soy to a large slow cooker insert. Turn on low and let it go for 8-10 hours. Just before you’re ready to eat, boil the ramen. (I find it’s cheaper to buy the multipack of ramen noodles, and just pitch the seasoning packets they come with.) Put it in the bottom of bowls, ladle in broth and let everyone add their preferred toppings.
Jennifer Garofalo is managing editor/news for the Uniontown Herald-Standard.