Ramen: Nongshim shin black, green beans, mushrooms, miso

Beans boil with the ramen. So they cook only a few minutes.

Sliced mushrooms added and it doesn't matter how long they cook if at all.

Miso paste added to the water in the bowl with the flavor packets. It's not actually cooked.

Green onions added on top.

The dehydrated vegetables they give you with these ramen packets are pathetic. Honestly, why even bother? 

This ramen is the black version that's supposed to be hot. I think. On Amazon they're presently $23.00 for ten packages. Of all the ramen so far this is probably the best. If not the best then right up there with the best of them. 

On Amazon the red version is original. It's half the cost of the newer hotter black package verson. I think. I didn't try this red version but reviews on Amazon are pretty good. Reviewers say the extra cost for the black version isn't worth it. Not when you can add a few drops of chile sauce for the same degree of increased heat. But I don't really know about that.

On Amazon presently $17.34 for 20 packages. That's less than half the cost of the black version, while the black version is not twice the goodness. That's what reviewer say. It makes me wish I known this before. I'd have bought this red version to compare them. 

That artistic symbol: 辛  means "spicy." 

It's not that spicy. Maybe it is compared to hospital food. But it's definitely not hot.

As it is, I still have a million packages so I'm disinclined to buy this red version and try them. Right now. But I will later. 

For I love them so.

I have not tired of these ramen packages. They make beautiful beginnings to nearly anything. And they do give you ideas. Their essence is easily duplicated. 

That is, you can buy these noodles separately in various forms, buy soup bases separately also in various forms. And you can buy the vegetables separately in various forms including dehydrated, and use a lot more of it than you get in these ridiculous tiny packages.

And you can keep various flavorings in various forms; chile sauce, chile powders, fresh chiles, for example. Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tamarind sauce, A-1, barbecue, various vinegars, sugar, honey, catsup, mustard, fish sauce, anchovy, fortified wines, for example. There are very many more.

The contents of these packages can be duplicated by various elements kept in the pantry and used for other things. These instant ramen packages show the way. They can actually teach young people to cook. It gets people thinking, man, if this just had some shrimp in it, or chicken, or pork or whatever. Even Napa cabbage would really turn something out. 

This is the first time I added miso paste. 

Originally I wanted to add aged soy sauce to test it. But I forgot. The flavor-packages and the additions, the miso, have so much flavor the soy sauce wasn't missed.

I set up my brother with this idea in mind.

I had already given his wife a bottle of the 3-year aged soy sauce. Because it comes packaged uniquely as Japanese do and a way that women really like.

But I had no idea if their family actually uses soy sauce. 

Or if they could appreciate the difference in reduced harshness.

My brother grew up in Japan as I did. But I have no idea if he caught on to soy sauce. His wife is Ukrainian. They're both very high on the health food scale. If there were such a scale. They're both interested in consuming only real food. His wife is extremely critical of American mass produced food and American industrial farming. They both are.

So they're both difficult cases.

He called back and told me they both love the 3-year aged soy sauce and they use it all the time.

Now, that surprised me. I honestly thought the gift was wasted effort.

So I sent him a bottle of the 4-year aged soy sauce that is even more mild. 

They love that too. 

They held a contest with their two boys. 

The 4-year soy sauce won their home-contest. Although it is not packaged uniquely as Japanese do.

This inspired me to set them up with South River miso. 

I hesitated with this because it is rather expensive and if the recipient doesn't appreciate the difference from regular miso that you can buy anywhere then that difference in quality will be wasted. 

The miso isn't so expensive but shipping added to that increases the cost dramatically. From forty-four to seventy dollars for four jars. 

It's worth it. 

If the difference in quality can be appreciated.

Plus it lasts a very long time in the refrigerator. Mine is over a year old.

Plus kombu seaweed and dried bonito tuna flakes for dashi, soup base, for nearly anything including miso soup.

You can make miso soup with miso paste and water, but it's a 10X better with dashi. That is, tea made from kombu and bonito flakes.

So far, South River miso and the two elements for basic dashi. This is a very good start.

Incidentally on this site, I compared three different ways to make bouillabaisse. Raw fish heads, clam juice and kombu/bonito dashi. Each with saffron. The Japanese version won hands down. You must admit, the Japanese have their seafood act down. Like no other culture that I know of. (While the best bouillabaisse that I've ever had was in a French restaurant, so my own contest might have been faulted. Enter "bouillabaisse" in the Blogger search box up there top left ↖︎if you care to see them.) 

Then the seven magical Asian flavor ingredients. All ordered from Amazon. Except for sake.

That one is tricky. He is ex-alcoholic type and fiercely against anything alcohol. 

Touchy subject.

But if he wants he can get sake anywhere or substitute that with any fortified wine. But I doubt that he'll want to. That one is actually quite easy to translate into western terms. In some ways better than sake. And after all, you use only one tablespoon at a time and it does make all the difference in the world. 

Or leave it out. 

You don't have to use all seven magical Asian ingredients each time, just a few at time are literally transformative. The thing is, each one is rather gross on its own. But in combination with other things, and with food, they alter the profiles dramatically. So even little changes make huge differences in outcome.

In things like Ramen. Things like plain vegetables. Napa cabbage especially. It's quite remarkable what these flavor enhancements do. Used sparingly and in balance across the whole range of cooking activity. 

So then:

1: South River miso (upscale authentic version of common product)

2: kombu seaweed and bonito flakes (used everywhere in lots of things including miso soup)

3: 7 magical Asian flavor ingredients. (used in combinations for tons of things)

     1) fish sauce

     2) mirin (wine based, I'm worried about this one)

     3) rice vinegar 

     4) sugar (not sent)

     5) sake ( not sent)

     6) toasted sesame seed oil

     7) soy sauce

Obvious omissions are tamarind sauce, chiles, wasabi, curries, and ginger. 

Not that many people would think of long pure white daikon radish but I'm seeing it stacked all over the place. It's not a new trend. That means people out there are hip to the deal. 

If I were to send them anything else it would be excellent short-grained rice. The type you just don't see in the stores. But that's white rice, and these types of food-elitists have a thing against white rice. It's inculcated in their highfalutin anti-fast-sugar-carb indoctrination. 

They are both antifastsugarcarbites.

I asked him if they ever make sushi at home and he said, "no" but he's thinking about it. And that would take high quality short-grain white rice. And sushi is the doorway drug to fast sugar carb white rice.

So then, no high quality short-grain white rice for you! 

Presently.