Ramen

Midnight Ramen: a quick meal for those who don't care if they turn into gremlins. It's late at night. You've just returned home from a long hard day of strenuous labor - day in which you had no time to stop for a proper meal. What to do? You've used up the leftover rice and beef from the other night. Hmm...there's some leftover chicken, but what to eat it with? It's time for another entry in the continuing "Ramen" series.

Ingredients:
1 pack instant Ramen Noodles (not in a cup)
1 leftover chicken breast (sliced or whole, preferably sliced)
1/4 cup diced white onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Amateur Chef's Steak Sauce
2-3 teaspoons Amateur Chef's Asian Spice
1 teaspoon Amateur Chef's Original Spice
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 - 1 teaspoon peppercorn medley

Steak Sauce will be covered in a later post. For now you may substitute the same sauce from previous entry:
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Tabasco Sweet Asian Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Amateur Chef's Original Spice

Leftover chicken should be plain or lightly seasoned.

Process:
If leftover chicken is not already thinly sliced, do so.
In a large pot or medium sautée pan, add olive oil and stir diced onion over medium heat. Once onions begin to take color, add the chicken. Drizzle the steak sauce (or the replacement sauce) and stir. Add 1 teaspoon of AC's Asian Spice, 1/2 of the garlic and 1/4 of the peppercorn medley. Stir until onions have taken the color of the sauce, and chicken has warmed. Remove from heat and set aside.
In medium pot, add enough water to cover noodles. Add a pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon of AC's Original, and another of AC's Asian Spice. Add half of the peppercorn medley using a grinder or pre-ground pepper. (The fresher, the better) Cook Ramen as per instructions. For this recipe, I used chicken flavored, but you may use you favorite. Once noodles are ready, strain the water. To ensure the tenacity of the flavor, I like to add after noodles are strained. Add another 1/2 teaspoon of AC's Asian Spice, along with the garlic, and peppercorn medley. For a little added flavor, add a touch of the steak sauce. Stir to fully integrate spices.
In a large bowl, combine noodles, chicken and onion. Serve immediately.

Serves 1 or 2 people.

A better midnight ramen, you will be hard pressed to find - savory, tangy, sweet, spicy, and comfortingly warm. It is how a midnight snack should be.

Scrambled Eggs

Here's a great recipe for scrambled eggs I developed over the last week.





Ingredients:
4 large grade-a chicken eggs
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1 large jalapeño, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Amateur Chef's Original Spice Mixture (found in an earlier post)

Process:
In a large pan or skillet, cook onion and peppers in olive oil.
Sprinkle garlic powder and gently toss until onions are lightly browned.
Add the eggs; either individually, or mix them beforehand in a bowl or measuring cup and add the mixture all at once.
Stir continuously until eggs are completely cooked.
Season with Original Spice Mixture and serve.

This dish serves two people, or one very hungry person.
Optional: serve with dashes of your favorite hot sauce. My favorites include: Frank's, Tabasco, and my own Amateur Chef's Original Hot Sauce (to be featured in an upcoming post)

Ramen

Here's another fun way to spice up the bland and ordinary instant ramen meal. Have you ever thought, "Yeah, I like ramen. I wish there was a way that I can enjoy it for breakfast." Wish granted. With this recipe, you can enjoy your favorite instant noodle meal in the morning or at anytime. Ramen with Steak and Eggs!

Ingredients:
1 steak(preferably left-over), sliced into strips.
2 large grade A chicken eggs
1/2 cup white onion chopped
1 package instant ramen
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (you can use same amount of butter instead)
1 teaspoon Eric's Original Spice (recipe follows)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground peppercorn medley (black, white, green, pink)

Process:
Fill a small pot with enough water to cover noodles and turn stove to medium high. Once water boils, add noodles, but not the flavor packet. After three minutes, stir noodles then strain the water out. Add the flavor pack and mix. (I chose the chicken flavor but you may use your favorite) Set aside.
in a fry pan add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or butter) and heat on medium high. Add onions and steak. Sprinkle half of the Original Spice and the garlic and black pepper. Stir continuously for 2-3 minuets or until onions begin to turn translucent. Add the eggs and stir. Continuously stir for a minute. Remove from heat and add any remaining spice.
Mix the egg mixture into a large bowl with the ramen and serve.

Can serve two, can be eaten by one.

Eric's Original Spice
1 part peppercorn medley (black, white, green, pink)
1 part crushed red pepper
1/2 part kosher salt
1/2 part garlic powder
2 parts dried cilantro

mix all ingredients into a spice grinder and pulverize into a powder.

This is a delicious way to add flavor to ramen and spice up your breakfast at the same time.