Ellie’s “Roy Choi” Ramen

October 11, 2021

My Aunt Rita made packaged Ramen soup for us as kids in Idaho. She threw in whatever left over veggies and meats she had in the fridge. We loved it. It was a great treat that our “only cook from scratch” mother would not make. We looked forward to it every summer. I nearly forgot about it until we had our son and Ramen made its way back into meal rotation. I made it her way until I read an article in The New York Times about Roy Choi’s version that he grew up on.

This is velvet on your tongue and having dinner ready in 5 minutes is a joy. With a kid in the house we always had American Cheese slices and I can’t imagine not keeping some now too. They last forever, and this soup is not the same with other cheeses. I know, I’ve tried!!

Experiment with this and I know it will make it onto your meal rotation too.

Ingredients:

1 pack chicken flavored ramen noodles with flavor packet**
2 cups water
¼ cup chopped fresh broccoli, peas or other veggies (broccoli is great with the cheese)
1 slice American cheese
1 large egg
½ teaspoon butter
¼ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
½ scallion, green part only, thinly sliced (can also use chives)
Other options:

1 slice cooked bacon chopped
½ cup cooked chicken

Preparation:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the noodles and veggies and cook for 2 minutes. Add the flavor packet, stir, and continue to cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the cheese slice and stir to melt and combine.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the egg. Do not stir; pull the noodles over the egg and let sit for one minute to poach. (It will finish cooking when you stir it and break the yolk into the soup.)
Carefully transfer everything to a serving bowl, add the butter, cheese and sesame seeds and mix. Garnish with the scallions.

**If you want to cut back on the salt you can use just ½ of the flavor packet. Or skip it and use 2 cups low sodium chicken broth.