Oishii Salmon Ramen

I spent my freshmen year of college knocking out my degree's foreign language requirements, in my case this was Japanese. I spent a lot of time loafing around the school of Asian studies and hanging out in their lovely Japanese style garden. That's where I met Samurai Wannabe. Walking around campus with a karate kid like bandana tied around his anime spiked blond hair. He infused every interaction with utmost gravitas. This guy wasn't messing around. He was living the lifestyle; I'm pretty sure off campus he carried around a sword, if not two.

I miss that guy. He reminded me that maybe you shouldn't take yourself too seriously. Something that clearly I don't try to do here.

Well Seattle Samurai Wannabe, I'm sorry I never remembered your real name. This soup is for you.

Ramen with Pacific Northwest twist.



Not so Humble's Oishii Salmon Ramen:

8 oz fresh ramen noodles (Not the instant stuff. If you can't find these and don't feel like making them, substitute a thin chinese egg noodles or packets of fresh 'stir fry' noodles)

Soup
4 cups vegetable stock
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled and grated ginger
1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 cup bean sprouts
1 green chili, seeded and sliced
2 cups baby spinach leaves (optional)
fresh cilantro

Salmon
1 pound of wild pacific northwest coho, skin removed and sliced into four filets.

3 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons of mirin
1 teaspoons grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
1/2 teaspoon hot chili sauce - sriracha (optional)

Cook the ramen according to the package directions.

Mix the ingredients for the salmon and glaze each piece. Place the salmon under the broiler for roughly four minutes on one side. The flesh should flake easily but the center should remain moist and pink.

Add the garlic, ginger and soy sauce to the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer.

Boil 4 cups of water in a small pan and add the spinach, cooking briefly till it has just wilted. Remove the spinach from the water and squeeze the spinach to remove any excess liquid.

Divide the spinach between four bowls, then add the noodles. Pour the broth over the noodles and add a filet of salmon to each. Sprinkle with the bean sprouts, chilies, and cilantro.