Meals for “Winter”
This is now our third Superbowl spent away from the U.S. I miss the football a bit, and I miss the weekend getaway we had with friends the weekend before the Superbowl a lot, and of course, I miss the snacks that are everywhere this time of year. Who doesn’t love an excuse to eat fried things and dips on a cold Sunday evening?
I may not have had a sufficient dose of the commercials or the game this weekend, but I’m surely getting a good dose of America. It’s peak tourism season here, and I think there’s more English being spoken on Bangkok’s streets than Thai. Last night I may have been on the skytrain with the cast of The Jersey Shore.
With the Superbowl behind us, I am reminded that Thailand is really just getting started with its own holiday season. Next up – Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is a big deal here – fireworks, parties, parades, and great food.
I still haven’t decided exactly what I will be making for our Chinese New Year dinner this year, but these Ginger Scallion Ramen Noodles are definitely in the running.
Finding the Recipe for Ginger Scallion Ramen Noodles
Inspiration & Modifications
Inspired by the many noodle bowls I have had since arriving in Thailand (and there have been many), I served my ginger scallion ramen noodles in bowls with soft-boiled eggs (duck in my case, but chicken will do the trick).
These noodle bowls could never pass as traditional Superbowl fare, but something about them certainly seems celebratory.
- 2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil (vegetable or canola will also work)
- 1 large bunch of green onions, sliced
- 2 Tablespoons of roughly chopped cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons of ginger, finely minced
- 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 Tablespoon chopped shallots
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 crushed red chile pepper or 1 teaspoon red chile flakes
- kosher salt to taste
- 10 ounces noodles of your choice, cooked according to package directions and drained (see note)
- Heat up the grapeseed oil in a saucepan over high heat until the oil is shimmery and hot, but not smoking.
- Add the green onions, cilantro, ginger, garlic and shallots at once, but be careful, the oil will bubble and splatter. Stir the ingredients quickly, to coat them in the hot oil, and immediately take the pan off the heat. (The onions will sizzle and wilt almost immediately - pull them off the heat as soon as they turn a bright green.)
- Add the fish sauce, sesame seed oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, crushed red chile pepper and salt to taste.
- Let sit for 15 minutes. Toss with noodles. Serve immediately.
I could dive into a big bowl of these right now…
melissa@IWasBornToCook recently posted..Sweet and Sour Salmon (Secret Recipe Club)
Lisa does have a gorgeous blog and you picked a wonderful recipe. Totally delicious and really perfect for CNY.
I’d love for you to check out my SRC entry Lemon Almond Biscotti.
Lisa~~
Lisa~~ recently posted..Lemon Almond Biscotti
What a lovely combination! I often think of noodle bowls as being soy sauce, chicken, or miso-flavored, but we’ll have to try this at home the next time I buy scallions.
I LOVE miso, Stephanie, but this was such a nice change. All those herbs make it so fresh and bright tasting. Different than the comfort food feeling of those miso flavors, but really delicious.
These look yummy and sounds like there is enough sweet heat to make it very addicting to me!
Shelby recently posted..Cider Bourbon Glazed Ham
So true Shelby – that’s just what it is – “sweet heat”. I love that combination as well!
I love noodles! Yummy..I think I could veganize this 🙂
I thought the same thing, Kirsten – this could easily be made to be vegan-friendly. I had originally wanted to top it with marinated roasted tofu, but didn’t have time – next time though!
Wow, I cannot wait to make this.
Noelle (@singerinkitchen) recently posted..{Secret Recipe Club} Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars & Vegan Chorizo, Potato, and Egg Tacos
Hi! I’m glad you commented on my site so I could find your site! I’m intrigued! I love the sound of this recipe.
The super bowl doesn’t seem like a big idea until you miss it. I know how that goes. I grew up in the South, and didn’t think it was such a big deal until I moved away. I miss it daily 🙂
I love your site Christina – since there are just two of us around here as well, I so love having access to recipes that are downsized! Moving away certainly makes you appreciate the place you grew up, doesn’t it? I bet you miss football season in the South – I have friends who grew up in Texas and everything revolved around football!
OH, I’m soo glad you loved my noodles, and thank you for all the kind words!! I hope I get your blog soon! Love it!
Lisa recently posted..Raspberry Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Streusel Cake
Lisa I absolutely loved this recipe – such a fantastic combination of flavors, and so easy! I will definitely be making these again and again!
Jess, just wanted to update you. We made these last night with ramen noodles (brilliant idea, btw!), and this is the way we want them from hereon in! So much lighter (we didn’t feel as ‘logy’ after eating them) and the sauce seems to stand out a little more as opposed to the heavier Chinese egg noodles! Thank you for that idea!
Lisa recently posted..Streusel Overkill is Good – Raspberry Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Streusel Cake
Lisa – thanks so much for letting me know! And thank YOU for the great recipe in the first place – I’ve made them a couple times since then and once with another kind of noodle, but I agree that there’s something that just works with those ramen noodles.
I’m drooling just looking at these noodles!
Leigh recently posted..Secret Recipe Club – February !
Oh man, this looks like the perfect dish for this time of year where I live. Hot gingery noodles to combat the cold days (I’m officially sick of snow). The Hus is going away for about 10 days coming up, and I’m arming myself with an arsenal of single lady treat dinner recipes so I don’t just eat crackers the entire time. This is def going on the list, and will likely be consumed while watching several back to back episodes of my favourite guilty pleasure shows. Thanks!
Katie (The Muffin Myth) recently posted..what’s good around the web!
I never use fish sauce…always sounds gross! :-(~
xoxo from Trinidad
Corey @ Learning Patience recently posted..Eating My Way Through Houston
Corey! Silly girl – you are such a food person AND you eat fish! You’ve got to try cooking with it – I promise you can’t taste anything fishy but it really makes lots of dishes extra delicious!
Such a simple dish, but yet so yummylicious with the scallions! I love to add a dash of sesame oil to my noodles; it works wonders on the fragrance. 😉
It’s so true – I love the flavor of sesame oil in noodles – it gives it that slightly smokey flavor I love!
Very comforting! I have made a simple version of yours. Just with green onion and ginger. I love that yours have cilantro, shallots and fish sauce. I will definitely try this out during Chinese new year. 🙂
Lokness @ The Missing Lokness recently posted..Molten Chocolate Cakes with Raspberry Filling
I could definitely see doing a simpler version in a pinch, using whatever I have in the fridge – I’m sure it’s hard to go wrong with this recipe!
These are the prettiest Asian noodles ever! I could get lost just staring in that bowl of curly q’s. Sesame oil, honey, red pepper flakes, rice wine vinegar…that’s me right there! Great flavor combos!
Averie @ Averie Cooks recently posted..Nutella Chocolate Chip Baklava
Looks like a quick and easy, yet flavorful recipe! I’ll have to give it a try. 🙂
CJ @ Morsels of Life recently posted..Lentil Sausage Soup
We have been watching Chang’s “Mind of a Chef” on PBS plus I love his publication, “Lucky Peach” and I have been dying to use ramen noodles in something. This looks so good and I think I have everything in the pantry. (Sorry you missed the Superbowl commercials!) 🙂
Debra recently posted..Pizza OCD: Bruschetta Pizza
I’ve never seen his show Debra, but I’ll have to check it out! I lived in New York for a time, and became completely obsessed with the whole line of his restaurants and all the creative foods he came up with.
This is stunning! Pretty sure I’m making it for my lunch today. Love this!
Cassie | Bake Your Day recently posted..SEO for Food Bloggers | Part IV: Recipe Format
What a great twist on ramen!
Elizabeth@ Food Ramblingse recently posted..Tomato Balsamic Soup
Stunning and definitely on my To Make list!
Jane, The Heritage Cook recently posted..Marbled Cheesecake Brownies (SRC) for Chocolate Monday
What a great pick for SRC! these look so good – already pinned them!
This is SO my kind of food. Can’t wait to make it.
Sarah recently posted..Beetroot, Balsamic and Chilli Relish
Oh, yeah These look great. And i love that they use raman noodles.!!!
Margaret recently posted..{IHCC} Rasedar khumbi aloo
Jess, I just made this (am snarfing down a bowl as I type) with just a couple of modifications. I left out the fish sauce (obviously) and was out of red pepper flakes (it was on my grocery list and everything!) so I finished it off with a few dashes of hot sauce. I found whole wheat curly ramen noodles, which are surprisingly good. I’m already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Katie (The Muffin Myth) recently posted..whole wheat chocolate chip cookie cake with dried cherries and smoked salt
Katie! So glad you liked them – I would love to find whole wheat curly ramen noodles – amazing!
I love noodles! The flavours used here sound so asian and delicious…I have to try this! Would you mind checking out my blog Jess?
Jessica @ Jessiker Bakes recently posted..Homemade Cheddar Burger Buns
Thank you Jess for the nice recipe. Have a great day, learn lots, and teach us.
Really a garbage recipe. I gave up noodle packs a long time ago and if you check your analysis you will see why. All that in a .25 cent pack of noodles?
Hi Frank – it’s a great point. Some people already have ramen noodle packets around their kitchen, which makes this recipe super convenient (note that the recipe does not use the seasoning packets that come with packaged ramen noodles). Check out the notes I include with the recipe though – I buy this style of noodles in bulk here in Thailand (without the seasoning packets) but any type of noodles will work for this dish.
Just made these tonight…so delicious and easy! I had impulse bought some fresh ramen noodles and wasn’t sure what to do with them, but this turned out to be a great use. The fish sauce in my fridge had expired, so I used a dab of anchovy paste instead.Very easy and totally hits that take out chinese itch, possibly even better. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you liked these Molly! Thanks so much for letting us know. (P.S. – great name! It’s our daughter’s name too!)