Congrats to Hans over at TheRamenRater.com on his 1000th review. I couldn’t ever come close to that! BTW – The flavor he reviewed sounds intriguing, but probably best left to college students.
My mom alerted me to an event at Marshall University, in Huntington, WV, next weekend, a ramen noodle cook-off done in the style of “Chopped”. I know that a majority of the readers here don’t live in Huntington, and like me, some may even be Mountatineer fans, but this is a great idea that I think could be done at other colleges. Here are the details, and if you have a cook-off of your own let me know.
Beta Alpha Psi is an honorary organization for Accounting, Finance and Management Information
System students at Marshall University is hosting a charity event called the Ramen Noodle Cook-Off. This event is to benefit the charity Palms for Life which is an international charity dedicated to eradicating poverty throughout the world. The event be held Saturday, March 9th at the Marco room in the Memorial Student Center at Marshall University, from 11am to 4pm, and coincides with a canned food drive.
Ramen Noodle Cook-Off is a fantastic, fun event where anyone can participate. Teams of two people are asked to participate in a “Chopped”-like event and showcase their skills at preparing Ramen Noodles in unique and creative ways. Last year’s creations involved dishes of tacos, no-bake cookies, stir-fry and alfredo – all including ramen noodles as the star!
I think this is a great idea, we all know that ramen is a versatile ingredient, and one that is commonly found on college campuses. Tying that into a charity event for the food bank is perfect.
So I say good luck to Beta Alpha Psi and if you’re in the area, drop by!
A fanatic ramen chef, Keizo Shimamoto, who eats 600 bowls a year, has picked his 5 favorite ramen shops in the US. Los Angeles did pretty well and I was surprised not to see SF on the list. Here’s an excerpt, read the full story to see the list:
If you know me, then you know ramen rules my life. So when I was asked to compile a list of my top five ramen shops in the United States, then you know that this was no easy task. In the past six years I’ve probably slurped more bowls of ramen than any other American, including “a dream ramen journey” throughout Japan, spanning 21 cities and 55 bowls in 28 days, but there’s still very much that I need to learn about this freakish noodle dish. I initially moved to Japan to study how to make ramen because there wasn’t much I could consider “quality ramen” stateside — but with the “ramen boom” finally crossing the Pacific, there are several shops that deserve recognition.
What’s better is that you can also watch the full (short) movie called Ramen Dreams, which follows Keizo as he follows his ramen dream to a Tokyo. You can also just watch it below:
A few months back I posted about the anti-lonliness ramen bowl which has an iPhone holder so you can play a game, make a call, or watch TV while you eat noodles. Hans over at RamenRater got an interview with the designer, Miso Soup Design (great name). It’s worth a read.
EDIT: Link fixed
Too bad this doesn’t exist for my Android phone.
From NPR:
Eating the popular noodle dish normally requires two hands — one for chopsticks, the other for a spoon. Designers at a Taiwanese company noticed a guy trying to do that while juggling his cell phone. So they came up with a way to slurp it up while watching videos or reading emails.
This story from GeekSugar has a picture, but I’ve yet to see an explanation of how you’re going to avoid splashing ramen all over the phone.
Paul a fellow UMR/MS*&T alum, sent me this gem. It’s so simple, but so fancy.
Cook the noodles as instructed by adding them to boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain all of the water with the exception of approximately 1 tablespoon of water. Next add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Enjoy.
Paul notes that the sour cream, beef flavoring, and truffle oil really give it a very heavy umami taste.
Personally, I don’t like sour cream that much, but I’ve found more and more than when it’s mixed in to things it tastes good. Just don’t put a big spoonful on top of my nachos.