So it's been raining all week here in San Francisco. Although there isn't much sunlight, I'm pretty much used to this kind of weather, since it rains almost all summer long in Korea. But one thing I don't like about rain is that it makes me want to eat way more than I normally do. Whenever it rains, Koreans tend to share a general craving of certain foods - Bindaedduk (Korean pancakes, pictured on right) and Ramyun (or any other kind of noodle soup).In Korea, you can easily buy Bindaedduk; they sell them for about $1 each on the streets. But if you try to make this at home, it's rather complicated and costly - with all the ingredients and preparation that are involved in making these special pancakes. So to satisfy my rainy day cravings, I often turn to my second option: Ramyun.
Even here in U.S., you can easily buy Ramyun at any kind of markets/grocery stores (I've seen them at Safeway and liquor markets). But I strongly recommend going to a Korean market, so you have more legit variety to choose from. My top 3 Ramyun choices would be (pictured from left to right) Shin Ramyun, Sam Yang Ramyun, and Nuguri Ramyun. Korean Ramyun cost around $1 each, but you can also buy them in bundles/boxes for a better deal.
In addition to being extremely affordable, Ramyun is also very easy to cook & surpringly fulfilling! If you're cooking one for the first time, you can just follow the instructions on the back. But once you get used to the amount of water needed for the soup, you can do everything on your own, and even begin to improvise for best taste. Here are some cooking tips:
1. Before water starts to boil, insert soup-base powder. Let it melt/mix thoroughly.
2. Patiently wait until water is actually boiling! Then insert noodles.
3. Using chopsticks, grab noodles & dunk them in and out of water while cooking - this creates better texture.
4. After about 2 minutes, insert egg(s). Do not stir/break the egg yolk, unless you want a milder soup.
*Cooking time (after you insert noodles) should not exceed 4 minutes. Do not overcook the noodles!
In 10 minutes or less, you can have a fabulous meal that looks something like this (pictured above). Ramyun can be pretty addicting, but it's kind of unhealthy.. so be careful & try not to eat this too often. Perhaps save it for a rainy day? I know I will :)
♥_dwon
