The Fried Noodles Recipe That’s So Easy I’m Embarrassed to Share It
This is how my mom has always made fried noodles for us — and it’s ridiculously simple.
Anything my mom made was instant comfort food.
Now that’s she gone, it’s all I want to eat.
I crave her pork ’n’ beans and gravy, her nishime, her Spam and pineapple. Such humble dishes — but they remind me of her.
But one of my favorites — and one I make for my son, often by request — is her fried noodles. Salty, savory, colorful — and embarrassingly easy. Like, so embarrassingly easy I never wanted to share it.
People assume I make complicated food. And I don’t know why, either. I do a mediocre job of styling my food for photos, and I rarely use ingredients I don’t have stored somewhere in the kitchen.
But they ask.
And now, finally, I deliver.
(Disclaimer: This is how my mom and I make this dish. You can add whatever you want, fancy it up, go nuts. We keep it veeeeeeery simple.)
All you need are these items:
Two packs of your favorite instant ramen (dry), in whatever flavor. We mostly use chicken flavor, but shrimp works, too.
An onion or shallot, doesn’t matter which, very thinly sliced
Spam, bacon or char siu — or whatever meat you prefer — sliced thinly
Kamaboko (fish cake) for color — but totally optional — sliced
Green onions — for color, too — chopped
Neutral cooking oil (like vegetable oil)
Other things you can add to this:
Carrots, julienned. My mom does this.
Peas. (I hate peas.)
Bean sprouts. (Totally unnecessary IMHO, but they do add crunch.)
Eggs, scrambled
Shoyu (or soy sauce)
Here’s what you do:
Follow the instructions on the ramen packs. While that’s cooking, in a pan, add oil and fry the sliced onions and Spam. Add the cooked noodles and kamaboko. Then take the dashi packets that come with the noodles. Add as much as you want to the noodle mixture — I use both — and toss. Take the pan off the heat and garnish with green onions.
That’s it.
Seriously.
Just eat it.
And don’t tell anyone how stupidly easy it was.
xoxo,
CTF