Spicy Korean Kimchi Ramen

SPICY KOREAN KIMCHI RAMEN

Done in under 45 minutes, this quick and easy Spicy Korean Kimchi Ramen with pork belly, poached egg, and scallion is beyond legit 

Ramen has exploded here in NY.  For the past year or two, the ramen scene in the city has been growing at a crazy awesome rate.  Ramen masters from Japan have been setting up shop all over, and you better believe we have been taking full advantage of it.  Asheley literally can’t get enough of the stuff.  Even during a heat wave (when hot, steamy soup is the last thing on a normal person’s mind), Asheley craves ramen.

But who can blame her... the stuff is freaking magic. And if you are thinking this real deal ramen is anything like those sad $.20 packets you survived on during your college years, think again. They are nothing alike.

Traveling into the city has been pretty rare lately... you know, with the whole having a 3 month old and everything. Although Olivia has been to Brooklyn twice so far for some food (or, more accurately, watching mommy and daddy eat food), she has yet to experience her first bowl of ramen-watching. This obviously needs to change.

And in the meantime, I decided to step up and try to make Asheley a big ole’ bowl of comforting ramen at home.  With a spin, of course.

I’ve been really loving Korean flavors lately, and there was some kimchi in the fridge that was staring me down for several weeks now.  Boom.  This quick and easy Spicy Korean Kimchi Ramen was born.

Kimchi is a traditional Korean banchan consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most commonly using napa cabbage or Korean radish.

 A wide selection of seasonings are used, including gochugaru (Korean chili powder), spring onions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal (salted seafood), etc.Kimchi is also used in a variety of soups and stews. Kimchi is a staple food in Korean cuisine and is eaten as a side dish with almost every Korean meal.

There are hundreds of different types of kimchi made with different vegetables as the main ingredients.^] Traditionally, winter kimchi, called kimjang, was stored in large earthenware fermentation vessels, called onggi, in the ground to prevent freezing during the winter months and to keep it cool enough to slow down the fermentation process during summer months. The vessels are also kept outdoors in special terraces called jangdokdae. In contemporary times, household kimchi refrigerators are more commonly used.