Top Ramen

For the last few weeks, Keizo Shimamoto and his Ramen Burger have been taking food blogs, news sites and social media by storm. He combined two of my favorite things, noodles and sandwiches, and created a gift meant for the gods. Being some 1,500 miles away from Brooklyn, I was not going to be enjoying this beautiful piece of gastronomy anytime soon, so I took it upon myself to recreate this incredible meal.

There are many recipes floating around, each slightly different but the common thread being delicious. My preference in cooking is to gather a variety of versions and adapting what I like from each. My first attempt I decided that my  spin would be sliders, I mean who doesn't like miniature versions of things?

Successfully delicious first attempt! The balance between the smokey and nutty flavor of the sesame oil mixed well with the soy for the burgers marinade. The sharp cheddar and scallions added some bite while the sriracha brought the heat that I crave. The arugula brought the color and freshness plus an egg on one because why the hell not? As the hero of the meal, the ramen was bland and needed to step its game up. Each recipe online said the same thing, cook the noodles sans flavor packet, add the egg, form into shape and refrigerate. I should have expected this as naked ramen has little flavor and the you can't expect much from a generic store bought egg. Onto the second attempt!

Introducing the ramen steak sandwich, what this one lacks in appearance was made up in flavor. I added my go to in seasoning: sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of garlic and onion powder. Couple that with a knob of butter to bring in some fat content and the ramen was good to go. The balance between everything was far superior to the sliders and resulted in pleasant food coma.

There is so much room to experiment and push the boundaries of the ramen burger. Garnish with pickled onion or carrots, perhaps some jalapenos. What about hoisin sauce as the condiment? Perhaps Korean style pork bbq, or chicken or cold cuts and patte to riff on the Bánh mì. Endless possibilities that I'm sure ill try out soon.

Single serve recipe for the Ramen Burger:
1 egg
1 pack ramen noodles (go for a premium brand if your store carries it)
80/20 ground beef
Soy sauce
Sesame Oil
Scallions
Arugula
Sharp Cheddar
Sriracha

Cook the noodles per pack directions, to spice or not to spice is up to you, combine with whisked egg. To form, place half the noodles in a mold (I used ramekins for the sliders but simple tupperware would work) Put the other half in another container and stack one into the other. Place a weight on both molds to help form the buns (beer bottles work great) Put these into the fridge and let sit for 15 minutes.

Prepare your meat to your liking, I suggest a splash of sesame oil and soy sauce to give it that asian twist. Additionally, I added bread crumbs, eggs, fresh garlic and pepper.

Take your time getting the noodles out of the mold, its tricky. Plop those suckers onto a hot skillet and fry each side until golden brown and cooked through. Set the buns aside and cook the burgers to your liking. Melt that cheese, chop those scallions and assemble your burger!