Sure, ramen isn’t fancy food—unless you want it to be.

Start with a grocery-store ramen packet, a nice high-quality version, or plain Japanese noodles and homemade broth, whatever suits your energy level and grocery status.

Likewise, add whatever accoutrements you feel like cooking or have on hand—a few quick dishes, ferments from the fridge, or herbs and a scrambled egg. Just a few drops of toasted sesame oil can be enough to make plain ramen nicer. But why not an egg? Come on, some scallions?

Even simpler, if you have an Asian market in town, check out their furikake—it’s like delicious sprinkles for food.

Yields1 Serving

ingredients

1 any flavor or brand ramen packet (Shin Black is amazeballs)

1 tsp sesame oil

olive oil

cabbage, sautéed with chili (optional)

sautéed mushrooms and onions (optional)

1 egg omelet (optional)

1 slivered green onion (optional)

2 kinds of furikake (optional)

Whip up the egg, add a few drops of sesame oil if you like, and make a quick omelet with a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-hot pan. Set aside.

Grab a couple of cabbage leaves (you might only need one) from the vegetable bin, wash, slice, and add to the hot pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Stir them around, shake some red chili flakes on top, and sauté until it looks good to you. Set aside.

In the same pan, sauté a few slices of yellow onion until they begin to soften, then add sliced mushrooms and a sprinkle of salt and cook until nicely browned. Set those aside, too.

Cook the noodles according to package directions, using the seasoning packets and everything. When cooked, drizzle a little sesame oil into a bowl or two and add the noodles with the broth.

Top with whatever seems like it will taste good together. Arrange the cabbage, mushrooms, and omelet as artistically as you please, and top with the green onion and whatever furikake you like. Or, kimchi, fresh basil, sliced turnip, pea shoots, soft-boiled eggs... you see where this is going... all make excellent toppings, and so do lots of other things you already have in your fridge.

Ingredients