Ramen Noodles ~ The Traditional Way

A few weeks ago, the kids and I got to visit an awesome Japanese market place near Chicago, where we are traditional noodle soups. Oh, my goodness, they were so yummy!

We learn a lot about Japanese food and culture, interestingly enough, by watching Miyazaki films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. In the movie Ponyo, the kids eat a delicious instant ramen soup dressed up by the mom with traditional toppings. We did not know what those toppings were until we hit the marketplace and ordered out own ramen noodle soup! The yummy bowls came topped with tender pork slices, a little fish cake (similar to fake crab) sea weed, mushrooms, scallions, and more. Each topping is merely a bite or two, but is such a diverse little treasure. 

So last time I made ramen noodles for the kids, I decided to make it the traditional way. I used the ingredients  we had on hand. In the soup broth, I poached an egg and a mouth-sized-bite of fresh salmon, along with some sea weed. I arranged these treasures on the top of the noodles and filled the bowls with broth. It was a big hit! 

The boy likes his noodles!

Sea weed, egg and poached salmon 'cakes'.... The salmon is already gone!

So today at the store, we picked up some instant miso soup and udon noodles. We will make our homey treasure again this week. I've cut the tail end of some fresh salmon into bites to freeze until we are ready. We might try some other toppings as well. All of us are looking forward to this dinner.