Friday, July 10, 2009

Dinner & A Movie with Tyler: Chicken Noodle Ramen Soup and "The Ramen Girl"


A girl needs a good chick flick now and then, something light and fluffy, where you don't have to think--a feel good movie. I ended up needing one last Friday; I was tired, grumpy, stuffy from allergies and needed a low-effort evening. In one of my Netflix envelopes was "The Ramen Girl", a total chick flick, and seeing the name of the movie made me crave some ramen to eat while I watched it.
 

Options? Go run and grab some takeout ramen, go to the store and grab a package of instant noodles, spend time creating some authentic ramen, or make Tyler's easy version of Chicken Noodle Ramen Soup from what I had in my cupboard and fridge. It ended up being an easy decision, especially after seeing Jessica's (My Baking Heart), delectable version of Tyler's soup in the Tyler Florence Fridays round-up. I used some leftover chicken breast and tossed in some extra veggies and seasonings based on what I had on hand.

You can find the recipe on Tyler's site here.


Chicken Noodle Ramen Soup
Tyler Florence
(Serves 4-6)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into ½-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, cut in half lengthwise then cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 quart organic chicken stock 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces instant Ramen noodles
1½ cups shredded cooked chicken
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and thyme. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper; bring the liquid to a boil. Add the Ramen noodles and simmer for 3 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.


Notes/Results: Authentic Japanese Ramen? No. Good? Yes! This is a quick, easy and yummy dinner when you want something easy and comforting. Plop in whatever you have in the fridge or whatever sounds good--for me, in addition to Tyler's ingredient list, it was pea pods, loads of garlic, dried chili flakes, fresh mint and some sesame seeds. The broth has lots of good flavor and if you use a good, low-sodium stock, you cut a good portion of the sodium and other junk that is in those instant ramen packets. A keeper recipe for when I am under the weather or needing some chicken soup and need it fast, without a lot of bother.

The Movie: Brittany Murphy is Abby, an American alone in Tokyo after her boyfriend breaks up with her and leaves her stranded there. Finding comfort in a bowl of hot ramen from a noodle shop across from her apartment in Japan, and searching for some direction in life, she trains to be a ramen noodle chef under the tutelage of the surly and usually drunk owner and ramen "master". It's not the best movie you'll ever watch, it is complete fluff; the acting just OK, the story improbable at best, but it is sweet and cute. With a big bowl of Tyler's Chicken Ramen Noodle Soup and a warm kitty sleeping next to you, it is just what the doctor ordered and a good escape for a couple of hours. ;-)


You can see what recipes the other TFF participants picked this week and what they thought about them by going to the round-up on the TFF site here.

Happy Aloha Friday!

18 comments:

  1. I absolutely love your soup bowl and spoon!! They are adorable. I bet my entire family would love this soup. We are fans of ramen noodles cooked any which way. Your soup looks really pretty with the snow peas and the sesame seeds. The movie sounds fun to watch. I love all movies about cooking. I should rent that one for me and my daughter.

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  2. I love movies that you can forget the minute they end. I've never eaten ramen noodles. Will have to file for fall. Great photos, as always.

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  3. Your soup looks good enough to eat. I love ramen and rice noodles because they are so easy to prepare. I like your recipe. Hope you are feeling better.

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  4. Dinner and a movie, I love it!
    A great gal's night in, I love to have a bowl of ramen with all the fixings, so comforting.

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  5. This is definitely a great take on the traditional poor college student's ramen, with a little spicing up!

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  6. I saw a snippet when in Japan, it sounded like an interesting movie, I wonder if they will be showing it in Japan?? Your ramen looks delicious!

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  7. I have never heard of that movie but my daughters love ramen. I will have to chec it out.

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  8. That looks so good and you definitely have me craving some Ramen noodles now!

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  9. mmmm. I haven't had ramen in forever! total comfort food.

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  10. You make it look so good, but you say it's super simple, meaning I will have to add it to a fall menu rotation (I love both of those things - quick and tasty). I haven't had any Ramen noodles since my college days.

    Love your blog~

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  11. Never even thought of homemade ramen! Looks divine... Thanks for enlightening me to the dish and the movie, will definitely check both out.

    I also appreciate you checking out my blog.. means SO much to a newbie like me!

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  12. The soup looks and sounds so good! I like your new signature too, I was thinking of trying to figure that out myself.

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  13. I love ramen! Haven't made it in years ( I find myself saying that a lot lately), and once the weather cools down, I will definitely be making some!

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  14. How cute that you ate Ramen soup while watching Ramen Girl. I'm putting this on my queue - it just sounds like a fun and comforting thing to do. The soup looks delicious!

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  15. wow, way to make ramen gourmet and actually sorta healthy! I've never heard abt that movie. Is it good?

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  16. I totally wanted to do a post about this movie, too!! It was adorable and of course I loved it...I love fun, food-related, chick-flicks anytime!!! Your ramen looks mighty tasty (but will it make me burst into hysterics ;) ?)

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  17. I love ramen noodles. They are my favorite quick lunch.

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  18. Wow, I think I might actually have all the ingredients for this on hand. That never happens!

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