'This recipe contains alcohol. Use of alcohol is the responsibility of the user and should be used in moderation and in accordance with local laws of country, state or region.' Tsao Tsing Rice Wine

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Ravishing ramen with a well rounded selction of leftovers to charm us chow-mein style from the kitchens of  tigerbread

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Ramen Noodles Elevated: Ver 2. Chow Mein Style

(((For Ramen Noodles Elevated: Ver 1. Classic Soup Style, Click Here.)))

(For an amazing low cost dish using the affordable Ramen Noodle package and leftovers)

**Easy Difficulty* *Optional Alcoholic Ingredient**
Serves 2

2 square packages of Instant Ramen (Preferred Brand)
Some Leftover cooked Meat (In this case Mussels)
Some Leftover raw Veggies (In this case Japanese Eggplant, and Carrots), sliced
4 cups Water
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Lemongrass, minced
1 tsp Ginger, minced
2 large Eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Sweet Dark Soy sauce
(optional) ½ Tbsp Tsao Tsing Rice Wine
Sprinkle of chopped Green Onions and Jalapeno slices for Garnish
Pinch of Sugar
Pinch of White pepper

1) Heat water in a pot on high, and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off heat and place Instant Ramen Noodles into hot water for 3 min. Drain into strainer, and run under cold water to cool Noodles fully. Shake out excess water, and then pour Olive Oil over noodles and mix so they don’t clump. Set aside.
2) Beat eggs, then add in Fish Sauce and a pinch of White Pepper, and continue to beat until everything is mixed well. Then, in a large pan (preferably a wok or you could use a wide, shallow pot if you like) set on medium heat with some vegetable oil, scramble the Eggs until they are browned nicely. With your spatula, break up the eggs into small pieces. Remove Eggs from pan when fully cooked, and set aside.
3) Using the same pan, raise heat to medium high, then add in minced Garlic, Lemongrass, and Ginger, and stir fry quickly for about 1 min.
4) Then add in Leftover Vegetables (In this case, Japanese Eggplant and Carrots) and Leftover Meat (In this case, Mussels), and stir fry quickly. Add in Tsao Tsing Rice Wine, and cook for about 1 min. Remove from pan and set aside (you can put the right on top of the eggs. They’ll all get mixed in together eventually)
5) Keeping the pan still hot, toss in the Ramen Noodles. You won’t need more oil because the noodles are already coated with Olive Oil from before. Stir continuously so the noodles don’t burn. Add in only half of a single package of the Package Soup Powder mixture to the dry stir fry noodles, at first. Stir and taste. Add in more of the Soup Powder if the noodles is not salty enough to your liking. Be careful because that Soup Powder has concentrated salt and you can easily over salt your dish.
6) Add in Sweet Dark Soy Sauce and mix well for beautiful dark brown color. Add in Eggs, Pinch of Sugar and Leftovers from earlier, and mix well. Cook for 1 min then turn off heat. Place Noodles on plate and garnish with chopped Green Onions and Jalapeno slices.
7) Enjoy another great meal with exotic flavors and is easy on the wallet.

Extra Info: Some call this style Chow Mein. Some call the style Lo Mein. Dish label depends on the region you are in. Either way, it’s a good recipe to use if you find yourself once a again, not sure what to do with that leftover meat, and those leftover veggies. You don’t want to have them spoil and go to waste. That’s money down the trash!

You could easily use spinach, green beans, peapods, or even potatoes. Just cut the potatoes Allumette and stir fry them like any other vegetable. I find Julienne cut for potatoes in stir fry makes them too limp and it can get mushy. Al Dente is always a good idea to aim for when it comes to cooked veggies.

For Leftover meats, what’s nice about Shrimp, Calamari, and Mussels is that they are usually already bite sized. However, for leftover cooked beef, chicken, or pork, just slice them thinly. If you have a raw ground meat you don't want to go bad, make meat balls!

You can add in:
1 Tbsp of Chinese Five Spice
1 large Egg,
2 Tbsp Cornstarch (approx),
½ Tbsp Garlic Powder,
And 1 tsp Soy Sauce,
to every 1 lbs of ground meat you have. Roll up some meat balls and fry, bake, or how ever you like to prepare your meatballs. I like to roll them in Panko and Deep Fry my meat balls.

Using Leftovers in new ways is a great skill to learn. Your wallet will thank you, and so will your tummy. Happy Eating!

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Allergy warning – recipe contains shellfish, fish, nut, soy, dairy & egg products