Ramen Lovers -- This Square Of Dry, Compressed Noodles Unweaves Into A Real Meal

I discovered ramen noodles sometime in the mid-1980s, when, fresh out of college, I was still struggling to learn how to cook without blowing my budget.

They immediately appealed. Not only did they sell for as little as 10 cents a package, but they were fast and easy to prepare and tasted good on top of all that. All I needed to do was boil water in a small pot, open a package of instant ramen and let the square of dry, compressed noodles unweave in the water.

Most brands even come with packets of powdered chicken, pork or other flavoring, which, when stirred into the pot as the noodles cook, create a gently spiced fragrance. Gradually, as my cooking improved, I began to stir in chopped scallions, a clove of minced garlic and finely chopped bits of ginger to enhance the flavor.

My affection for the dish resurfaced a few years ago when, after two months of traveling through Asia, I counted slurping steamy bowls of ramen soup laced with pork, shrimp, spring onion, greens and a trace of ginger at Japanese noodle stands as one of my favorite eating experiences.

So, when I discovered "The Book of Ramen" at the Kinokuniya bookstore in the International District, I had to buy it. The cookbook, written by Ron Konzak, contains 75 different gourmet recipes based on instant ramen.

Konzak, 60, lives on Bainbridge Island. He discovered ramen in 1970, a few years after moving to the Seattle area. The ease and inexpensive aspects of the noodle packages captivated him.

"I like to cook, but I don't like to spend half the day in the kitchen, fixing lunch," he says. "Making ramen got to be a habit. Pretty soon, I was adding peas, carrots, chopping up a little onion, whatever I had that would make ramen into a full meal."

An architect, harpist and avid gardener, Konzak also has a mad-scientist streak in him, a trait that comes out loud and clear in "The Book of Ramen."

When I first picked it up, I expected recipes for the savory ramen soups I'd enjoyed so much in Japan. Instead I discovered a collection of culinary inventions that not only spans the globe but makes use of ramen in recipes that represent nearly every dinner course.

Konzak's spinach ramen salad, for instance, calls for tossing fresh spinach leaves, avocado and tomato with a mixture of olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder and the contents of a prepackaged ramen flavor packet. Then toss in broken-up bits of uncooked ramen. Though the ramen tastes less crunchy than croutons often used in such salads, they're also much less oily.

For dessert, Konzak's recipe for "Polish apple noodle pudding" combines hot, cooked ramen noodles (without their flavor packet) with an egg, sugar, cinnamon, melted butter and bread crumbs. After allowing the egg to coagulate a bit, butter a glass loaf baking dish, spoon in a bit of the ramen mixture and add a layer of applesauce. Continue to alternate layers of noodles and applesauce until the baking dish is full, and bake it for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

As I pored through Konzak's book, trying different recipes, I began to realize that noodles were multicultural creatures and that ramen offered a way to merge ethnic eating experiences in a way that I never thought possible.

Konzak's recipe for "yaki ramen" is essentially a Japanese dish, yaki soba, noodles stir-fried with onion and Worcestershire sauce, and sometimes carrots, thin strips of pork, cabbage and shiitake mushrooms. You can spice this dish up with a flavor packet.

"Rambalaya" is jambalaya, using cooked ramen noodles baked in a 300-degree oven for one hour with a mixture of sauteed bell peppers, mushroom, pimento, celery, onion and paprika.

"Maca-ramen" is a ramen version of American macaroni and cheese. "It sounds weird, I know," says Konzak. "But it tastes really good."

It did sound weird. But one night when my taste buds were crying out for cheese, I tried it. After cooking a package of ramen noodles for five minutes, I blended three-fourths of a cup of grated cheese with three-fourths of a cup of milk in a saucepan over a low heat.

I added a little flour to thicken the sauce, and after allowing the noodles to drain, stirred them in with a dash of black pepper and a sprinkling of dried oregano. Unlike typical elbow macaroni, the thinner texture of the ramen made this dish almost elegant. I may never go back to the original.

"The Book of Ramen" is published by Turtleback Books and sells for $9.95. It hit bookstores in late 1993 and broke even in mid-September. Though it hardly has made him a millionaire, Konzak says he has heard from hundreds of ramen lovers nationwide, and even an executive with Campbell's Soup Co., one of many distributors of the noodles, who have tried several recipes.

Konzak and his wife, Mickey Molnaire, a computer consultant and musician who seems to love the noodles as much as her husband does, eat ramen three to four times a week and continue to dream up new ideas. One of their latest creations is using ramen in the popular Thai dish pad thai. (See recipe below). They've also figured out ways to use ramen in Chinese hot-and-sour soup and in something Molnaire calls "ramen cheese and peanut-butter dish."

"They're such a wonderfully simple food," Konzak says. "Add one new thing, and the whole complexion of the dish changes."

Konzak's recipe for "Indonesian Fried Noodles" is one of my favorites. The dish takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, including the time needed to chop vegetables. It goes a long way toward warming up damp, cold Seattle winter nights.

Himanee Gupta is a reporter for The Seattle Times.

------------------------ INDONESIAN FRIED NOODLES ------------------------ Makes 2-3 servings, approximately 1 1/2 cup each

2 packages instant ramen noodles. 1 tablespoon oil. 1/2 cup onions, sliced into crescents. 1/2 cup carrots, slivered. 1 cup cabbage, thinly sliced. 1 flavor packet (from instant noodles). 1/2 teaspoon curry powder. 1 teaspoon soy sauce. 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts.

PEANUT SAUCE: 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped. 1 clove garlic, finely chopped. 1 teaspoon oil. 1 teaspoon powdered or fresh ginger. 2 tablespoons peanut butter. 1/3 cup milk. 1 teaspoon honey. 1 tablespoon lemon juice. 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or to taste). 1 tablespoon soy sauce. 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste).

1. Break up noodles slightly while still in package. Heat 4 cups water in a saucepan and boil noodles for five minutes. Put in strainer, rinse with cold water and let drain for a few minutes, shaking out the water to make them as dry as possible.

2. While noodles are cooking, begin making peanut sauce. Saute onions and garlic in oil on medium-high heat until transparent. Lower heat to medium-low and stir in remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and thinning with additional milk if sauce becomes too thick. Keep warm.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan or wok and saute onions at medium-high heat until almost transparent. Turn heat on high and toss in carrots and cabbage. Stir-fry for one minute. Sprinkle on the contents of the flavor packet, curry powder and soy sauce.

4. Lower heat slightly. Add drained noodles and bean sprouts. Continue stir-frying until ingredients in saucepan or wok are mixed together.

5. Put fried noodles into a bowl, and pour peanut sauce on top. Or serve peanut sauce separately and allow individuals to mix it with their serving of fried noodles.