Stir-Fried Ramen Noodles in 8 Steps

Ramen noodles have a bad-rep, thanks to the mass-produced, readily-available, MSG-laden, carcinogen containing, microwavable instant noodles. But, in addition, to being a major source of sustenance for students living in dorm rooms, ramen noodles are usually served in healthy delicious soups, in Japan. When we went to Japan last year we saw them everywhere. Since we keep halal, we were lucky enough to find a vegetarian ramen restaurant, called T's TanTan, inside the labyrinth that is the Tokyo Station. Ramen noodles have a beautiful texture. Here is a recipe of ramen noodles with stir-fried vegetables. Give this quick recipe a try, and you will never go back to eating instant noodles. 

Ingredients (in the order they are used):

2 tablespoons of grape seed or peanut oil
2 garlic cloves (thinly sliced crosswise)
1 jalapeno (thinly sliced, seed and membrane removed)
6 spring onions
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of frozen vegetables (using edamame, corn, green beans, carrots and peas)
1 red pepper (thinly sliced)
1 green pepper (thinly sliced)
1 cup of chicken broth (using Saffron Road's broth)
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sweet chili sauce (from Trader Joe's)
9.8 ounce or 3 bundles of non-fried ramen noodles (from Mitsuwa, local Japanese store)
6 cups of water (to boil the noodles)
2 teaspoon of sesame seed oil

Let's get started by heating up a skillet, and boiling 6 cups of water.
I have put the steps for the stir-fry in numerical order, and alphabetized the steps for cooking the noodles.

Step 1: In a hot skillet or wok, add oil and sliced garlic.

Cook until they are golden brown.

Step 2: Add jalapeno, and saute for a minute.

Step 3: Add in the mushrooms, cook until they turn slightly golden.

Step 4: Add in spring onions. Stir and saute them for a minute.

 Step 5: Add in the frozen vegetables and continue cooking.

Step A: In the meantime, when the water comes to a boil, add in ramen noodles. Once the water comes back to a boil again, set the timer for 4 minutes.

Step 6: Add in red and green peppers, and saute them for a minute.

Step 7: Add the chicken broth, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce.

Step B: After 4 minutes when the timer goes off, turn off the stove.

Step C: Drain the noodles and mix in 2 teaspoons of sesame oil.

Step 8: Add the noodles in the skillet. Mix them and cook for another 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, delicious stir-fried ramen noodles are ready.

Dig in!