Here’s what happens when two of the most comforting comfort foods team up.
Though ramen noodles have been eaten plain at homes in other countries for many years, they’re rarely, if ever, eaten like that in Japan. So it presented a problem when we grabbed a pack of ramen from out cupboard but didn’t have any suitable toppings for it.
We didn’t have an egg to crack and stir into the broth, or even some chives to chop and sprinkle into the mix. As a matter of fact, aside from a pack of Nissin-brand Chicken Ramen noodles, all we had was some shredded cheese, a couple bell peppers, and a tube of zesty tomato sauce, which really are more like the toppings for a pizza.
So we sat there, feeling sad about having to choose between eating ramen with no toppings or pizza with no crust…until we realized that we had everything we needed to make a ramen pizza, and here’s how you can make one too.
Step 1. Boil the ramen like you normally would.
Step 2. Drain the water and transfer the noodles to a frying pan. Using a spatula, shape the noodles into more or less a circle, and cook for five to six minutes on medium hear while gently pressing down on the noodles.
Step 3. By this time, the noodles should be nice and crispy on the bottom. Flip them over and repeat the process for the other side to complete your “crust.”
Step 4. Remove the noodles from the frying pan and cover one side with sauce.
Step 5. Add as much shredded cheese as you want.
Step 6. Slice the peppers and stick them on top of the cheese.
Step 7. Bake in a toaster over for five to six minutes.
Step 8. Remove your ramen pizza, admire its beauty as you wait for it to cool to an edible temperature, and dig in!
While there’s definitely a satisfyingly direct junk/comfort food deliciousness to it, the ramen pizza actually gives you a lot of complex textures too. The noodles are crisp and crunchy on their top and bottom surfaces, but still retain some chewiness in the middle, and then you’ve got the warm, melty cheese flowing into all the nooks and crannies between the individual noodle strands.
Though weused bell peppers, the concept should work just as well with all sorts of other toppings, so maybe we’ll try adding some meats, seafood, or maybe just a whole bunch of jalepenos if we wants to relive our memories of Japan’s “tsundere pizza.”
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