Urlifestyle Magazine October 2016 May 2016 | Page 20

We sat down, were promptly served our whiskeys, and handed
menus. My boss ordered a plate of wings, and an Udon Noodle
Soup caught my eye. As soon as we had ordered, we found out
that we were, in fact, on an adventure at IRock Karaoke.
They brought out a metal martini glass, and emptied the
contents of a fun-sized bag of Dorito’s into it.
I reiterate: Metal Martini glass. Doritos. The crew of around
15 patrons at the bar were drinking and singing songs in
other languages; we had our Doritos, so we just sat back and
watched. They did ask a few times if we wanted to sing, but we
politely declined.
Then our food arrived.
The wings looked pretty good, but with my beard, I’m more likely
to wear wings than to eat them. My soup, though, was lifechanging. Udon noodles, about as thick as a pencil, submerged
in a delightfully salty concentrated pork broth, two tender,
blanched, leaves of Bok Choy, an egg, cooked perfectly over
easy, and the coup de grace, two slices of seared Spam. After
my initial reaction, which was, “Hmm, interesting”, I picked up
the bowl to try a bite. My palate EXPLODED and I didn’t put the
bowl back down until it was empty.
We eventually finished our meals, had some conversation and
a few more cocktails, and then headed back to the hotel to get
some sleep before the rest of the week’s activities. If you ever
end up in a suburb of DC late at night, go to IRock Karaoke. It
won’t disappoint.
Anyway, to the recipe:
I’ve been playing with different variations on noodle soups with
Spam since the trip to DC, looking for my go to recipe for when
I get off work at night. The last thing that any cook wants to do
after a shift is cook for himself. I’ve tried variation after variation,
and I think I’ve nailed down my perfect bowl of noodles. The nice
thing about noodle soups is that you can put whatever you want
into them. I made this one for a few of my cohorts at the radio
station, and we took a video of it to go along with this article.

20

Break the egg and enjoy!
Spam Ramen:
1 pack of Shin Black
Ramen (you can use
your favorite brand)
1 can of Spam
2 Green Onions
(julienned)
2 Eggs (1 Whole, and 1
Yolk, separated)
1 handful of Baby Bok
Choy Leaves (rinsed
and separated)
You only need one pan for
this. Cut your Spam into
4 thick slices. Get your
saucepan hot, and then heat
a splash of oil. As soon as the
oil smokes, toss in your Spam,
and sear the large surfaces.
It’ll go pretty quickly. Pull
them out and set them aside
somewhere warm.
A package of Shin Black
calls for 19.5oz. of water, but
we’re going to bump that up
to 22oz, because we need to
get some mileage out of the
broth. Put the water in the pan
with whatever crusty goodness
might be left over from searing
your Spam, and then add the
supplied seasoning packages.
Bring it to a rolling simmer.

Drop in the Bok Choy leaves.
They’re not huge or thick, so
they only need to cook for
10-15 seconds. Pull them back
out and store them with your
Spam.
Next, poach the egg. I use a
very small strainer to allow the
excess white to drain off the
egg, and then use the strainer
to carefully turn the egg out
into the broth. This takes no
less than 30 seconds, and no
more than a minute. Pull the
egg back out with the strainer
and set it aside.
Turn the heat up on the broth,
and when it boils, add your
noodles. They should only
take a few minutes. As the
cake of noodles breaks up,
pull one out from time to time
to check for doneness. When
they get close, reduce your
heat a bit, ladle some of the
broth into that lonely egg yolk
to temper it, then stir it all
back into the broth. This has
a fortifying effect on the broth,
changing it from watery to silky
smooth. When the noodles
are done, add them straight to
your bowl. Stir the Bok Choy
leaves into the broth and
noodles, fan the Spam out on
the edge, top the noodles with
the egg, and garnish with the
scallions.

Pictured above: Stacy Sturm dishes up some deliciousness !

Click video above to watch Adam Steen’s demonstration of how to
make Spam and Ramen
21