Ramen with Flank Steak, Shitakes and Spinach

I have a confession. I spent three years at a maximum security prison several years ago. Who would have guessed a little food blogger from Philadelphia would have such a sordid past? Well its true. Even thought I wasn't an inmate, those three years changed my life forever. I was hired as a therapist to council prisoners and manage a small group of employees. Where is this story going? Well in prison, all roads lead to ramen noodles. What?? Yup that's right. If your fortunate enough to have moolaa, the prison canteen ramen noodles are what you existed on. Inmates were always trying to come up with creative ways to prepare their noodles. A favorite was crushed cheetos or barbecue chips sprinkled on top of the steaming broth. If you had the resources to afford a can of spam, that would be chopped up and mixed in with the noodles. Sounds nasty? Not really, it was prison.

I recently came across a ramen recipe created by America's Test Kitchen. My heart sunk, immediately thinking about all the inmates I had gotten so close with. Most of them still serving their life sentences, while I had gone on to have a family and career. I thought to myself, If only shitakes and flank steaks were sold at the prison canteen. These two items alone would had made serving time a wee bit more tolerable. I was surprised at how delicious and simple this recipe was. My entire family LOVED it (this does not happen frequently). Its a keeper for a quick weeknight dinner. Let me know what you think once you make it.

• 1 pound flank steak sliced thin across the grain


• 6 teaspoon soy sauce


• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil


• 8 ounces shitake mushroom, stemmed and sliced thin


• 3 garlic cloves minced


• 1 tablespoon grated ginger


• 5 to 6 cups chicken broth (the recipe called for 3 1/2 cups, I wanted it more soupy)


• 4 3 ounce packages ramen noodles (throw out seasoning package, if your locked up while reading this use it..hee hee..)


• 3 tablespoon white wine


• 2 teaspoon of sugar


• 1 6 ounce bag of baby spinach


• Season with hot sauce or red chili paste

Mix sliced flank steak with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. Heat oil in a non stick large skillet, add steak, cooking till brown and cooked though. Set aside in a bowl. Wipe out skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil, cook sliced mushrooms till browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook less than 1 minute. Stir in broth. Now break the ramen up and add to the broth. Simmer for about 2 minutes till ramen is tender. Add the remaining soy sauce, wine, sugar. Stir in spinach.Now add the cooked flank steak along with accumulated juices and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve. If you ever do hard time in the future, you will be happy to have this recipe.Ill be sure to visit you and bring the shitakes and steak.