Wednesday, January 20, 2010

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.

32 comments:

  1. You really got me thinking with this post. How many things we give for granted with out realizing they could be a luxury somewhere else.

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  2. Thankyou for such an interesting post. I love ramen noodles.

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  3. How funny, it's kind-of like in college where all roads also lead to ramen! I'm a huge fan of ramen myself...this looks delish!

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  4. looks delicious theres a prison in Italy I read about once that the prisoners serve gourmet meals in a restaurant!

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  5. I will have to try this, I am a fan of Americas test Kitchen and love their recipes. Quick weeknight meals like this are a favorite way for me to cook. Thx for pointing this one out.

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  6. You know what? This actually looks very good! There were many times in college when my dimeless soul resorted to ramen, which in a way saved my life.

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  7. What a delicious idea. I have most of this stuff at home, I should try this out.

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  8. Oh Fig you drew us in with that first few lines! I went into a prison once with a group of missionaries and was asked to speak to the group, but I had a hard time with that...maybe I should have feed them, and now I can read my food poetry...I admit I eat ramen noodles when hubby is gone, something comforting, soupy'ness running down your chin, warm, and now the addition of mushrooms and steak, oh my!

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  9. I LOVE this post!! Ramen is something I don't think about often but what an amazing story. As a teacher of inner city youth stories like this draw me too them.

    Great post.

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  10. what an amazing job! i bet you had quite a few interesting experiences living there, but i didn't realize inmates could buy things like ramen. this dish look so good!

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  11. You did a wonderful thing by working with inmates and helping them. I am amazed.
    This recipe looks warm and delicious...thank you for sharing this important slice of life with us.

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  12. Now that is wonderful storytelling. What tales you must have - of all faces of humanity. And then you segue into this recipe - that makes me wish everyone could have - the inmates, the people of Haiti -the world. Beautiful post. I left you "an appreciation" on my blog.

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  13. I can't tell you how many times in my teen years that I literally existed on Ramen noodles. As an adult, I have enjoyed some upcale ramen noodles and they are delicious.

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  14. Goodness. I idd NOT know you worked at a prison! My, my....the stories you must have! I would love to have tea with you and listen to them :)

    Haha, great way to use ramen! I haven't had them in a long while, even though I'm a cheap and broke college student. Thank God for kitchens!

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  15. I have lived on Ramen many years of my life. This dish sounds wonderful!

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  16. I love ramen noodles and incorporate them into our meals all the time! This sounds delish!

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  17. What an interesting post--I love getting little glimpses of the person behind the blog! The ramen looks awesome, I think that's what I want for lunch today!

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  18. Love what you've done with Ramen noodles! I'm seeing more and more recipes using them for something other than soup. Someone just boiled them, melted butter and garlic, dumped the ramen noodles in, browned them a tad and then sprinkled with Parmesan. I tried it...it was a great quickie dinner. Fattening, though.

    Now this recipe is much healthier what with spinach and you've got protein too! Yummy!

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  19. Wow! You are a strong and brave woman! I once visited my uncle in prison. I started crying before we even got inside. I'm not very brave!

    Your ramen does look great with the addition of beef and yummy mushrooms!

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  20. It is nice to know that there is still some compassion left in the world. Looks like all of us have wonderful ramen experiences :)

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  21. I have posted your baked ziti recipe.

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  22. This is a great story about the prison and the food they ate! I love ramen noodles but don't eat them often. This is definitely a nice way to dress them up.

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  23. Dear Fig Tree,

    I wanted to first excuse the techno mistake, where I clicked wrong. I thank you for inviting me to your site.

    The ramen story is a thread that connects anyone who has had hardship and adversity, as it is a food of survival. It can be made with hot water from a coffee machine, if no stove or kettle is available.

    For everyone else, quick and any manner of garnish goes.

    Lee Ann.

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  24. I hate to admit it, but I love Ramen and this looks yummy!

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  25. I hope we get to hear more of your prison experience - I already know we'll get more of your great recipes! ~Mary

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  26. Thank you for visiting my blog! Interesting to know you worked as a prison counsellor. Its a challenging and depressing job. And yes as you said a life-changing experience. As part of my internship we had to do psychological testing on some inmates. Just thinking about it gets me low. Thank you for sharing.

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  27. I have a tasty ramen recipe that I will post on my blog - thanks for visiting my blog!

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  28. Just the way I love it! Looks great... hmm..mm... Already salivating LOL!

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  29. What a lovely plate of ramen ! This must be what we called " instant noodle " ?? Thanks for following me and I'm following you now.

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  30. This is a really nice treat for myself after getting my TABC Certification Online! I am always craving for Ramen ever since I tasted it. It's more like a special noodles with lots of toppings. I feel like I know now why Naruto (anime) likes it. :)

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