Elevate your instant noodles: Jjambbong and army stew ramyeon by Nae:um’s chef Louis Han

When it comes to instant noodles, the Koreans have the art down pat. There are all kinds of flavours, all kinds of noodles and even special pots to cook and eat them out of. The dish of soupy convenience is so ingrained in Korean culture that “Would you like to have ramyeon together?” is the equivalent of “Want to Netflix and chill?”

So, I knew that chef Louis Han of one-Michelin-starred Nae:um was the guy to look up for a stellar ramyeon fix – by virtue of being Korean.He has two favourite instant noodle flavours: Jin jjambbong and budae jjigae or army stew, both by Korean brand Ottogi. “Jin jjambbong is a very intense Korean-Chinese, spicy seafood broth. And budae jjigae is the well-known Korean Army Stew flavour,” he said.

“One night, my wife asked me to cook her instant noodles,” he recalled.

The first thing he did was to combine the two instant noodle flavours, which he had at home. “One is very seafood-based; one is very meat-based. Combined, they are very complex and have a lot of flavour,” he explained.

Of course, he didn’t stop there. He added nai bai cabbage for sweetness and texture, baked beans for umami and richness, leek for fragrance, and onion, garlic, chilli, rice cakes and Spam.

“Koreans like chewy textures,” he said. Another thing Koreans like doing is watching Korean dramas while eating their noodles. “What I watch depends on what my wife wants to watch,” Han quipped.

Growing up, he said, “I ate a lot of instant noodles.” At age 13, he started cooking, making scrambled eggs. Once, he decided to make a dry instant noodle, to which he added milk. It was so bad, “I couldn’t finish it.”

Soupy noodles are better, he asserted, because you can add rice to the soup when the noodles are gone.

And milk, instead of an ingredient, should remain a beverage. Koreans like having their spicy noodles with a glass of milk “to calm the spice”, he said.

Above all, the magic of instant noodles is that they are “comfort food”, he said. “I like to eat instant noodles after work, when I’m very tired after service, I’ve had a long day, I come home, and chill for a while.”

Louis Han’s Army Stew Ramyeon

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 packet buddae jjigae ramyeon
1 packet jjampong ramyeon
Luncheon meat, chopped
Leek, chopped
White onion, sliced
Rice cakes
1 can of baked beans
Vegetables of your choice, such as nai bai cabbage
Red chilli, sliced (optional)
Egg (optional)
Kimchi (optional)
Frozen mandu (optional)

Instructions:

1. Saute the chopped leek and onion in a pot large enough to cook the two portions of noodles.
2. Add sufficient water to cook the two portions of noodles.
3. Add 70 per cent of the seasoning powder from both ramyeon packets.
4. Add chopped luncheon meat, rice cakes, vegetables and optional ingredients. Cook until the water boils.
5. Add the noodles. Gradually reduce the heat to a simmer as the noodles cook.
6. Add baked beans and optional ingredients as the last step.

After eating up the noodles, don’t forget to add rice into the remaining stew if you’re still hungry.