Anyone who knows me well will likely know of my affection for Spanish cuisine, a passion which rivals and in many ways, surpasses even my love for ramen. Admittedly, I don’t eat noodles nearly as much as I used to. A steady diet of Mediterranean influence - fish and tomatoes, olive oil and beans,has replaced a lot of my gonzo noodle slurping in recent months. In part this has to do with health; all those fats and carbs have to go somewhere, and as relatively young as (I’d like to think) I am, it’s never too early to cut back on the calories and perhaps spare a few arteries in the process.
So I recently managed to hijack a shipment of Japan's hottest product since Riyo Mori, canned ramen! Actually, I received them as gifts from abroad, but the whole hijacking thing sounds much sexier. Campbell's has been canning soup noodles since chimney sweeps first got the black lung, so what took Japan so long? The noodles would get too mushy, a problem which has only recently been overcome with the use of konyaku instead of wheat flour. Imagine my surprise when I opened my gift bag to find not only canned ramen, but also, canned oden (which is now available at Japanese grocery stores in the States) and a can of... yakitori skewers?! Apparently these are self-heating; once you pop the top, the can heats up automatically. Should I crack one open yet?
I’ve resisted writing about The Ramen Girl, largely because Ed already beat me to the punch (bowl). What’s not to love about this Brittany Murphy vehicle, a Tampopo meets Lost in Translation-inspired rom-com featuring Japanese character actor Toshiyuki Nishida as a cranky old ramen chef and (woo hoo) an all-too-rare Asian male love interest? The truth is, a little over a year ago, the fine folks at Media 8 Entertainment invited me to a screening of the film, and I had hoped to help the filmmakers generate some hype for it by waiting until they had secured distribution and a release date before drumming up some buzz. Yes, rameniac can be bought, for the price of a free movie and a couple of hours of air conditioning!
noodle on noodle action
by rameniac | 03 Mar 2009
Apologies folks! I've been taking a much needed break from noodling and internet foodie-ism in general, thanks largely to a daily intake of salads, Good Seasons Italian Dressing, and a overall desire to cut back on carbs and meat in general. I'm not on a diet per se, but perhaps I've succumbed to the Southern California health-conscious, yoga-loving lifestyle. Just kidding! It's just that salad dressing, which is like the MSG-equivalent of liquid crack. Rest assured I'll be ramenizing again shortly. In the meantime, I couldn't resist this one - Nissin's ridiculous online game in which users collectively stack Cup Noodle cups from Tokyo Bay... straight into space. As with most things Japanese, it's a gigantic communal effort, and you can even see other users plopping down cups in realtime as you play. Join in, and help Cup Noodle reach the stratosphere!
