Wandering Adventure Party

Here are things I sometimes add to my instant ramen:

While cooking:

• Frozen peas or frozen corn
• Fresh seasonal veggies
• Dried mushrooms (rinse them first)

Before serving:

• Deli meat
• Sliced fish cake. Our local Asian store sells fresh and frozen and they both last a long time unopened.
• Chili crisp
• Nori

I also make pork belly specifically for ramen. I rub it with salt and sugar, roast it, slice it into strips and freeze it in small packs so I have it handy. It cooks up pretty quickly in a frying pan. You can put it in while cooking the noodles if you don’t want to get a pan dirty but it’s not quite as tasty.

Being able to control the salt level independent of the spice blend can be useful if you sometimes use the blend in dishes with salty ingredients like capers or anchovies.

Probably bay leaves. I make a lot of stock at home. I find you can’t really taste bay directly but you notice if it’s not there.

I also use a lot of cumin, coriander, and oregano. Various chili powders. Anchor powder is very nice and not too spicy.

Buying a nice mortar and pestle set was one of my best kitchen investments. Fresh ground spices are a game changer.

Most powdered spices lose their zing after 3-6 months. Delicate spices like mace go much faster.