Ultra-Fast Shoyu Ramen Made with Maruchan Yakisoba (with Sauce-Fried Cabbage)

Yakisoba noodles taken straight from the fridge are clumped together, so poke a few small holes in the bag and microwave at 600W for about 30 seconds. Once the moisture inside warms up and the noodles loosen, separate them a little more by hand. This keeps the noodles from breaking when fried.

Put water and the seasonings (soy sauce, chicken bone soup stock powder, umami seasoning, cooking sake) in a pot and turn on the heat. Alcohol boils at about 78°C, so bring it to a light boil once to cook off the alcohol, then lower to low heat to keep it warm.

Put lard in a frying pan over high heat, and once it melts and coats the pan, lower to medium heat and add the yakisoba noodles. Loosen them with chopsticks while coating them evenly in the lard, then spread the noodles out across the pan.

Fry until the surface of the noodles is well browned and fragrant. Yakisoba noodles have already been steamed once and hold a lot of moisture, so putting them straight into the broth makes it hard for the flavor to take hold and gives a ramen without depth. Frying them once to drive off excess moisture and add a toasted aroma turns them into noodles that work as ramen.

Once the surface is browned, flip and fry the other side until fragrant as well. A contrast between fragrant browned parts and chewy parts tastes better, so uneven browning is fine. At the end, use the noodles to mop up the lard left in the pan, then transfer them to a bowl.

Wash the cabbage, cut it in half, and remove the core. It shrinks when cooked, so tear it by hand into slightly large bite-sized pieces so the sauce clings well.

Add lard to the same pan used for the noodles and melt it over high heat. Once the fat coats the pan, add the cabbage and toss to coat evenly, then add water, cover, and steam-fry over low heat for 3 minutes.

When the time is up, raise to medium heat and cook until about 80% done. Lower to low heat, move the cabbage to the far side of the pan, add water to the near side, add the powdered yakisoba sauce there, and dissolve it thoroughly with chopsticks to make the sauce before tossing it with the cabbage. This eliminates uneven seasoning.

Raise to high heat and stir-fry until the excess moisture cooks off and the sauce thickens and clings well to the cabbage. Once it coats like hoikoro, finish with a generous amount of black pepper and toss, and the sauce-fried cabbage is done. Plate it on a dish.

Finish the ramen. When the ramen broth comes to a boil, lower the heat and add the fried noodles. The lard goes in with them, adding richness to the broth. Loosen the noodles with chopsticks, then raise to medium heat and quickly coat them in the broth.

Plate it in a bowl. Pouring the broth along a pair of chopsticks keeps it from splashing. Finally, lift the noodles to align the strands, and top with green onion to finish. Eat the fragrant noodles with the green onion, alternating with the sauce-fried cabbage, and you'll be caught in an endless loop.