Fake Instant Ramen

It may still be August, but the mornings are feeling a little Arctic. I know noodle soup sounds to most people like more of a lunch or dinner thing, but this makes a great breakfast. As a kid I ate lots of instant ramen in all of its MSG-laden, salty-fried-brothy glory, but I won't eat that anymore. Here is a great recipe that tastes as good or better. 

The trick is in the broth. Broth requires little effort to make, but it does have to simmer for a few hours. If you do not have this done beforehand your instant soup replacement will take you hours. The best broth for this seems to be made with a mix of chicken bones, chicken feet, and pork bones. You can buy chicken feet and chicken bones at Berkeley Bowl, and Ranch 99 sells pork bones. If you want pork bones from a healthy pig, try the El Cerrito Natural Grocery Store. The first time I cooked with chicken feet I thought I was going to be ill, but the resulting broth was so good I got over my squeamishness. I don't usually buy anything to make broth, I just keep a gallon size freezer bag with bones from meals, parsley stems, dying carrots, etc. The picture below shows a frozen hunk of whatever was in the freezer bag plus a pound of chicken feet. It is a little gruesome. Sorry. 

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Cover it all with filtered water and bring it to a boil. When the foam forms at the top, skim it off. Lower the heat to the lowest setting you can where you still see the occasional bubble pop up, and then forget about it for a few hours. You can also put it in a slow-cooker and forget about it until morning. When you are ready to use the broth, pour it through a strainer into a bowl. It should look thick and golden. Most people chill their broth and skim off the fat, but don't do that this time. Now for the recipe. 

Ingredients:
4 cups of thick golden broth
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 packages of frozen ramen noodles, or any egg noodle  
1 green onion sliced very thinly
1-4 peeled boiled eggs or just raw eggs if you are comfortable poaching an egg
shichimi togarashi (seven spice powder) or pepper

Method:
1. In a small saucepan, heat up the broth and add the soy sauce and salt. If you don't have any boiled eggs, you can poach fresh eggs in the broth. 
2. In a larger saucepan, boil water and cook the noodles. When they are done, strain them. 
3. Divide the noodles between four bowls. Top each with either slices of boiled egg or a poached egg and some green onion. Pour a cup of the seasoned broth over each bowl and sprinkle on some shichimi or pepper.