Spam and Egg Ramen: Costs next to nothing and is a lot more satisfying than plain ramen

Spam and egg ramen (餐蛋面) is a type of street food in Hong Kong, where it's usually sold as a breakfast or lunch item in roadside cafes and tea restaurants (茶餐厅). Food stalls sometimes have it as well.

Makes 1 serving.

Ingredients

• ¼ tin of Spam or other luncheon meat. All brands have a similar flavour in my opinion so any will work.
• 1 large egg or 2 medium eggs.
• 1 pack of instant ramen. Can be any brand, but for best flavour, use the Nissin "出前一丁", which tends to be of higher quality and is what they'll give you in better mid-range restaurants in Hong Kong. You'll find this in Oriental stores and tends to be a bit more expensive than regular ramen because it's imported from Hong Kong.
  • Use the beef flavour.
  • If you want to be fancy, fresh ramen is good too. However, I don't have a recipe for the broth. Traditionally this dish is made with instant ramen.
• ½ green onion, if desired.
• A small amount of sesame oil if you want. The Nissin ramen comes with a small packet of sesame oil.

Preparation

1. Pour 500 mL (2 cups) of water into a saucepan or small pot. You shouldn't use a pot that is so big that the water level drops below the height of the ramen packet. Bring to a boil.
2. Chop up the green onion into pieces around ½ cm thick.
3. Cut the Spam or luncheon meat into thin slices around 1 cm thick. If you fail, it's no big deal. The shape of the slices is not too important, but thicker slices don't cook as well.
4. Put the ramen into the boiling water and very lightly grease a skillet with a small amount of vegetable oil. Heat up the skillet while the ramen cooks.
5. Once the skillet is hot, place the slices of meat into the skillet. Cook for around 60 to 90 seconds on each side. The meat should start to change colour on the outside to a mild pinkish-brown. Remove and place onto a plate.
6. Using the grease from the meat, crack the egg(s) into the skillet. Fry them for around 30 to 45 seconds before flipping them over and frying them again. Eggs may be cooked to preference but should never be sunnyside-up. You should get a sort of patty of egg that has the yolk in the middle. Put the eggs onto the plate of luncheon meat.
7. Use chopsticks or a fork to separate the square of ramen noodles. Add the soup base and the sesame oil (if any).
8. Add the eggs, green onion, and spam into the bowl.
9. Enjoy!

bon appetit