Ivan Ramen

Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyo's Most Unlikely Noodle Joint

by Ivan Orkin, Chris Ying

3 stars

224 pages

Expected publication: Oct. 29, 2013 by Ten Speed Press

 

This half-biography/half-cookbook completely turned my American version of ramen on its head.  I have been completely clueless about what "real" ramen is supposed to be. I have been used to the 15-cents-a-package version you boil for three minutes, add the powdered flavor and away you go!

Real ramen, I've learned is not this AT ALL. Ramen is a near religion for some in Japan. It is an intensely precise and patience-demanding endeavor. If you're looking for very authentic Japanese noodle recipes, this is a great book. ‘Cause these recipes take a bit longer than three minutes.

I am a ramen neophyte and was hoping to get some good beginner noodle recipes from this book – something accessible. After reading it, though, I'm not sure I can actually embark on the journey  Orkin presents – the recipes are definitely for an ambitious, intermediate-to-advanced cook, who is well-versed in Asian cuisine and terminology.

Orkin recommends making the first recipe – shio ramen – over the course of a week! He freely admits that his recipes are “daunting,” but doable with patience. He starts his “gold standard” shio ramen recipe by first laying out the recipe, and second, defining each component that is included in recipe. There are eight. And each of these eight components has a recipe of its own – all from total scratch. Home cooks will find this approach frustrating and unrealistic for families busy with homework, soccer, and dance and tae kwon do lessons.

But for an experienced cook with time and ambition to spare, this book is perfect. It allows a cook to revel in the history, flavor and energy each ingredient brings to the table – or pot in this instance.

Orkin also provides many recipes to use up all those hard-earned – and now leftover – ingredients from the shio ramen. All look to be about the same difficultly level as the shio ramen.

Some of the ingredients – actually most – are hard-to-find. Orkin provides a resource page at the end of the book to point you in the right direction to obtain these elusive ingredients. The main idea: The Internet is your friend.

One big complaint I have with the prose is that the language is too lowbrow and features waaay too many curse words. Ramen is treated in such a highbrow manner in this book; it just seems disrespectful for the author to debase his passion with base words. It lowers the quality of the entire book.

I loved the photos found inside, although I wish there were more of them. Cookbooks can never have too many photos in my opinion.

I can recommend this cookbook to those wanting to try challenging recipes with a splendid payoff.

Thank you NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for allowing me to review this book.

Soup Night on Stanton Street

Soup Night on Stanton Street: 99 Recipes for Finding Community in a Bowl of Soup

by Maggie Stuckey

5 stars 

288 pages

Expected publication: Oct. 22, 2013 by Storey Publishing 

 

As a rule, I am not a gushy person, but I am going to gush about this cookbook/giver-of-hope to society.

If you don’t know your neighbors and don’t care to, please don’t read this book – you might just grow a heart and start to feel neighborly. If you like your neighbors and/or want to get to know them better, this is the perfect facilitator.

Humans live in groups for a reason – to help each other, to fill that basic need for human interaction. Only recently have people become hermits – glued to their computers and gaming systems. No human contact needed.

Is this healthy? No.

Soup Night on Stanton Street provides a recipe to counteract this isolationism. Before I picked this ARC up to review, I had no idea what Soup Night specifically was. It’s basically one night a month that a neighborhood gets together and bonds over delicious soups. What a simple idea, but it provides bounteous returns.

And it’s a neighborhood trend popping up around the nation. It gives one a sense of belonging, community and love. Soup Night, per se, is not an original idea, but it’s one that’s making a comeback. We do it in my church every 2^nd Sunday. But we call it a Linger Longer, and it’s a pure potluck. We don’t specify soup only. We get to visit and chat with each other and build stronger ties. Because of this monthly get-together, we are quite a close congregation – no one feels alone.

I’m not going to go into all the great positive things that come from Soup Night (there are too many to list here!) – buy the beautifully designed book and read about them. It’s totally worth it.  Be aware, you’re going to get a bit of positive social history along with your cookbook. Happily, the writing is great, so it’s actually fun to read others’ stories. They flesh out the book and give depth to the recipes.

Speaking of the recipes – which come from Soup Night groups all over the country – they look delectable and totally doable, for novice to expert. Besides a wonderful seasonal collection of soups, bisques, chowders, etc., there are breads, desserts, cookies, salads, garnishes, and a slew of other soup “accompaniments.”

And for the beginning cook, the book also explains different cooking techniques – like how to make a roux, for example.

Feel inspired? Step-by-step directions in Chapter 6 tell you exactly how to start your own community Soup Night, complete with checklists and advice from organizers from across the country.

This cookbook not only gives my stomach cause to rejoice, but it also gives me hope in people. Soup Night will nurture your body and soul. 

Thank you NetGalley and Storey Publishing for allowing me to review this ARC.