I may have been raised by a Roman in an extended family of Italo-Saxon gourmands, but I will have you know that I periodically, in high school, did indulge in an after school snack comprised of two slices of German Schwarzbrot sandwiching an oozy crimson layer of ketchup. Yes! It's true. I used to eat ketchup sandwiches. But, get this, that's not even the worst of it! Just to mix things up a bit – adventures of a latch-key kid, oh my – I sometimes boiled up a handful of pasta and sauced it with, you guessed it, that sauce of all sauces, ketchup.
Will horrors never cease? You probably think I should have my food professional license revoked.
But you need to know this to understand why, when I read this Minimalist column two weeks ago, my ears pricked up and my eyes widened. Who cares about authenticity? Noodles in a soy broth made with ketchup sounded like my kind of dinner – a throwback to my days on Bambergerstraße after school, gussied up just a wee bit with rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil.
There's enough sodium in this dish to make a cardiologist blanch. And Mark Bittman is right: these noodles don't win any awards for authenticity, so don't get all worked up by the fact that no self-respecting Asian country would ever feature anything like this on its national menu. This is something else entirely, an alternative to packaged ramen, perhaps, or a stop-gap kind of meal, like
pasta aglio e olio when you're just not in the mood for Italian food. It's hot and comforting and spicy and, yes, quite nourishing. Imagine, it even tastes good. It's going in my permanent repertoire.
All you need to do is boil some egg noodles (I used fresh angel hair pasta from the refrigerated section of the grocery store) and simultaneously make a broth out of water, soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, chile-garlic paste and toasted sesame oil. Mark says that you can add sliced scallions for garnish at the end, or throw in things like bean sprouts or sliced snow peas while the broth simmers. That would make this a more balanced meal, for sure. Also, the kind of noodles you use are variable. Don't feel like egg noodles? Try rice noodles, or soba. I'll bet soba would be delicious. The point is, this is easy, feel-good cooking, and it was comfort food for me. Dinner will be on the table in less than 15 minutes, requiring barely anything from the grocery store since most of us have these things in our pantries nowadays.
Of course, a more authentic Asian broth is not exactly difficult to make. But this recipe made me happy because it reminded me of old times and my first forays into making food for myself, and last night that was enough for me.
Egg Noodles with Soy Broth
Serves 4
Salt
1/3 cup soy sauce, more to taste
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, more to taste
A few drops dark sesame oil
A squirt of sriracha or other Asian chile-garlic sauce
1 pound egg noodles, preferably fresh (I used 9 ounces of fresh angel hair pasta)
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. In a smaller pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil; once boiling, reduce heat so water bubbles gently.
2. To the smaller pot add soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sesame oil if using and sriracha or chili, along with a pinch of salt. Stir and let simmer.
3. Add egg noodles to large pot; fresh noodles will be ready in just a couple of minutes; dried will take longer. When tender but not mushy, drain. Taste broth and add more soy, salt, vinegar or heat as you like. Divide noodles into bowls and pour hot broth over all.
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