Last night our old pal chef David Chang of Momofuku came back on the show to show us how to make some easy and delicious food. Did you know you can make good Italian food with cheap instant ramen? Yep. And you can make a piña colada by making ice cubes then adding rum in a blender? Science!
You see, food can be fun. Pick up Lucky Peach for amazing food and cocktail recipes and food stories. Here's both recipes for your eating and drinking pleasure:
Instant Ramen Cacio E Pepe (featured in Lucky Peach Issue I)
Ingredients
2 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups pecorino Romano cheese
some freshly ground black pepper
2 packages instant ramen (save the seasoning packets for another time)
What To Do
1. First combine water, butter, oil, and a healthy dose of fresh black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring it all to a boil.
2. Stir it up. Reduce heat so the mixture simmers quickly and steadily. Stir in the cheese. You can use chopsticks to stir.
3. Immediately add the noodle bricks and keep stirring so the cheese doesn't clump up.
4. Agitate the noodles, or use a spoon to baste them with the liquid until they've started to separate. Once that's happened, begin stirring them constantly. If it looks like there's way more liquid than the noodles will absorb, pour some out.
5. After 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, the noodles should be loose and rehydrated and look tasty. Most of the liquid should be gone.
6. Split the noodles between two bowls. Grind a bunch more black pepper over each bowl, and maybe a little more cheese. Eat fast - this dish doesn't improve with age.
Piña Colada from Japan's Bar High Five (Makes 4 drinks)
Ingredients
6 oz Bacardi dark rum
3 1/2 cups Pina Colada Mix ( a 3:1 mixture of Pineapple to Coconut Milk)
1 - 1 1/2 oz Simple Sugar Syrup (as needed...adjust to your sweetness preference)
What To Do
1. Make your Piña Colada mix and put it in the freezer for one - two night(s) portioned out in an ice cube tray. It will be separated, so mix it up again when it's frozen.
2. Once it's well frozen, put cubes in a blender
3. Add your rum and simple syrup (go easy on the syrup at first...add more later if you need it).
4. Blend well. Taste. Add more simple syrup if you need it.
5. Serve into tall glasses.
6. Garnish red cherry and slice of pineapple as needed. Enjoy!
