Cooking with ramen

Really?  Yes.  And let's be honest.... don't you secretly WANT an excuse to buy a huge case of ramen?  I know I always do.  Hell, I watched my husband eat a pack of uncooked ramen noodles last week.  Sure, I was a bit appalled, but the fact remains that I'm the one that supplied them.
And you know what?  It's CHEAP.  Soooooo cheap.  The noodles themselves aren't in league with the devil... it's the seasoning packet that you have to shield your soul from.
So here's the ingredients:

We've got:

• 2 tbsp olive or sesame oil
• 1 onion cut in half then into long thin slivers
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 2 c slivered cabbage
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3 packages oriental flavor ramen noodle packages
• 1 c bite-size broccoli florets
• 1 c water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 t grated fresh ginger
• Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Okay, yes, you also see a can of black beans.  It needed some protein, and I didn't have anything else handy.  Tofu would be good with this.... or maybe white beans.  Or lima beans.  Black beans were not the optimal choice.  But hey- I make things up as I go along.  OH!  Pro-tip: go ahead and use the bowls you plan to eat out of in your prep.  Except not if you're prepping with raw eggs or something.
Also, I easily used 1-2 tablespoons of ginger.  You see... I read that this lady freezes her ginger and it lasts forever.  So I did, too!  Only later did it occur to me that she probably sliced it up into manageable chunks before freezing it.... so she wouldn't be standing there sawing her way through a frozen solid 2" thick piece of ginger.  Not that I know anyone who does that.
Anyway, moving on.  Heat up your wok/big pan and your salted water:

I used sesame oil, and dumped the contents of bowl 1 into the wok.

What are those green things, you ask?  Well, after cutting off the broccoli florets, I was hesitant to throw away the stalks and then glorious, shining brilliance rained down on me and I decided to clean up the stalk and slice it up and pretend it was water chestnuts!!  I actually HATE real water chestnuts, but Justin loves them, and I thought maybe lying by omission would be satisfactory here.
Anyhoo, let those vegetables get tender.  Then add bowl 2.

Mix up your sauce like so:
Combine water, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and 1 packet ramen seasoning mix. Mix well until combined. Pour over vegetables in the wok. Simmer for a few minutes until liquid in wok is bubbly and thickens.
When the water is ready, and your sauce and veggies are pretty much done, add your ramen noodles and the broccoli to the boiling water.  Only boil for 2-4 minutes, then immediately drain and if you're so inclined, rinse with cold water to halt their cooking.  I was not so inclined, as this whole cooking fiasco was eating away at my hammock time (no pun intended).

A keen eye will discern that I snuck the black beans into the wok.


And finally....

TAAA-DAAAA!  I sprinkled sesame seeds on top and then we ate.  This dish is a little sweet.... next time I think I will do less sugar and some red pepper flakes or chili oil.  Mmmmmmm.