Sweet and Spicy Kielbasa Ramyun

In abandoning the trappings of college life, and the obligatory dining hall and cheap ramen based cuisine, I've found a few things difficult to leave behind.

One such cheap pleasure I have not been able to leave behind is Shin Ramyun. It's a super spicy Korean noodle dish, and fairly similar to your garden variety ramen. As mentioned in an earlier entry, while I find these noodles to be delicious on their own, the responsible and health-conscious adult in me recognizes that it is not in any way a complete, or terribly stylish, meal.

Thus has my quest to legitimize one of my favorite comfort foods culminated in the following recipe.

Things you need:
-1 Shin Ramyun package
-1 yellow onion
-half link of kielbasa
-brown sugar
-olive oil
-red pepper flakes (optional)

Place a largish pan on the stove at medium heat to start. Drizzle olive oil over the bottom of the pan. Slice your yellow onions (they can be big slices) and put them in the pan and up the temperature to medium high heat. Stir or toss them occasionally.

After they start turning a little clear, throw a few spoonfuls of brown sugar into the pan and allow it to melt into the olive oil. Stir the melting sugar into your onions.

At this point I break open the package of Shin Ramyun and open the spice packet. Sprinkle a little bit of the spice over the onions and stir up nicely. If your Ramyun came with a little packet of dried veggies, this is a good time to add them to the pan.

On the side, begin boiling a few cups of water and place the Ramyun noodles (and a bit of the spice packet) in a good sized bowl (preferably one that won't be tempted to melt when the boiling water is poured into it later.

Slice up your half link of kielbasa. When your onions start to look nice and caramelized, you can slide the slices in around them. Sprinkle some of the spice packet over the kielbasa and turn them over after a few minutes.

Once the water is boiling, pour it over the noodles in your bowl and cover with a small plate to trap the steam for at least three minutes. Then drain the water from your noodles.

Once the kielbasa and onions are thoroughly cooked, dump your noodles into the pan with them and toss the entire ensemble together (once again adding a little of the spice packet).

Unless you like your food extremely spicy, I would not use the entire spice packet in this recipe. It's best to go sparingly with this stuff.

Once your noodles, kielbasa, and onions are thoroughly cooked and mixed, throw the whole bit back into your bowl and enjoy!