ROUSES_JanFeb2019_Magazine

COOKING

recently. But you did not! In 1998, the name of the delicious, Styrofoam- containered staple was changed to Cup Noodles, which makes no sense gram- matically (the noodles are not shaped like cups).The naming gets weirder from there. In some places, it is called Cup Noodle, singular, which leads me to believe that Nissan Foods, the manufacturer, is just playing with our minds in some grand, global, demented (but delectable) experi- ment. College isn’t the only four-year stint powered by noodles and chicken broth. Ramen is the top item sold in prison commissaries across the United States. In the informal prison economy, something like Top Ramen, in its compact, rectangu- lar packaging — easily stored and abso- lutely delicious — is the ideal currency for all the reasons that gold once under- pinned global currencies: It doesn’t deteri- orate; it can be divided evenly; it’s limited in supply; and it can be carried easily. If breaking bread is the first act of solidar- ity in an otherwise grim environment, ramen has been used as the equivalent of a holiday feast: Inmates have pooled their supplies, and prepared and shared it amongst themselves. And regardless of your locale or status, whether grad school or cell block B, take pride in your affinity for instant chicken soup. Even great chefs are not immune to its charms. “My favorite type of noodle are the little noodles in Campbell’s soup,” says Ardoin. “The little dried packet of chicken noodle soup, man — it just brings memo- ries back from when I was a little kid. My mom used to make that for us, and that was the best.”

thousands of years? (Grandmothers are tenacious in that regard.) Not according to science. A study conducted by research- ers at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach in 1978 found that having chicken soup was more effective than drinking water in clearing sinuses. Years later, at the University of Nebraska Medi- cal Center, a professor of medicine named Stephen Rennard also decided to put the soup on trial. He tested his wife’s chicken soup under controlled conditions, wanting to find out if a certain type of white blood cell would be affected. Using blood drawn from research volunteers, he learned that, yes, the cell movement was inhibited, suggesting anti-inflammatory properties in the soup that would reduce symptoms in upper respiratory ailments, thus speed- ing the healing process. The results of his study were published in the medical jour- nal CHEST in 2000 (though Maimonides beat them to publication by 800 years). A big question is why — no single ingre- dient could account for the positive effects. Something resulting from their interaction is the source of the medical magic at work. The Easy Stuff And though we live in an age of farm- to-table wellness — an era of Instagram yoga-poses-while-drinking-matcha- and-sprinkling-gluten-f ree-essential- o i l s -on- a voc ado-be f o re - e a t i ng- i t - mindfully-with-kale-and-quinoa-in- front-of-an-ancient-Sumerian-temple — sometimes you just don’t have time to humanely raise a chicken from a wee egg and put it down after thanking it for its noble sacrifice. You’re not interested in preparing a stock—no matter how superb its flavor — or even buying premade stock from your local Rouses, and you certainly do not feel like chopping vegetables and waiting hours. (Don’t get me — or you — started on chicken feet.) Sometimes you only have three minutes and two cups of hot water. Enter ramen, the chicken soup that has fueled the academic pursuits of countless college students. (Photograph it from the student union at sunset to score your Instagram likes. #blessed) Ramen comes in many forms. You are probably familiar with Cup O’ Noodles, and might even think you bought some

Chicken Noodle Soup WHAT YOU WILL NEED 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium onion , chopped

2 medium carrots , peeled and chopped 3 stalks celery , chopped with leaves ¼ cup parsley , chopped 1 pound rotisserie chicken , pulled, with skin, bone and cartilage removed 2 quarts chicken stock (if store-bought, simmer the scraps from the onion, carrot, celery, and parsley with it in a pot for 30 minutes) 8 ounces egg noodles , dried Salt and pepper to taste HOW TO PREP In a saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat and “sweat” the onion, carrot and celery until tender. Be careful not to overbrown the vegetables. Add the parsley and pulled rotisserie chicken, and toss with the vegetables. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer, and add it to the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer, and then leave it alone for 30 minutes. Add the egg noodles to the pot, and cook for 8 to 12 minutes (until the pasta is tender). Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Chef’s Tip: Chicken feet don’t have any meat on them, but they add great body to soup. Boil them in a pot of water for 3 to 4 minutes to remove any impurities. Rinse in cold water, and use your kitchen scissors to remove the toes. Discard the toes. Use the chicken feet, along with roast- ed chicken bones and vegetables, to make a gelatin-rich stock.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, and serve.

59 www. rouses .com