Instant ramen all dressed up

Our favourite instant ramen is Sapporo Ichiban. For lunch, I sometimes "dress it up" with toppings similar to those you'd find in the authentic ramen shops in Japan.

I cook the ramen noodles, which takes three minutes, and ladle the cooked noodles and broth evenly among two bowls. Then I add toppings, such as chopped fresh spring onion, nori strips, hard boiled egg, peas, corn or shredded roasted chicken.

There is a wonderful movie about ramen called Tampopo. It's a Japanese movie about a woman's struggle to turn her downtrodden roadside ramen shop into the best in the business. It's really funny, a "ramen western" as the director describes it. It's also full of delightful subplots of the different ways people enjoy food. For example, a grocery store owner tormented by a customer who loves to squeeze food (especially in the soft cheese aisle). I highly recommend this movie, and so do others — it rates 100 on the tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes.