Happiness is a bowl of ramen
If you are haunted by stress or sliding into a sly, subtle depression due to this whole pandemic situation (or any other less newsworthy reason) I have a solution for you: Ramen.
In case you do not know what it is...... well,........ Google is there right at your fingertips.
Now that you know what it is I will give you another clarification about my statement. The happiness I was talking about is not in actually eating a bowl of ramen but in watching YouTube videos on how to prepare it.
If you are not familiar with Japan (place of origin of this dish), there is one thing I can tell you about the place and its culture, it is absolutely the most symbolic land you can ever visit.
The same you can say about ramen and the process to prepare it. Every detail in the recipe (and there are thousands) carries loads of meaning even before having to carry a contribution to flavor. So you can absolutely loose yourself in the meander of process steps and ingredient choices needed to complete this philosophical essay in a bowl. For me it was exactly what I needed in these difficult times to keep sane of mind.
Very odd that this rescue buoy should come from Japanese food. I have often been very vocal about the fact that I generally hate Japanese food. And yet maybe not so strange, as one can surely say that my whole relationship with Japan is a love-hate affair.
Take Japanese movies for example,
In case you do not know what it is...... well,........ Google is there right at your fingertips.
Now that you know what it is I will give you another clarification about my statement. The happiness I was talking about is not in actually eating a bowl of ramen but in watching YouTube videos on how to prepare it.
If you are not familiar with Japan (place of origin of this dish), there is one thing I can tell you about the place and its culture, it is absolutely the most symbolic land you can ever visit.
The same you can say about ramen and the process to prepare it. Every detail in the recipe (and there are thousands) carries loads of meaning even before having to carry a contribution to flavor. So you can absolutely loose yourself in the meander of process steps and ingredient choices needed to complete this philosophical essay in a bowl. For me it was exactly what I needed in these difficult times to keep sane of mind.
Very odd that this rescue buoy should come from Japanese food. I have often been very vocal about the fact that I generally hate Japanese food. And yet maybe not so strange, as one can surely say that my whole relationship with Japan is a love-hate affair.
Take Japanese movies for example,
- Highly critically appraised Akira Kurosawa - hate it
- Manga based Studio Ghibli creations - love it
- Airplane collection Japanese romances* - guilty pleasure
But I am dwindling off topic, let's go back to ramen.
What is so fascinating and calming about it, is that it takes weeks to prepare and even the most simple element (for example, the boiled egg) has been the result of a meticulous preparation lasting for days.
Embracing the world of making ramen means claiming time from the busy routine and give even small things a lot of attention. Not that I am actually planning to make ramen by the way, but knowing that I could (because I have seen the YouTube instruction videos) is enough to make me feel happy!
* if you are the hopeless romantic type and you would like a few titles here is a very short selection
- Until I meet September's love
- You shine in the moonlight
- Fortuna's Eye
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