Chilly Dandan Noodle Bowl

July 13, 2021 Lola Milholland

Even during this unfathomably hot summer, I can’t go more than a few weeks without my favorite noodle dish tugging at my appetite: dandan noodles. I love dandan more than anything: chewy noodles tossed with ground pork and richly flavored with sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn. To satisfy my year-round comfort food cravings, I’ve created a variation designed for the heat. This cold dandan noodle bowl features chilled Umi Organic ramen noodles and swaps the traditional preserved greens for a light, raw pea shoot salad.

Pork Wonton Noodle Soup

February 24, 2021 Lola Milholland

“When I’m already assembling homemade dumplings, the extra labor of hand-making noodles isn’t worth the bragging rights, and Umi Organic’s ramen noodles remain the best store-bought ramen noodle I’ve encountered. This wonton soup rests handmade pork dumplings, bok choy, and bamboo shoots on a nest of Umi Organic Ramen Noodles, then floods the bowl with an aromatic ginger broth. This soup will sooth your lingering winter chills and surpass anyone’s cravings for chicken noodle soup.”

Chris' Pozole Ramen!

August 27, 2019 Lola Milholland

This recipe brings together our friend Chris’ smoky chili Pozole to the People broth with our ramen noodles! Why add ramen noodles to an already totally delicious dish? You have to love noodles, but if you do, the way the chili broth plays with them is something not to be missed! And honestly this is a completely satisfying meal that takes maybe 15 minutes to make. It will be like you were cooking all day, but actually, it was Chris who was!

Home-style Tantan-men

September 21, 2018 Lola Milholland

A speedy, simple version of the classic Tantan Men. Somewhere between a soup and a saucy noodle, this version is super easy to whip up and very satisfying, hitting all kinds of rich and deep notes thanks to ground pork, tahini and miso. It feels very much like classic Japanese home cooking. The dried shiitakes are an especially nice addition.

Miso Ramen with Smoked Pork Tare

April 18, 2018 Lola Milholland

The nice thing about miso ramen is that it’s rich enough for rainy days, but can be lightened up for spring by mixing up the veggies. My tare (seasoning liquid) starts with roasting a whole pig every year but I have a shortcut to a great pork broth too. Either way, go nuts!

Lola's Favorite Dinner aka Kinda Mapo Tofu

September 29, 2017 Lola Milholland

I have often thought to myself, while eating this dinner, 'I could eat this every night!' That's how much I love it. Fried ground pork plays off of the tender tofu. There's spicy chilies and fresh green onion. This recipe came about because I started making mapo tofu, but over time adapted it to what I always have in my kitchen and what I know I love. And so this is kinda mapo tofu, and it is great!

Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-style

February 21, 2017 Lola Milholland

This popular Japanese street food is the most hearty, lip-smacking cabbage pancake you could dream up, with layers of pork belly, crispy noodles, and a fried egg. It's a show stopper.

Tonjiru Country Farm Ramen

February 14, 2017 Lola Milholland

Tonjiru in a hearty winter miso soup made with bits and pieces of root vegetables and pork. It's a perfect way to use up vegetable peelings like carrot and potato skins. Add noodles, and this becomes an unusual but hugely satisfying ramen.

Chris' Nam Prik Ong

September 22, 2016 Lola Milholland

This Thai pork sauce is out of this world. The flavors are so punchy, and it has the perfect amount of heat and funk. It's reminiscent of a bolognese, built on a base of ground pork, shallot, and tomatoes, with an addictive shrimp paste and fish sauce underbelly.

Yuri's Miso-Pork Noodles

July 17, 2016 Lola Milholland

"I make my own miso, so I am always experimenting with the best way to enjoy it. I often make this miso pork. I like the fact that I can put anything I have in my garden and refrigerator in this recipe, and it always turns out good!"

Francesca's Nam Sodd (Thai Pork Salad)

July 8, 2016 Lola Milholland

"Nam Sodd is a favorite dish at my neighborhood Thai restaurant. I realized I could make it at home, and then I realized I could make it with Umi Organic noodles!"

Chris's Noodles in Palabok Sauce

March 29, 2016 Lola Milholland

"Pancit Palabok is garlicky pork and shrimp sauce over noodles. My Filipino neighbors growing up always made it for parties, and it was my favorite of the Filipino noodle dishes."

Yakisoba Sauce, Weekend Projects

cabbage, pork belly, okonomiyaki, katsuobushi, aonori, Summer, Summer 2023

Lola's Okonomiyaki (Kansai-style)

I was delighted when I experimented by using our Organic Yakisoba Sauce in place of classic Otafuku or Bulldog Okonomiyaki Sauce. It works like a dream! In fact, I insist: try it out! It’s so special!

In the Kansai region, where okonomiyaki was invented and where I lived (Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe are all within Kansai), the ingredients are all mixed together and cooked as one mass. Many regions have their own adaptations—the other most famous style comes from Hiroshima—but the Kansai version is the easiest to make. I like to eat this with rice and miso soup.

Ramen Noodles, Use Your Noodle, Weekend Projects

Summer 2023, ground pork, meatballs, Summer, summer

Natalie's Ramen and Meatballs

“I love a slurpy ramen soup but I also really love the chewy texture of ramen with a delicious sauce. I’ve been making a version of the meatball recipe for years as an appetizer and I was in the mood for some yummy ramen noodles and thought a play on the comfort of spaghetti and meatballs with an Asian-style flair would be fun. It was! And quite delicious!”

Holly's Bak Chor Mee (Vegan and Pork Versions)

Ramen Noodles, Use Your Noodle, Vegetarian

vegan, Singapore, sambal, Spring, Spring 2023

Holly's Bak Chor Mee (Vegan and Pork Versions)

“In its purest form, Bak Chor Mee are noodles lightly tossed in a sauce made with liquid lard, soy sauce, Chinese vinegar, and sambal. Then the noodles are topped with ground pork and other delicious toppings. I never really thought to make this until I discovered locally made Umi Organic ramen noodles. It's so good that it’s become a rotating family and friends meal favorite. On meat free days, I also make a delicious vegan version that is just as fun to eat and takes me down my Singaporean childhood food memory lane.”

Easy Recipes, Ramen Noodles, Use Your Noodle, Vegetarian

Spring, Spring 2023, sambal, tofu, sesame, Shanghai

Holly's Shanghai Cheat Sesame Noodles

“Shanghainese adore their noodles, and at one of my favorite hole-in-the wall noodle shops, I loved getting sesame noodles. During Covid, when we were all stuck at home, I was rummaging in the fridge and had an epiphany for a hack to make my favorite noodles: I used sesame hummus! It brought back many happy memories.”

Pan-fried Tofu with Umi Yakisoba Sauce aka "teriyaki" tofu

Yakisoba Sauce, Vegetarian, Easy Recipes

tofu, teriyaki, pan-fried, Fall, Fall 2022

Pan-fried Tofu with Umi Yakisoba Sauce aka "teriyaki" tofu

This recipe is inspired by the wonderful Japanese classic agedashi tofu, but takes it in the direction of a teriyaki dish, coating the lightly fried tofu pieces in our Umi Organic yakisoba sauce. The tofu is not at all greasy—one of the miracles of this cooking technique. This is very easy to make and a textural treat. I like keeping the tofu pieces large so you get to enjoy their contrasting textures after frying. I typically eat this over rice but it would be great over Umi noodles in a miso sesame sauce.

Easy Recipes, Vegetarian, Yakisoba Sauce

cabbage, breakfast, bread, mayonnaise, pancake, Fall, Fall 2022

Lola's Gilgeori Toast (a wild version)

The year I lived in Kyoto, Japan, I traveled to Korea over winter break. On Christmas morning, in the freezing cold, I was walking to catch a bus and came upon a street food vendor making breakfast sandwiches. The snow had begun to fall and he let me shelter under his tarp while he made me a very simple cabbage-egg omelet that he served between big fluffy slices of white bread with a delicious sauce that reminded me of Japanese okonomiyaki sauce. I loved the sandwich so much! It felt vaguely healthy but also rich and satisfying. When we made our own yakisoba sauce, with some of those same flavor notes, I knew I wanted to try to recreate this breakfast sandwich.

Yakisoba Sauce, Easy Recipes

chicken, Fall 2022, teriyaki, rice, Fall

Very Juicy "Teriyaki" Chicken

Pan-frying whole chicken thighs briefly, then steaming them with a little sake, and finishing with our Umi yakisoba sauce makes the most succulent and delicious teriyaki-style chicken. It’s also incredibly easy to make and goes with any side dishes you’d like! It’s not a typical teriyaki because our sauce has a more complex, umami-rich sweet-and-sour flavor thanks to Worcestershire, tamarind, and apple puree, but it’s definitely in the same family and scratches the same itch!

Easy Recipes, Ramen Noodles, Vegetarian, Yakisoba, Yakisoba Sauce

yakisoba, organic yakisoba, yakisoba sauce, mushrooms, kewpie, vegetarian, cabbage, carrots, green onions, Fall, Fall 2022

Yakisoba with Lots of Mushrooms

I find mushrooms spectacularly delicious and satisfying. This dish highlights shiitake mushrooms—every single bite of noodles is tangled with a few mushrooms, which means every bite is a winner. While this recipe calls for shiitake, any number of mushrooms would work well in their place: oysters, criminis, lobsters, chanterelles—any mushrooms that tastes good sautéed in oil. This is now my favorite way to eat yakisoba noodles!

Tricia's Batchoy, Filipino Noodle Soup in Beef Broth

Ramen Noodles, Soup, Use Your Noodle, Weekend Projects

pork belly, beef broth, Filipino, bok choi, bok choy, fried garlic, Summer 2022, summer, Summer

Tricia's Batchoy, Filipino Noodle Soup in Beef Broth

“This is a Filipino noodle dish that originated from the Chinese community that settled in the town of La Paz. Traditionally, it is made with pork and pork offal cooked in a beef and pork stock. It uses egg noodles and is topped with chicharron, fried garlic, scallions and a raw egg that cooks in the hot broth. It is a nourishing dish that is full of umami coming from a rich bone broth and shrimp paste. This is a variation of that dish I use at home made for how we live now and I find it is amazing with Umi Organic’s ramen because of the noodle’s amazing bite.

Use Your Noodle, Yakisoba

holiday, Hannukah, latke, fish, yogurt, chili oil, dill, Winter, winter 2022

Althea's Yakisoba & Leek "Latke" Party

“This combines three of my favorite things, latkes, bagels and crispy crunchy noodles. When I first cooked Umi Organic's yakisoba noodles I was blown away by how incredibly crispy and delicious the noodles were and I really wanted to highlight that!”

Umi: noodles for you and me.

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