Do you ever find yourself in the weird part of YouTube?
Since I am a millennial, who needs constant stimulation, I often like to play YouTube videos in the background while I cook. I love fashion gurus, makeup tutorials and even family vloggers. The other day, a new genre of videos kept playing on repeat. I don't know if it's the fact that yes, I generally watch a ton of YouTube videos combined with the fact that I watch a lot of cooking videos, but YouTube has decided to forcibly recommend me a certain style of new popular videos. Have you ever heard of a Mukbang?
Me either...but my raw chicken encrusted fingers could not hit skip and I soon found myself forgetting to flip my overdone chicken and glued to the screen of my laptop. There sat a very petite asian girl eating roughly 20 pounds of food. Am I exaggerating?? I don't even know. See for yourself. If she is using weird camera tricks to make that plate of noodles look bigger than it really is, she makes up for it in the giant platter of fried chicken next to her. Oh yeah, and there also is a vat of mashed potatoes next to her. I don't know if I should be disgusted or call this girl my queen. Turns out there are a ton of these "mukbangers" that exist on YouTube. Some with over millions of subscribers. What started as a Korean niche turned into an internet phenomenon. Some users interact with their "audience," telling stories or describing the food, but most don't even speak. So here is what I'm thinking...Why am I working a full time desk job when I can be YouTube famous stuffing my face on camera? My mother would tell me that I should aspire for greater things, but I'm just thinking profitability here. Truth be told, I kind of watched a lot of these videos one night, and now I'm afraid someone is going to look at my recommended videos and think I have an eating fetish.
The common denominator in these videos is noodles and lots of them. After getting sucked into this weird world, I couldn't shake my need for a delicious ramen bowl. My first real, and yes I count this as authentic, ramen bowl was in a casino at midnight. It satisfied so many needs in my life. The warm broth helped ease the smoke inhalation in my lungs. The runny egg gave me back the protein that I had lost along with my money in the penny slots. I knew when I returned, creating my own ramen bowl was a high priority task. Now I won't eat this on camera, but I probably will pretend I am while slurping to be completely honest.
Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable broth
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs freshly grated ginger
2 3 oz ramen packages (no seasoning packet needed)
1/2 cup shitake mushrooms diced
1/3 cup cremini mushrooms diced
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp Sriracha (optional)
1 large leek, rinsed and diced
1 small head of bok choy
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
Green onions diced
Sesame seeds
Radishes diced
Matchstick Carrots
Soft boiled egg
bean sprouts
In a large pot heat sesame oil and olive oil to medium heat. Add leeks, ginger and garlic. Cook for 3 - 5 minutes until fragrant. Add in both mushrooms and bok choy and reduce heat to low. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes until mushrooms have softened. Add in broth, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil. Add in ramen noodles and cook until al dente, stirring periodically. Roughly 4 - 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add in salt/pepper to taste. Add in sriracha before serving if needed. Ladle into individual bowls and top with desired toppings.
Me either...but my raw chicken encrusted fingers could not hit skip and I soon found myself forgetting to flip my overdone chicken and glued to the screen of my laptop. There sat a very petite asian girl eating roughly 20 pounds of food. Am I exaggerating?? I don't even know. See for yourself. If she is using weird camera tricks to make that plate of noodles look bigger than it really is, she makes up for it in the giant platter of fried chicken next to her. Oh yeah, and there also is a vat of mashed potatoes next to her. I don't know if I should be disgusted or call this girl my queen. Turns out there are a ton of these "mukbangers" that exist on YouTube. Some with over millions of subscribers. What started as a Korean niche turned into an internet phenomenon. Some users interact with their "audience," telling stories or describing the food, but most don't even speak. So here is what I'm thinking...Why am I working a full time desk job when I can be YouTube famous stuffing my face on camera? My mother would tell me that I should aspire for greater things, but I'm just thinking profitability here. Truth be told, I kind of watched a lot of these videos one night, and now I'm afraid someone is going to look at my recommended videos and think I have an eating fetish.
The common denominator in these videos is noodles and lots of them. After getting sucked into this weird world, I couldn't shake my need for a delicious ramen bowl. My first real, and yes I count this as authentic, ramen bowl was in a casino at midnight. It satisfied so many needs in my life. The warm broth helped ease the smoke inhalation in my lungs. The runny egg gave me back the protein that I had lost along with my money in the penny slots. I knew when I returned, creating my own ramen bowl was a high priority task. Now I won't eat this on camera, but I probably will pretend I am while slurping to be completely honest.
Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable broth
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs freshly grated ginger
2 3 oz ramen packages (no seasoning packet needed)
1/2 cup shitake mushrooms diced
1/3 cup cremini mushrooms diced
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp Sriracha (optional)
1 large leek, rinsed and diced
1 small head of bok choy
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
Green onions diced
Sesame seeds
Radishes diced
Matchstick Carrots
Soft boiled egg
bean sprouts
In a large pot heat sesame oil and olive oil to medium heat. Add leeks, ginger and garlic. Cook for 3 - 5 minutes until fragrant. Add in both mushrooms and bok choy and reduce heat to low. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes until mushrooms have softened. Add in broth, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil. Add in ramen noodles and cook until al dente, stirring periodically. Roughly 4 - 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add in salt/pepper to taste. Add in sriracha before serving if needed. Ladle into individual bowls and top with desired toppings.
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