Ramen Soup w/ Ham | Ponyo

                    We super love Studio Ghibli films in our home and "Ponyo" is one of Smalls' favorites. She asks to watch it again and again. The DVD was released when I was pregnant with Smalls so we got the special set that was available at the time that included a plush Ponyo (shown in the image above). Ponyo became Smalls' first plush and she has loved it dearly (and she was overjoyed when I made this simple noodle dish for her!). Pretty much all of Studio Ghibli's films are family friendly, but Ponyo was made particularly with very young children in mind. This can be seen in the crayon/colored pencil-ness of the backgrounds, the animation of the water, the call to our childhood love of prehistoric animals, and the grandious wonder of magic-magic and everyday magic. And the everyday magic, of course, includes food.
          Ham is featured early on in the film when fishy Ponyo, after licking Sosuke's cut finger, gobbles up the ham from his sandwich. Later on, after being put in a big bubble by her dad for time-out, as he is worrying and stressing over her, trying to talk her out of her desire to become human, she yells, "I want haaaam!" Ponyo's love of ham is connected to her desire to become human and is a testimony to the fact that she is already on her way to becoming such. I bet she would have gone gaga over the pig barns in "Spirited Away".

Ponyo's Ramen Soup w/ Ham

---

Ingredients:
Ramen Noodle Soup package (any flavor)
Hot Water
Sliced Ham
Hard Boiled Egg (recipe here)
Green Onions

Directions:

1. Place the dry block of noodles in a bowl with the seasoning powder on top. Boil enough hot water to cover the noodles in the bowl. Pour it over the noodles & then place a plate over the bowl (or the lid of the bowl if you have one of those special soup/rice bowls). Let sit for about 3 minutes.
2. Slice the hardboiled egg & green onion. Before the 3 minutes is up, lift the cover from the bowl & quickly place the ham, egg, & green onions on top of the noodles & replace the lid. Remove the lid after the 3 minutes & serve hot!