(Video link here.)  If you ever find yourself having to cook dinner from a mini-mart, keep in mind these 11 clever improvisations on the theme of instant ramen, an iconically cheap, vin ordinaire instant ingredient.  Sometimes THAT kind of ingredients ia more challenging to improvise with than purist hi-brow ones.

Our favorite: gnocchi said to have been invented by the great chef David Chang.

Note: You need to BOIL the noodles first to make any of this work. We’d boil ’em in salted water, not the msg broth.

via Kottke