Marie Cecile Anderson is an actor, comedian and southern songstress originally hailing from my hometown of Nashville “Music City”, Tennessee. She recently moved back to Nashville to be closer to family during the Pandemic. And is best known for being one half of the country/comedy duo Reformed Whores and co-host & producer of the Difficult Women Podcast.

Marie has toured the country opening for the likes of musical parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dweezil Zappa, and Les Claypool from Primus. With over a million hits on YouTube and two comedy albums available on iTunes, Marie has also been featured on IFC, PBS, CBS, SiriusXM, Gotham Comedy Live on AXS tv, WNYC’s 2 Dope Queens Podcast, Dan Savage’s Hot Mic on Audible.com, The Comedy Show Show presented by Will Arnett, The Huffington Post, Splitsider, IndieWire, The Washington Post, BUST Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Nerve.com, Glamour Magazine, and more. She has also been most recently nominated for “best actress” with a short film she created for the Nashville 48 Hour Film Project!

 

 

These days Marie is “Over It” with her latest release that hit #1 on the iTunes Comedy Charts and is all about the struggle of the vaccinated dealing with the unvaccinated. In a male-dominated comedy music arena, beating out the likes of Bo Burnham is no easy feat for a female comedian, but Marie is showing fans it can be done. She will be heading back to NYC soon to work on an awesome music video for “Over It” with a fun 80’s workout vibe directed by Marie’s better half of Reformed Whores, Katy Frame.

Marie is also working to record the third comedy album for Reformed Whores and the duo has made a point to only work with female musicians for this upcoming album. The vibe for this third album set for early 2022 release is hardcore Feminist with all musicians on the featured on the album recording remotely from their home studios. As her side hustle, Marie works producing and editing podcasts along with working on her own Difficult Women Podcast. Can’t wait to check out the new video and album releases, but now…it’s time to eat!

 

I recently caught up with Marie to get the low down on her favorite noshes and all things food in her world. One her favorite past times with food is to explore the hidden gems of Nashville. Authentic Asian cuisine is at the top of Marie’s list.

I crave Asian food! And Thai food is number one favorite food for me. Especially Deg Thai off Nolensville Road!

She also loves Sushi (spicy tuna with added crunch and avocado to exact or fresh salmon) and loves super spicy foods. Another favorite for Marie is spicy miso ramen and Chinese soup dumplings. Local eats include Five Points Pizza and  Korea House. When she’s cooking herself, Marie cooks a lot of salmon and loves Brussels sprouts with plum sauce. Veggies and rice are also another go to quick cook meal for her. She is still on the hunt for a local good bagel since relocating from NYC and is open to suggestions. As a foodie, Marie loves exploring the fantastic international food scene Nashville has to offer.

Take me out of my America! I want to eat food I can’t make myself and travel through food supporting the local immigrant food scene in Nashville..

With Marie’s top fave noshes having Asian influence, I decided to go in that direction for her feature recipe. Spicy miso ramen it is and even did my own Shoyu soft-boiled eggs! This recipe is a plan ahead situation because you definitely want to let your eggs marinate for at least 24 hours to 3 days for optimal flavor. I consulted Food 52‘s recipe for Spicy Miso Ramen as I found it to have the easiest and most solid result recipe that I came across. This is the perfect dish for a cold fall day or night. It definitely helps you relax and unwind with a warm hug in a bowl just when you feel like you’re “Over It”. Recipe below. Enjoy!

 

 

Spicy Miso Ramen Recipe 

Ingredients for Miso Paste

  • 1/2 cup of white miso paste (I used a lower sodium brand)
  • 1/2 cup of red miso paste (I used a lower sodium brand)
  • 1/3 cup  of  chili paste
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 6 cloves of garlic, smashed
  • 4 slices of fresh ginger
  • 3 tablespoons of mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
  • 2 tablespoons avocado or grapeseed oil
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon dashi granules
  • 2 teaspoons of sesame paste

Ingredients for Soy Marinated Eggs (Shoyu Soft Boiled Eggs)

  • 4 large eggs (I used farm fresh eggs from Heritage Glen Farm in my local town of Kingston Springs, TN but Happy Egg also has Heritage Breed blue and brown eggs that have lovely yoke colors! )
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut liquid aminos if you prefer
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water

Ingredients for Garlic And Togarashi Oil 

  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Japanese seven spice

Ingredients for the Miso Ramen Put Together

  • 1/2 lb. of ground pork
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried shitake mushrooms
  • 2 cups of Chicken Bone Broth ( I got mine from Heritage Glen Farms but you can also use store bought chicken stock as well)
  • 1 cup of unsweetened, plain soy milk
  • 1/4 cup of spicy miso paste you made earlier
  • ramen noodles noodles of choice (enough for 2 servings)
  • 4 tablespoons diced green onions.
  • 3 rectangular sheets of nori/Japanese sushi seaweed (you can get the smaller snack size packages at the store as well instead of buying a large sheet of nori)

 

Directions

First off, this dish takes a little planning. A few days before you plan on having your ramen, make sure to go ahead and get started on your eggs marinating. They need at least 24 hours to 3 days to really capture the good flavor and darkness of the soy marinade. The Garlic and Togarashi oil should be made a few hours or the day before in advance as well.

Soy Marinated (Shoyu) Eggs:

  1. Place the eggs in a small pot and fill it with water until the eggs are covered by an inch. Add one teaspoon of vinegar to the water. Trust me, this will help with the peeling the eggs later.
  2. Bring the water to a boil on medium-high heat, then immediately lower the heat down to low. Set your timer for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. While the eggs are cooking, get your ice bath ready!
  3.   As soon as your timer goes off, immediately transfer the eggs into ice bath and leave them to cool completely.
  4. Then get to work on your marinade! Combine soy sauce, dark brown sugar and water in a small sauce pot. Warm up the mixture just enough to melt the sugar, then set aside. I used Ball Mason Jars for my egg marinade, but feel free to use whatever you have handy at home that will give a solid seal once you place the eggs and sauce to marinate in the fridge.
  5. Carefully peel the eggs then submerge them in the soy sauce-mixture in your jars. Place in the fridge and let them marinate for at least 24 hours.
  6. When you remove the eggs from the marinade, carefully slice them in half before serving and serve immediately!

Garlic And Togarashi Oil 

  1. Combine the shallots, garlic, sesame seeds and avocado oil in a saucepan and simmer on low heat.
  2. Cook for 6 minutes.
  3. Turn off the heat and add the Japanese seven spice.
  4. Mix well and allow to marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Spicy Miso Paste

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and mixed well.
  2. Transfer the mixture into a pot and set over medium heat. Bring to a low simmer and cook for another 5 minutes.
  3. Let it cool completely and set aside to add to your pork mixture when ready.

FULL Spicy Miso Ramen

  1. Rinse the dried shitake mushrooms make sure any dirt is cleaned off of them. Then slice them and set aside.
  2. In a large soup pot, heat up 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil on high heat and start cooking the ground pork with ground black pepper. Once the pork has browned, add 1/4 cup of the spicy miso paste and then cook for another 2 minutes.
  3. Then, add the chopped shitake, chicken bone broth and soy milk. Bring it all to a slow simmer.
  4. Pour a 1/2 cup spicy miso paste on top of a sieve and lower the sieve into the soup pot you are simmering. Then, use a spoon to slowly dissolve the paste into the soup.
  5. Simmer your soup for about 5 minutes afterwards.
  6. Cook your ramen according to the package directions. (Don’t use the seasoning packet if yours come with seasonings, oils or dried herbs/veggies)
  7. Put the noodles in serving bowls, top with miso and pork mixture, garlic and togarashi oil, soy eggs and nori.
  8. Enjoy!