In 2014, Ski bum couple Jordan and Momo Antonucci gave Vermont a taste of Japanese ski cuisine with the debut of their on-the-move ramen food truck, Miso Hungry.
Canada has poutine. Switzerland has raclette and its gooier cousin, fondue. Ski Dubai has KFC. Australia has Vegemite and toast. Savory morsels, smothered under a pool of dipping sauces, spreads or other concoctions. Some foods seem to have been artfully designed for the very ski regions in which they’re served.
During the 2012-2013 season, posted up in a custom-built trailer, the duo served thousands of bowls of piping-hot ramen to ravenous skiers and snowboarders from the parking lot of The Snow Job ski shop in Jay. As they prepped to fill even more stomachs this winter, Buck Wheatberry asked Jordan to spill the sauce on their winning business recipe.
| Buck | Where did the food truck idea come from? |
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| Jordan | We have a love for food, a love for travel and a passion for freedom. We wanted to maintain our lifestyle [as traveling ski bums]. We thought we could do a better job rooting for ourselves than working for someone else. The idea of living this “free” lifestyle combined with an idea we absolutely love— which is ramen—was perfect. Our life is just a large series of trips that never stop. |
| buck | Between the two of you, how many bowls of ramen have you consumed in your lifetime? |
| jordan | About 3,800. Momo has eaten about 3,000 of that. I ate 120 bowls of ramen last winter alone—in four months. That was almost as many days as I skied. |
| buck | What's your relationship with food? |
| jordan | Momo has worked in the back and the front of house [of restaurants]. I’ve worked in the front of house, managing a restaurant in fine dining. If you like working in fine dining, you have to really appreciate food. Otherwise, there’s no point. Momo has always liked cooking. Her parents are both chefs. |
| buck | I heard that Momo’s mother will occasionally make a guest chef appearance and has an amazing gyoza recipe. What’s her secret? |
| jordan | Practice. And patience. And doing it over and over again. Nonstop. When she comes, I don’t even ask her how to make them. I just pick up the ingredients. It’s mastery. The last time she was here, she made 1,000 pieces of gyoza in four days. They were selling like hotcakes. |
| buck | Were you ever a connoisseur of ten-cent ramen noodles? |
| jordan | No, I f—king hated them until I went to Japan. But you figure out a way to add pieces of bacon, veggies… next thing you know, you have an actual meal. There’s protein, carbs, veggies and the bone broth that’s literally nature’s medicine. It’s known to cure everything from mild depression to cancer. But in college, [ten-cent ramen] was a necessary evil. |
| buck | What are your favorite ramen toppers? |
| jordan | A soft-boiled egg, where the yolk is a little runny. Pork belly. We flame-broil the last bit of it so it’s a little crispy. Chilled green onions. It takes the bite out of the onions. And pea shoots or snow peas. Momo loves the snow peas. |
| buck | Secret ingredient or culinary weapon of choice? |
| jordan | Momo’s miso. I can’t give you the recipe, but it has 15 different ingredients, including ginger, garlic, caramelized apple and onion. Also sesame. Sesame has a way of making everything taste better. We toast sesame seeds, grind them up and add them to almost all of our dishes. |
| buck | What are the specs of your trailer? |
| jordan | We tow it with a Chevy Silverado. It has a sink, a self-contained kitchen, 35 gallons of water, a 200-gallon propane tank, a 75-watt generator. It weighs in at 6,000-plus pounds. |
Miso Hungry's ramen should be consumed immediately- In all its mouth-burning glory- for the best flavors, says Jordan. But that's not his only tip for maximizing its pleasure.
| Appreciate all the bubbles and the oils in the broth and the pork belly that floats to the top. |
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| Fold the veggies into the noodles and mix it all together. |
| The louder you slurp, the better the noodles taste. It brings more air to your tastebuds and enhances the flavor. |
| Because you're eating Miso Hungry's ramen and it's delicious. |
