Bring a medium-size pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, add half the ramen seasoning packet (or as much as you desire based on your sodium preference) to a large soup bowl. Add the malt vinegar and season with chili oil. Stir to combine.

Once the water starts boiling, add the instant ramen noodles and wait until the water comes back to a boil.

Add the tomatoes, green onions and celery to the pot and stir to submerge the vegetables. Quickly move the noodles and vegetables aside, creating a pocket of space, and crack the egg into the boiling water. Poach the egg for 1 minute. You could also fry the egg separately, sunny-side up, if preferred.

Add the bok choy or Napa cabbage. Cook for up to 1 minute, then remove from heat.

Carefully ladle some of the cooking water into your soup bowl with the dry seasoning, malt vinegar and chili oil. This will determine how much broth your ramen will have.

Transfer the noodles to the soup bowl, mixing with chopsticks or a fork until evenly combined.

Strain the egg and vegetables from the pot and place them on top of the noodles.

Finish with a few drops of toasted sesame oil, and season with salt, additional chili oil and malt vinegar.

Place the red chile flakes into a large, heatproof pot big enough to hold 8 to 10 cups of liquid. Set aside.

In a separate medium pot, heat the oil over medium heat until a thermometer registers 300 F.

Add the black peppercorns, star anise, cloves, bay leaves and coriander seeds. Then, carefully place the green onions, red onions and ginger into the hot oil. Bring the temperature of the oil up to 350 F. Maintain the temperature by carefully moving the pot off the heat if it gets too hot and putting it back on the heat if it gets too cool. Fry the spices and onions in the oil until they are fragrant but not blackened, about 3 minutes. Strain the solids from the oil, but keep the oil. (You can discard the aromatics or reserve them to enhance a broth or stew later.)

Reheat the oil to 450 F, then turn off the burner and carefully remove the pot from the heat.

While wearing oven mitts and long sleeves, gradually and very carefully pour the hot oil into the pot with the red chile flakes, stirring carefully to make sure the hot oil coats the chile flakes. The oil will bubble and fry; let it cook until the bubbling subsides. NOTE: this will create a lot of smoke, so do this step outdoors, if you can, or in a well-ventilated area.

Add a splash of malt vinegar to add more flavor and bring down the temperature so the chile flakes don’t burn.

Let the oil cool to room temperature, then let it rest, covered, for 10 to 12 hours or overnight. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.