I was perusing the local supermarket for some dinner tonight (along with the beer I picked up) when I came across the Ramen Noodle section. I thought about it for a second, and said to myself, “Ya know, I haven’t eaten this in YEARS! I can let things go for a night. . .”.
So, I get home and start boiling my water. As if it were natural instinct, I pulled out all sorts of ingredients from nowhere - just like I was back in college. Aw man, it was great. A simple brick of hard, brittle noodles and 20 minutes later I had a feast fit for the King himself.
My fav’rite recipe:
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1 heapin’ helpin’ of frozen broccoli/cauliflower vegetable mix
1/2 heapin helpin’ frozen corn
1/2 heapin helpin frozen carrots
2 bricks of ramen
enough water to cook.
Boil water, vegetables, and ramen until everything is soft, squishy and hot. Drain water. Add just enough fresh water to cover noodles. Add flavor packets and stir. Add liberal amounts of Worcestershire sauce to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley. Do not move to bowl - eat directly out of saucepan.
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My Pop would make it for himself occasionally, but would substitute my vegetable recipe for some cut up hot dogs and a few tablespoons of mustard and ketchup.
I’m thinking about doing this again tomorrow night (long day tomorrow, and I haven’t gone grocery shopping in a month). What’s yer favorite recipe?
Tripler
The coúp de gràce is when you eat it right out of the pan.
Here’s mine, which my husband loved. No idea where I got this recipe from, sorry.
3 c. chopped mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and/or red bell peppers are good ones to try)
1 lb. boneless chicken breast, skinned, cut into 1" pieces
1 can cream of tomato soup
1/4 c. water
3 pkg. ramen noodles, preferably chicken flavor
Add a little vegetable oil or cooking spray to a skillet, and heat on medium heat. Cook vegetables until just tender, then remove to a separate dish.
Add chicken to skillet, stir-fry until lightly browned. Remove from skillet, into the dish of vegetables.
Add tomato soup, water, and 2-3 packets of ramen seasoning (to taste). Heat until just boiling, then add chicken and vegetables, reduce heat to medium, and heat through.
Boil enough water in another saucepan to cook 3 packages of ramen. Add ramen noodles. Cook 3 minutes or until done (see package directions). Drain noodles, and serve chicken and vegetable mixture over them.
two packages of ramen (oriental flavor is best)
one small package of sliced or slivered almonds
one (or two, if ya really like the stuff) tablespoons of sesame oil
one package of prepared salad mix (your choice - I use the slaw)
1/2 cup of water
With the noodles still in the package, break them up with a kitchen mallet, taking care not to break open the package.
Open the ramen packages and spread the noodles and the almonds on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until a light brown.
Put the salad mix in a large bowl and add the noodles and almonds.
Combine the oil, seasoning packets from the ramen, and the water. Pour over the salad / noodle / almond mixture. Toss the salad until everything is evenly coated.
Open a beer.
Sometimes I add the chicken strips you find in the frozen food section, after I have cooked them in a frying pan (using sesame oil, of course) or after I have put them in the oven with the noodles and almonds, but on a separate cookie sheet. Some folks like to add a little seasoned vinegar to the liquid, to give a little added zing, and I have been known to add one of the peppered oils to the recipe. And one of the options is to add… yep, you guessed it, sesame seeds - after they have been roasted with the noodles and almonds. I’ve seen it made with peanuts, sunflower seeds, and even pistachios.
Any flavor ramen cooked and mostly drained add 2 T peanut butter, 2 T soy sauce and flavor packet to taste. The college student’s satay. ( I also throw any veggies in that I have on hand–steamed in the microwave, but it’s just as good without)
My wife made one once just to see if it would work at it was very very good. And this is coming from someone who HATES ramen noodles.
Make ramen noodles as the package says.
Place noodles in casserole dish.
Place seasoned chicken thighs on top of noodles (Not breasts, not wings, not legs… thighs.
Bake in 350 degree oven until chicken is done.
The reason for thighs only is that they have enough fat in them to keep the noodles moist, as well as themselves during baking, and flavoring the noodles. You’d never know it was ramen. Quite excellant!! The other cuts of chicken just don’t work as well.
My personal favorite is one my hubby originally made, but we have since modified it to the following:
1 1/2 lb ground turkey
4 packages creamy chicken ramen
1 bag frozen assorted veggies
1 can cream of whatever soup (I prefer chicken or broccoli)
Brown turkey in a large skillet with preferred seasoning, I use white wine worchestershire and garlic powder, and set aside after it’s cooked thoroughly. In the same skillet used for the meat, cook the 4 packages of noodles without adding seasoning. Without draining the water, add the veggies and cook for another 5-10 minutes. When the veggies are hot, add the cream of whatever soup, the noodles seasoning and the cooked turkey. Cook until all is nice and hot and serve.
Enjoy!
This makes enough to feed two people for approximately 3 or 4 days, and is great when you’re poor as total cost for the meal is about $6.
2 Ramen (with seasoning already added) with egg (make a hole in either end with a fork, then blow the egg out of the shell) and a few handfuls of peas. Makes the peas and egg flavored.
I don’t think we have ramen in the UK - or at least I’ve never heard of it. What is it, how do you cook it and why (as I seem to get the impression from the previous posts) is it looked down on?
Mmm … sounds a bit like Pot Noodle which is every student’s friend over here. Comes in a one-person portion sized plastic pot with a sachet of flavouring, you just add hot water, stir and wait five minutes.
When I make Ramen I do exactly what the package says; however, I add chopped green onions, a touch of vinegar (sometimes), oregano, and either beef or chicken cubes into the stock depending on what type of ramen it is. If I make a vegetable ramen I will add in brocolli or green beens instead. If I am feeling adventurous I will add tofu.
After all the Ramen I ate in college I can no longer stomach it. (I lived on Ramen Noodles, fried baloney and beer.) However in the end my favorite way to eat Ramen was raw. That’s right, unwrap the brick, toss the packet and wrapper out and take a big old bite. Nice and crunchy, with out all that extra salt and the pesky boiling water. No mater how you dress it up it’s still Ramen.
Hm. A recipe I occasionally haul out goes like this:
Fry a reasonable amount of ground beef in a pan, along with most of the contents of the seasoning package. While cooking add in any extra ingredients that seem appropriate–I like to add in hot peppers and black olive. Onion also works well. Drain. Serve on top of cooked ramen, with shredded cheddar sprinkled on top. Sour cream and guacamole added if present in refrigerator. Takes 15 minutes to prepare, tops, and tastes disturbingly like a meal.
