It’s been years, but I pretty much only eat it soup style. If I’m using the whole seasoning packet, there needs to be about a cup or so of unabsorbed water in the bowl/pot. The few times I ate it with minimal water, about half the flavoring packet would do. I’m a bit surprised at how many people apparently use the whole seasoning packet for the drier style of noodles. I mean, I really like salt, but that’s a lot of salt unless it’s diluted.
When I was feeling fancy, I used to add eggs, vegetables, and other stuff to it.
Put the block in a bowl, add enough water until the noodles are just covered. Microwave for five minutes. Drain the hot water, then add some cold water to cool the noodles down a bit and to rinse off some of the oil. Pour off most of the water, add about a quarter of the flavor packet (adding the entire thing would be too salty, unless you have a lot of broth).
Boil the block of noodles in water. (#1 Ramen: Indo Mee, 4 flavour packets!)
When noodles are almost done, toss into the pot, a few snow peas or carrots thinly sliced, a thinly sliced mushroom, and a small handful of bean sprouts or thinly sliced cabbage.
Strain out noodles plus veggies into bowl, using tongs, toss well. (Must choose, soup or just noodles, how much water to add!)
Add green onions, then meat, (any thinly sliced leftovers will do, only a small amount is needed, beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, all good!)
Top with chopped cilantro, and enjoy!
(Each ingredient need only be a small amount, cooks fast and all in one pot, cleanup is a snap. Doesn’t get much better!)
(If you try this, you’ll be sold, I’m pretty confident!)
I suppose that, if you eat enough Ramen out of choice or necessity, it’s nice to dress it up a little in your own way.
I’m surprised more people don’t add egg since I always thought that was a pretty common way to add a little extra texture and some protein. MeanJoe says he adds a scrambled egg but I always just cracked an egg into the water and let it soft boil as the noodles cooked.
I don’t eat them much anymore, but when I did, I used a fair amount of water to boil them, then poured off most of it, and used the few tablespoons of starchy boiling water that were left to mix the flavor packet into. I prefer it to be more “flavored noodles” than “flavored broth with noodles”.
My way is best described as anyway that gets them in contact with hot water long enough. It depends on what I am doing with them.
I don’t necessarily use the flavor packet with them. Sometimes that’s because I am using them as a quicker replacement for bean/rice noodles and using other sauces. Sometimes it’s adding extra calories* to quick can of soup, sandwich, salad meal by adding the noodles into the soup.
Yes, despite the implications of calories being something we focus on limiting, that’s a thing for me. I can’t eat for quite a while after I get up and am not a morning person. Breakfast is mostly a hypothetical concept for me except on days off. To avoid losing weight off my already scrawny frame, I need to get serious about eating the rest of the day.
Seasonings on the bottom of the pan. Dry noodles on top. Very hot water just over the top of the noodles. On the heat just long enough for the water to bubble slightly and the noodles to get slightly soft. Stir the seasonings over the noodles. Mixture straight into bowls.
Put 1 1/2 to 2 cups of well-gelled homemade turkey broth into a smallish frying pan (best if the broth has a little turkey fat on the top). Add the block of noodles. Flip when the bottom is flexible. After it is all flexible, stir from time to time, watching as the broth reduces to a glaze. When you can flip the noodles and see a crust starting to form on the bottom, they’re done.
Put 1 cup of water to boil and add 1/2 packet of seasoning. Add a couple of drops of sesame oil and a tablespoon of chili oil. When comes to roiling boil, take off heat and add broken up noodles. You can mix an egg in the boiling water before the noodles if you like, which I do.
Break up noodles so they soak up as much as the flavored boiled water as possible. I don’t usually eat ramen without the add ins.
I’d never make it on the stove. I use the microwave, and just enough water so that it will nearly all be absorbed. That way I can put the seasoning packet in it. Essentially, it’s making your own noodle cup, but with more noodles.
If I did have to do it on the stove, there’s no way I’d put the packet in the boiling water, as that would dilute it way too much. I’ve always been taught to use a lot of water when cooking noodles. Thinking about it, I believe I would make the noodles, pour out most of the water, then add the powder and thoroughly mix with what was left. Something more like macaroni and cheese.
(Well, except this non-dairy one I got where you HAD to mix it up ahead of time or you just got chunks of powder in everything. But that’s what I get for not following direction on something I’d never made before.)
Put the noodles and contents of the packet(s) into a 1-quart saucepan. Add water equal to the thickness of the noodle block. Bring to a boil, and tear apart the noodles with chopsticks. Stir until noodles are done. Drain the liquid into a cup, and drink it as a soup. Put the noodles in a bowl with a slice or two of American cheese and mix it up. Add Sriracha sauce, and eat with chopsticks.
No cheese if I happen to have some higher-quality ramen.
My usual method is pretty simple. Bring a cup and a half of water (along with about a tablespoon of sambal) to a boil. Put the block of noodles in the water, then dump about 2/3 of the seasoning packet in, and turn the noodle block over. Give it a poking stir to loosen the brick a bit, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove noodles to a bowl, and let broth sit in the pot off heat for a couple of minutes to allow the broth and noodles to cool separately. Pour broth over the noodles, and slurp away.
If I want to fancy it up a bit, I’ll slice a piece of Chinese sausage (lop cheung) or some char siu and add it at the same time I flip the noodles over, and also add some veg of some kind, depending on what’s available. Shredded cabbage (either regular or nappa), bok choy, or even a handful of frozen peas are all fair game. And a final drizzle of sesame oil.
