# Dry ramen **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499 "2005-05-12T02:55:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Turing\_Complete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Turing\_Complete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turing_Complete)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/1 "2005-05-12T02:55:58Z")
My floormates and my RA were going through my leftover ramen. Except they didn’t feel like cooking it, so they smashed it up inside the packaging and ate it like crackers. Crackers with beef flavoring. Anyway, I thought only I did this; is this weird or more widely done than I thought? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/2 "2005-05-12T03:04:28Z")
I’ve never done it, but I _am_ very lazy. I can see the potential here. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/3 "2005-05-12T03:05:22Z")
Not a good idea. I’ve done it in the past (not because of laziness, but because I wanted a crunchy snack instead of a soft one) and the noodles will swell up in your stomach and make you sick. They’re designed to expand upon contact with hot liquid, and your stomach is filled with that. It isn’t a pleasant sensation to have your food cook inside you. ---
**Author:** ![MsPrufrock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@MsPrufrock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsPrufrock)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/4 "2005-05-12T03:08:10Z")
My friends and I used to do it in middle school all the time. We didn’t use all the seasoning but we’d munch on the uncooked noodles. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/5 "2005-05-12T03:11:29Z")
I used to do it all the time when my parents were making ramen. I’ve never felt sick afterward, either. Though I never added the flavoring, ick. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/6 "2005-05-12T03:15:53Z")
I still do it, but often leave it plain, or dip the ramen “chips” into the seasoning pack, getting just a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/7 "2005-05-12T03:16:07Z")
When I went on tour with my ska-punk band in 1997, all we brought for food in the van was a few loaves of bread with peanut butter and honey, and lots of packs of ramen. We got very accustomed to crunching away on the dry bricks, and sometimes we’d wet the top with water (or even lick them) to get some of the flavoring to stick. But it could be uncomfortable if we ate too much, due to the swelling sensation. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/8 "2005-05-12T03:48:22Z")
I used to eat it like that all the time as a snack in elementary school. Smash up the noodles, add the seasoning, shake it up in a Ziploc bag, and eat it like chips. ---
**Author:** ![Low\_Key\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@Low\_Key\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Low_Key_1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/9 "2005-05-12T05:38:06Z")
I think I read on here a while back about eating Ramen noodles dry. So, obviously I had to try it seeing as I practically subsist on these things. I guess they weren’t too bad, but I really prefer them cooked. They were strangely addictive when being eaten dry (I may have been in an altered state of mind at the time, though). Not a habit I’d pick up. Chicken flavored Ramen with some soy sauce and chilli powder is my main means of survival - not at all the same as eating them dry. I’d feel like I was wasting perfectly good Ramen by eating it dry. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/10 "2005-05-12T06:36:11Z")
> [@Turing Complete](#): > > My floormates and my RA were going through my leftover ramen. Except they didn’t feel like cooking it, so they smashed it up inside the packaging and ate it like crackers. Crackers with beef flavoring. Anyway, I thought only I did this; is this weird or more widely done than I thought? Nope. Here in Hawaii, it’s done all the time. ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/11 "2005-05-12T07:22:31Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Nope. > Here in Hawaii, it’s done all the time. As it is in Alaska!!! ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/12 "2005-05-12T13:30:41Z")
My mother has a recipe for a salad made from cabbage with some kind of sweet and sour dressing and crunched up dry ramen noodles for texture. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/13 "2005-05-12T14:13:22Z")
All the time when I used to eat ramen more. Never really made me feel bloated or sick. Guess I didn’t eat enough at once to get that sensation. My mom bought me a book that had all sorts of recipes for ramen–one of them was for haystack candy (I think that’s what they called it) that involved using dry ramen. Can’t recall what was in it exactly, but it turned out crunchy and sweet. Never made it but was always kinda tempted to. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/14 "2005-05-12T14:20:40Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > My mother has a recipe for a salad made from cabbage with some kind of sweet and sour dressing and crunched up dry ramen noodles for texture. I think I’ve had that salad at an office potluck. It was a bit strange, but good. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/15 "2005-05-12T14:39:15Z")
Yep, that was oh-so-trendy in the fifth grade snacktime, I remember. Spread out a plate or paper towel, break off little pieces, and dip them into the seasoning packet. I still do it some days now when I’m studying and want to get into that “starving intellectual liberal-arts-degree student” mentality. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/16 "2005-05-12T17:08:42Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > My mother has a recipe for a salad made from cabbage with some kind of sweet and sour dressing and crunched up dry ramen noodles for texture. I have a recipe like that, too. It’s got broken-up ramen and toasted sesame seeds and almonds. Mmmmmm! Recently, I was looking through one of my cookbooks, and I saw a recipe for the same salad, except that instead of a pound of shredded cabbage, you used 1/2 pound of cabbage and 2 cups of diced cooked chicken. I gave that a try a couple of weeks ago, and it was quite tasty! ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/17 "2005-05-12T18:38:00Z")
heh, I’ve been told I was weird for simply straining the water… maybe it’s because of the random addition of whatever is in the fridge to the noodles is the weird thing, and not so much draining the water… gonna try some ‘dry’ ones now thought!! ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/18 "2005-05-12T22:11:35Z")
I do and all of my sibling do or at least have. I don’t crush them; I eat them in their square form. I do put the seasoning on. My brother does crush them. I think he puts seasoning on them. I don’t know about my sisters. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/19 "2005-05-13T01:38:47Z")
Break them up and fry them for a few seconds in a pan with just a tiny bit of oil. (Watch very carefully-they burn fast). ---
**Author:** ![Basandre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@Basandre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Basandre)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499/20 "2005-05-13T04:33:16Z")
> [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](#): > > heh, I’ve been told I was weird for simply straining the water… If you use only one cup of water instead of two, you can just let the water cook off, and you won’t need to strain it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ramen/303499.md?page=2)