Let's talk about Ramen noodles--the kind you make at home from a packet

Cafe Society
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My preferred brand is Shin Ramyun Black (not the cup, but the kind you make in a saucepan).

I always keep a few packages of these on hand. Made one this evening!

Start by boiling two-ish cups of water in a roomy saucepan and adding the three small envelopes that come with–a powdered broth, teeny dehydrated veggies, and spicy seasoning. I only add about 1/4 of the spicy seasoning packet as it’s very hot for my taste.

Then I add a spoonful of Better than Beef bouillon or Better than Chicken (or one of each), a squeeze of tomato paste, a dash of soy sauce, a crushed clove of garlic, and the noodle cake.

Then comes the fun part: add whatever loose veggies I have in the fridge or freezer. The amount of water is so minimal that you can’t add more than a tablespoon of each. (Or add more water… but I don’t usually.) Limit yourself to three of these-- it’s easy to get carried away:

chopped onion
chopped celery
mushrooms–fresh or jarred
fresh or frozen green or red bell pepper
chopped cabbage (I usually have a partial head in the crisper)
chopped fresh or frozen carrot
frozen corn kernels
frozen mixed veggies
frozen peas
zucchini
green beans
broccoli/cauliflower (teeny florets)
chopped tomato (cherry or canned)
red pepper flakes
probably other stuff I can’t remember right now…

Leftover meat, if you’re so inclined, chicken bits, polish sausage, bits of leftover beef, turkey, pork, ham. Tuna might work, but I’ve never tried it.

Simmer until the noodles are the way you like them, 4-5 minutes.

When I take it off the heat, I add a teaspoon of miso paste, either dark or white and stir until it melts into the soup.

Makes one ginormous serving, or one big serving and a smaller one for the next day.

I’m always surprised at how good this turns out!

How do you ramen? (IF you ramen, that is.)

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Back when I was in grad school, ramen was my supper at least a couple of times per week. Make up the full packet, butter up a couple of slices of bread, and dip it in. When I was feeling adventurous, I’d crack an egg into the soup.

My tolerance for salt is way down now, though, with the result that I haven’t had it in a decade or so,

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My mother will sometimes make the dried ramen noodles, though she will reduce the amount of the spice packet and add a rough handful of frozen mixed vegetables.

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That’s a good one, they also have a Golden version that’s A+.

5

I check out our local Salvation Army store from time to time. Occasionally they have food items free for the taking. One day they had some cryptically labeled boxes. I bought a bag of googly eyes for fun and took a box. It had twelve packets of Ramen-style noodles, but they were rice noodles. The flavor was onion. There were two flavoring packets- one spicy oil packet and one dry onion/bullion packet. Bringing one cup of water with the packets’ contents to a boil then adding the noodles made quite a nice dish of flavorful noodles that had absorbed nearly all the water.

I have looked for similar ones in all the stores locally and found none! I tried Amazon but similar items are well over a dollar each.

6

Shin Ramyun Black is indeed a good one.

I also like Nongshim Neoguri spicy seafood flavor (available at most Asian supermarkets, and on Amazon). I believe it’s imported from South Korea. I’ll make it according to the package directions, and throw in a few raw shrimp while it’s cooking. Then I’ll boil an egg, and stir fry some vegetables (usually some baby bok choy, broccoli, and mushrooms, with a little soy sauce), and add those on top of the ramen, and garnish with some green onion, and a little sesame oil.

7

I have Shin black in my pantry at all times, and my slightly preferred Shin Red. And, like you I dress it up with spare veg and protein I have around the kitchen. But… I’ve had to cut it back. The saturated fat (even without a beloved poached egg) and the sodium (45% and 77% of daily suggested intake respectively) just aren’t compatible with my current health goals. Especially after adding a poached egg, a dash of roasted chili and/or sesame oil, fish sauce or dark soy sauce, both can go way out of control.

Doesn’t mean I don’t want it all the time, but I’m trying to keep it to no more than twice a week.

Onion, shallots, crushed garlic, jalapenos, and green onions are common additions for me, along with fish cake slices, ginger, bean sprouts and red or yellow bell pepper.

I tend to add a lot of extra capsicums because the heat helps offset my desire for more sodium, but another fix is to add a citrus note - either a bit of lemon or lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, or even a pinch of food-grade citric acid works, but don’t over do it, the last especially.

I’d love @ThelmaLou’s version, but I can’t justify the high sodium base product + bouillon + soy sauce + miso no matter how amazing it would taste!

(FTR I don’t currently have a sodium issue per my PCP, but I already tend to go way above the DRV and everything has a lot of salt - my Trader Joe’s bagel is 13% without anything else! And I do have a need to cut down on my saturated fat)

I did experiment with some noodle options, but veggie, sweet potato, and other spiralized noodles don’t work well for soup IMHO, and while this millet and brown rice option worked okay

They play games with portion size to make everything work out. But at least the saturated fat is much lower, and the sodium of course is more controllable.

8

I buy one-pound sacks of this stuff from amazon. Great product.

I make my own popcorn sprinkle with salt-free lemon pepper, a bit of sugar, and citric acid (also known as “sour salt” in the Jewish culinary world).

And you’re right, a pinch goes a long way.

It’s also great for descaling tea kettles, etc.

9

Perhaps not fully on topic, but in college, I used to get a lot of praise from people for egg-fried rice that had some “mystery ingredient” that people couldn’t figure out. It was actually that I was mixing in a bit of ramen-noodle-pack seasoning into the eggs as I whisked them before scrambling-stir-frying it with the rice.

For more standard fare, a poached egg or two with ramen noodles in the bowl always go well.

10

I love adding an egg and stirring it in. I pour off a lot of the broth and the egg makes it so creamy. Now I need some instant ramen.

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I bought a two pound bag off amazon!

But yeah, it’s really easy to use, and I add it to a lot of cooking, but just like you, I use it for cleaning options, de-scaleing my K-cup coffee maker and electric kettle, plus periodic cleans of my dishwasher.

12

My husband used to add butter. I don’t and don’t add the entire flavor packet either.
Then I cut it with a knife so its easier to eat.

13

I twirl the noodles with a fork against a spoon like I do spaghetti. So sue me.
:face_savoring_food:

14

You can also use scissors to cut up the ramen noodles.

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I like to eat Nissin ramen noodles right out of the wrappers with no simmering involved. A quick and tasty snack on its own!

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The Black Garlic sauce is like crack, but I generally want it on dishes where it gets to stand alone and be savored (like on some carefully seared tuna) rather than mixed with a lot of other flavors.

Of course, if it was half the cost, I’d be pouring it over almost any savory and several sweet dishes!

18

You all just would not stop talking about ramen tonight, would you?

Another Shin Black fan here. I have ramen maybe twice a year, so I don’t worry much about how bad it is for me. Damn the torpedoes – full spice packet, in it goes! Also chopped celery and scallion, some peas and chopped flank steak.

'Twas lovely. :slight_smile:

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As an aside, I’ve had very good luck with ramen toppings from Ramen Bae, they aren’t cheap, but the premixed options are pretty good, and you can get individual options to build your own mixes as well. But I’ll emphasize, not cheap. Not pricey for what you get, but budgets are what they are.

The noodles (due to their high protein nature and price though they are better for you) are meh for me, but again, will buy toppings again. And each bag of the mixes goes a long way in moderation. Plus, sometimes you just don’t have something ready to be repurposed in the fridge or freezer, and then it’s a lifesaver when you have that craving…

20

I had some frozen (just warm the whole thing up and it is ready) ramen that was pretty good, but I cannot remember the brand and now I have to try to find it again.