Totally Mundane and Pointless, but I’m living off 'em till payday, so here goes:
“Blessed art thou, O most versatile of foodstuffs.
Thy many flavors never cease to delight.
Thou art easy, cheap, and fast - much like certain sororities.
At 14 cents a pop, thou keepest a poor man alive until payday.”
Thank you, thank you. bows
Call me a freak, but I happen to like Ramen noodles. They are so cheap that you could feed a family of six for about a dollar. Depending on the brand you buy, they usually aren’t all that bad. Certainly better than generic brand macaroni and cheese, which my kids love for some ungodly reason.
Oh, I lived on ramen in my leaner college years! Here’s a good tip for stretching your budget:
Buy a bit bag of round onions and a dozen eggs. For each meal of ramen, you can sliver up a half an onion. Grill them in your pot before you put the water in to start your ramen. Once the water starts to boil, crack an egg into your pot. Let it cook (how well is up to you). A bowl of instant ramen with a bit of onions and egg is mana from the Japanese gods, I tell you (actually technically I guess it would be the Japanese sun goddess, Amaterasu).
If you are the hungry type but can’t afford two packs of ramen for dinner, make a bit pot of rice. Keep the left-over rice in your fridge. Plop a big scoop of rice into your pot about a minute before the ramen is done (just enough to heat up the rice, but not enough to cook it). Mmmmm.
I get them in between 15 and 10 cents per . . .YUM! They kept me from starving in boarding school and I eat at least two per day at home.
My personal favorite is to put some frozen peas and an egg in . . . yum. I love the stuff.
I like 'em too–quick, easy, and tasty.
(And, if you wait for the right sale, you can get 'em for less than 14 cents a package–10 cents a pop is fairly common, and I’ve seen 'em 12 for a buck.)
I’m just waiting for ramen to be the key ingredient on Iron Chef…
To the other virtues of Ramen Noodles, I must add the fact that they are lightweight and easily carried.
I just got back from hiking around Isle Royale National Park with some friends, and we must have toted a gross of Ramen Noodles into the woods.
“Noodles again? Yum!”
Chicken flavor tastes like chicken.
Beef flavor tastes like beef.
Oriental…?
I, too, love ramen noodles… but I am sad, for it is very hard to find veggie-flavored ramen where I am, and I’m a vegetarian.
I have faith that one day the ramen gods will smile upon me again, stocking the shelves of my local Kwik-E-Mart with veggie ramen. I know it’s out there somewhere…
The brand I buy has a tomato flavor, Rose.
Count me among the Ramen-rabid. Although they are an outrageous five for a buck here. 
I get two extra-spicy chicken, two beef and an Oriental.
Rosebud:
Not the cheap stuff but you can buy ramen online at Ramen City.
I’m not a huge fan of Ramen, but I eat the crap out of another Ramen product, called Instant Lunch. It’s like Ramen in a cup, but it’s tastier. It’s also just a little pricier, an average of $.50 a cup. Gooooood stuff!
my sixteen year old eats ‘em by the bucketful. also packaged mac and cheese and some godawful pink noodley stuff from Chef Boy Ar Dee. I keep telling him to stop, or he wont’ have anything to eat in college…
What can I say? The majority of my dinners consist of a bowl of Ramen and a couple of pieces of bread and butter. I’ve never tried that onion/egg trick, but I’ll have to… It sounds great. Meanwhile, I haven’t a clue what Oriental flavor really tastes like, but do ya know? I don’t care. All I know is, it’s yummy!
There used to be a Top Ramen veggie flavored Ramen that tasted a bit like cabbage soup. I loved it. I have not seen it in 15 years. It came in a sea green package
Now Reservoir, have you ever had an Asian woman ?
Seriously, being a certified bachelor I know all about the joys of ramen noodles. Here’s a new one for you :
Buy the biggest Ragu spaghetti sauce jar you can find and several ramen noodles packs. This is what I call “poor mans pasta”. Heat up one pack of noodles and when they begin to boil put a half cup of sauce into the microwave for 2 minutes. When the noodles are done pour the sauce over them. Its delicious, its easy, and it is very very cheap.
::sigh::
I need a girlfriend.
damn I love Ramen Noodles!!!
I have to eat them at least two at a time though because one just does not fill me.
They are so wonderful and so tasty!! I like the chicken ones the best. There isnt anything I would not throw on the plate with them… mmmmm Ramen.
Thank you so much for starting a thread to honor the best college food of all time!!
So far as I know, the ramen flavors are all vegetarian-made regardless of flavor. My sisters used to both be veggies (vegetarians) and Meg ate loads and loads of ramens.
A ramen website?! Thank you, obfusciatrist!
I’ve never seen plain tomato, like Milossarian mentioned, but once in a rare while I’ll see “vegetable flavored” tucked next to the chicken, beef, shrimp, etc.
iampunha, the noodles themselves are veg as far as I know, but the flavoring packets in the brands most commonly available here are almost always meat-based. The first time I saw “Oriental-flavor,” I thought I’d hit paydirt, but even that one has either a pork or beef base. Sigh… I could get some veggie broth and use that, but it just wouldn’t be the same
I live in New York and I’m sure there are stores that carry veggie varieties, but my particular neighborhood isn’t exactly vegetarian friendly. I think I’m gonna buy me some noodles on line…
ooo! I just happen to be eating a bowl right now! – not a huge coincedence, pretty much all i eat is ramen noodles and hot pockets. mmmm… cheap food…