In a thread by Johnny L.A. a few months ago, I dissed ramen. But I was moved to check out the new flavors, and lo and behold, they are actually pretty damn good! Something different for lunch instead of the insipid and vile cafeteria food here on campus. But I have a question to ask of those of you who are Ramen mavens: Some bowls say “Add water and microwave.” Others say “Add boiling water.” Can I microwave these too? I mean, add tap water to the cup then nuke? Or will they turn to mush? Any college students out there with the ramen mojo going on?
I recommend buying your ramen at an asian grocery…it’s different than the stuff you can buy at the regular supermarket. The seasoning is different and it comes with a separate packet of oil seasoning - MUCH better than what you can get at the local grocery. (At least around here.)
I hadn’t had ramen in more than a decade (overdosed in my college/first job years), but I’ve been eating it occasionally now that I found the real stuff.
I toss it in a bowl, add hot water, and microwave until done. I believe you can actually make ramen noodles with any temp of water, it just takes awhile if it’s not hot. (And would be pretty yucky, IMO.)
Be careful if you use the authentic stuff. Those things can be spicy if you use too much of the other seasoning packets. I’ve had a shrimp flavored one that basically turned to lava when I used all three seasonong packets without paying attention to their contents.
In addition to the standard shrimp flavoring, there was chili seasoning and I think a red curry paste. I still ate the noodles though.
Regular supermarkets, at leas the ones around here, carry the authentic stuff in the Ethnic aisle.
The stuff I bought is Nong Shim, which is Korean. I think the person who translated their web page into English was having them on a bit, to wit:
Bowl Noodle Soup(Hot&Spicy Flavor)
Bowl Noodle Soup (Hot&Spicy Flavor) contains dried beef, green onions and egg frakes, which make it taste light. It is very convenient to cook.
I usually boil the water, then add it to the noodles. You don’t need to actually boil the noodles. I used to use my roommates electric kettle.
I like it with a bunch of cilantro.
I place the noodles in a pan for stovetop, a large microwave-safe bowl if no stovetop available, add just enough water to cover, and whatever flavoring I want (usually about 1 packet to 2 packs of ramen), bring to a boil and simmer for one minute, then I turn off the heat and let it cool for about two minutes. Very good with fresh veggies. I like to add peas, broccoli and the like.
I would keep a bunch in my desk back when I had a desk job. Good cheap lunch that goes great with a small salad.
It’s weird. I love to cook, especially from scratch. Yet every now and then, I just crave ramen. And I have to eat them with chopsticks, it never feels right when I dont.
Leave it to the Dope. We have actual Ramen snobs.
You can totally microwave it. Just nuke the water to a boil, then add the Ramen and nuke it until it comes back to a boil for a couple minutes.
But it’s very different from what you find in a real Asian market. At least around here, the Ethnic aisle of the regular supermarket has fancy instant noodles, apparently developed for the American market. Asian markets carry cheaper instant noodles sold in Asia which can be surprisingly good.
Question-what happens if you add the seasoning packet when you put the noodles in to boil?
You can skip the preliminary heating. Just put the noodles and water in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for about five minutes. Perfect every time. Don’t put the seasonings in until after you cook the noodles.
Why-what happens?
Nothing bad, it, just makes it easier to control the water content. You should use a little extra water to cook the noodles, then pour some out before you season.
(The following is excerpted from For Best Results…, coming this Spring from Wholecloth Press):
…and the Ramen blight descended, and savaged the living Earth; its uncountable tentacles drained oceans, razed forests and slaughtered hosts with slow, almost gentle caresses in a sickening parody of loving embrace. There were no screams, there was no time to scream. There was time only to half-turn, and see uncomprehendingly, and experience the chilling despair, loathing and dread that were billions’ last impression of this world that God made and had been previously thought to protect. The beast scoured the land like a floating sea of acid, defacing it so that even the memory of a green lea, or a lively brook, was burned from one’s mind, and there was no beauty, and never had been, ever.
Sick with disgust and grief I at first thought to kill myself, then a form of reason seized my disjointed brain and I resolved to let the monster do it. I laughed crazily: perhaps I might be the morsel on which it finally choked. I ran into the street, waving and screeching madly. And unnecessarily, it happened. The Ramen had already arrived, stretching the horizons of a tortured sky. The thing roiled soundlessly, folding and kneading itself, became still for a moment, descended …
And called me Master.
“By thy powerful Seasoning, from its foil packet like Macduff untimely ripped, thou hast summoned noodly, high-sodium destruction, and I have obeyed. What more is thy will?”
My mind raced, unsuccessfully, to escape the implication. I was guilty of murdering a world, and had gained a pet that was quite ready to heap the ashes of the Universe itself upon my head. My feverish brain had room for but one thought: I have got to start reading the instructions on the package.
So you’re against adding seasonings first, I guess…?
Did I say that?
I find Nong Shim consistently the best brand.
Ramen is easy to spruce up by adding a little something extra:[ul]
[] some chopped green onion [] some frozen mixed vegetables [] slice up a few fresh mushrooms [] drop an egg in it while it’s boiling some tabasco-flavored cheez-its [/ul]The key is to not overwhelm the ramen, but make it more interesting.
People who only buy ramen and instant noodles from Westernized grocery stores are seriously missing out! A lot of the cheap ones don’t absorb the soup base very well.
Nong Shim is good, and so is Sapporo Ichiban (Japanese). I like Sapporo Ichiban’s Yaki Soba Chow Mein. It’s one of those types where you have to drain the water then add the seasoning ad seaweed sprinkles (so fragrant!), so there’s no soup.
There are a lot of good brands out there and so many flavours, so I forget a lot of them. Even the less popular brands can taste better than typical Western grocery store brands.
I’ve bought Sapporo Ichiban from a Westernized grocery. The molten lava shrimp flavor I mentioned before was Mama brand, from the same store.
This is what I like. I have some in the cupboard right now. But I can’t eat it! Counting carbs, doncha know. (But I’ve lost ten pounds.)