# Ramen Noodle soup flavoring substitutes needed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889 "2005-03-23T15:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/21 "2005-03-23T21:34:42Z")
Soy sauce is your friend. As is toasted sesame oil, and ginger, and maybe some broccoli or other leftovers, and if you’re advanced, miso. (then add tofu, and you’ve got a real meal, not just a snack). But start with soy sauce and go from there. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/22 "2005-03-23T21:37:24Z")
I also avoid MSG, and have essentially given up on ramen. If I wanted to do something involving homemade chicken stock, it would not be ramen (NTTAWWT). You may want to check that the noodles themselves do not contain some MSG. I believe I ran across some brands where it wasn’t just in the flavoring. I too made egg-drop ramen, and also a stir-fried ramen lo mein, back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/23 "2005-03-23T21:53:49Z")
**Shirley** , if you like Asian food you have lots and lots of flavoring possibilities. There is a dish I make with Asian noodles that is flavored with a liberal amount of soy sauce and then sesame oil to taste. It is beloved by my family and friends alike. Another possibility is peanut sauce. You can get it at Asian markets but my favorite is Bankok Padang Peanut Sauce from Wal-Mart. It’s just a tad spicy, but damn, it’s good! And like **jungie** says, oyster sauce would be good. Hoisin sauce might be another, although I’d probably want more than just noodles if I was going to use it. There are also lots of good Asian hot sauces if you like them. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/24 "2005-03-23T23:44:18Z")
Just a quick note: For someone who is trying to avoid MSG, neither soy sauce nor parmesan are good choices since they contain abundant amounts of natural MSG. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/25 "2005-03-24T01:08:25Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Just a quick note: For someone who is trying to avoid MSG, neither soy sauce nor parmesan are good choices since they contain abundant amounts of natural MSG. Checking my Japanese import Kikkoman soy sauce and the listed ingredients are water, soybeans, wheat, salt, and alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/26 "2005-03-24T01:20:27Z")
Glutamate is a common amino acid present in many proteins naturally. It wouldn’t be listed as an ingredient since it’s an inherent part of the food. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/27 "2005-03-24T01:46:48Z")
Yes, but there’s a difference between glutamate and monosodium glutamate. I’ve never heard of glutamate reactions. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/28 "2005-03-24T03:03:15Z")
**Shirley** , I’m home now, and I looked up the ingredients on the Better Than Boullion jar in my fridge. > [@](#): > > Ingredients: Roasted beef with concentrated beef stock, salt, hydrolized soy protein, corn syrup solids, sugar, flavoring (dried onion, dried garlic, and spice extractives) Autolyzed yeast extract, dried whey, caramel color I don’t know that I would count on those spice extractives to not have MSG in them. I was suprised to see all the sugar in it too. I still like it though, and it is better than the cubes. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/29 "2005-03-24T04:11:27Z")
Cowgirl, thanks for going the extra step to post that info. ( I know, you were gettin’ a beer anyway…) I appreciate it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/30 "2005-03-24T04:17:48Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > Anybody else ever refer to it as saimin? That’s what I grew up calling it and have never stopped. (referring back to **mack** ’s post about egg-drop ramen.) No, as kids we called it “Kleenex soup” because egg-drop looks like half-disintegrated tissue. I forgot how literal small children are sometimes, though. and when I referred to it as kleenex soup my (then aged three) daughter looked at me in horror and said, “I’m not eating THAT!” ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/31 "2005-03-24T04:26:10Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > Yes, but there’s a difference between glutamate and monosodium glutamate. I’ve never heard of glutamate reactions. MSG is a salt of glutamate. It appears that bound glutamate hasn’t any effect on taste and it’s the free form that does. According to an [FDA paper](http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/msg.html)- > [@](#): > > Some glutamate is in foods in a “free” form. It is only in this free form that glutamate can enhance a food’s flavor. Part of the flavor-enhancing effect of tomatoes, certain cheeses, and fermented or hydrolyzed protein products (such as soy sauce) is due to the presence of free glutamate. The Glutamate Association (I had no idea there was such a thing) has a [chart](http://www.msgfacts.com/chart.html) listing the free glutamte content of some foods. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/32 "2005-03-24T04:32:33Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > It’s a bouillon paste without all the salt. You say that like it’s a bad thing? The salt is the best part of the bouillon! I prefer to not cook my noodles all the way. I bring the water to a boil and then add the noodles and remove from the heat. They are wonderful when they’re still chewy! ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/33 "2005-03-24T04:44:42Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I know, you were gettin’ a beer anyway… Ooh, now that’s just uncanny! Are you in my crisper? (That’d be the drawer right above the beer drawer) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/34 "2005-03-24T04:46:16Z")
Nah…I’ve been a doper too long…it’s either beer, chips or chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/35 "2005-03-24T21:06:24Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > I prefer to not cook my noodles all the way. I bring the water to a boil and then add the noodles and remove from the heat. They are wonderful when they’re still chewy! You might want to invest in a hot-water boiler; they’re pretty common in Asian markets, and essentially keep about a half-gallon of water at near-boiling hot for whatever use you have. You can make instant ramen noodles by putting them in a bowl, then adding the water to them. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/36 "2005-04-21T19:43:59Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Homemade turkey stock cooked down to a glaze. Mmmm. You cook the noodles most of the way in water and then put it in the glaze for the last . . . I’d better stop writing before I drool and short out my keyboard. > > Somewhere there has to be a cookbook titled 101 things to do with ramen noodles. Yup, there is, sort of. [Here.](http://www.a1books.com/cgi-bin/mktSearch?act=showDesc&code=froogle&ISBN=0962633526) ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/37 "2005-04-21T21:10:41Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I am allergic to the MSG in their flavoring packets. (Migraines) I must question whether it’s the MSG to which you’re having a reaction. From **dwyr** ’s [Glutamate Association](http://www.msgfacts.com/safety/msgsafety02.html): > [@](#): > > To further scientific understanding and ensure the safety of MSG, research is under way to test individuals who believe they have reactions to MSG. This research, which monitors symptoms that range from mild and transitory to more severe, continues to find that most people who believe they adversely respond to MSG do not when evaluated in carefully controlled testing situations. > > If you believe you may react to a particular food or ingredient, you should seek a medical diagnosis from a board-certified allergist and not rely on self-diagnosis. A placebo-controlled, double-blind food challenge is the most accurate and reliable method to properly evaluate complaints of food sensitivity. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/38 "2005-04-21T21:28:37Z")
Thanks for the link, Terminus Est. I’m going to check that book out. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/39 "2005-04-21T21:30:48Z")
[Thise site has some good ideas.](http://mattfischer.com/ramen/) ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889/40 "2005-04-21T21:36:56Z")
Trader Joe’s has a delicious spicy thai peanut sauce (I’m sure other places do as well). I cook the noodles, and while they are cooking, I cook up a portion of frozen veggies (whatever floats your boat) and add some seasonings (usually garlic & onion powder, and a little pepper. When the noodles are done, the veggies usually are too, I dump the drained noodles in the pan with the veggies, add a small tin of mushrooms and drizzle with the peanut sauce. MmmmmMmmmmMmmmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodle-soup-flavoring-substitutes-needed/295889.md?page=3)