This bit of advice ran in today’s NY Times, and I’m captured between revulsion and a strange craving. It was offered by Korean chef Roy Choi, who claims it’s “our snack, our PB&J, our bowl of cereal…part of my life forever.”
Okay, so you boil instant ramen the normal way. Take off the heat, crack an egg into the saucepan, do not stir, pull the noodles over the egg and leave for a minute to poach. So far, so good, as far as I am concerned. I often poach an egg in ramen.
Now transfer it all to your serving bowl, adD 1/2 teaspoon BUTTER and two slices AMERICAN CHEESE, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seed, and mix together. Garnish with the sliced green parts of scallions, if desired. “The butter, egg, and cheese coat the noodles and deepen their flavor!”
Yeah, I don’t know, especially about the cheese. Even though I keep sliced real American cheese around for breakfast egg-and-cheese sandwiches, NOT Kraft slices.
When I was a kid living in Korea we would break up the noodles in the wrapper then open up the spice packet and dump it over the broken noodles and shake the bag to mix. It was the best popcorn ever. Unfortunately, I ate too much and it swole up in my intestines and I became impacted and was hospitalized for a week to get me pooping again. I still eat it occasionally as a treat though and itsmy favorite way to eat ultra spicy ramen
I use the noodles for noodles in other dishes without the packet pretty regularly. Nothing about the description of the dish you mentioned included the packet. It’s mostly salt and MSG with a touch of other flavors, anyway. Salt to taste.
My mom used to crack an egg into her bowl of ramen and I’ve seen that offered in ramen restaurants as well as butter ramen. The cheese makes sense since most of the Korean ramyeon I see in the stores are spicy (vs the plainer, not spicy broth of most Japanese ramen) and the cheese helps tame the spice as dairy products help cool down the heat from peppers. Yes, I know American cheese has very little actual cheese in it!
I suspect it’s probably derived from cheese tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes in a spicy sauce).
Honestly, that sounds pretty good to me. I’ve been lunching on the Korean Samyang 2x spicy chicken ramen for the last few weeks here, but I wouldn’t mind a milder change of pace with some American cheese and butter.
It depends on what type of ramen or ramyeon you’re eating. As I posted above, most Korean ramyeon packets are chili spicy and Japanese ramen packets are usually based on dashi (from boiled seaweed and bonito flakes) with shrimp, chicken or beef enhancements.
I rarely eat dried ramen, not because of the sodium in the flavor packets, but because of the calories of the noodles (which are flash fried to get to the state they’re in). One package of noodles is ~350-500 calories. The nutritional info on the back fudges that by stating there’s 2 servings in a package. Umm…okay. I’m not health conscious in any sense, but since I usually eat at least two packets in one sitting, I’ll get my 1000 calorie meal from something else!
Fortunately, in Hawaii we have frozen saimin (a local version of traditional ramen) that has ~200 calories per bag/serving.
>sigh< This again. American cheese IS ACTUAL CHEESE. What you have to watch out for is “cheese food” or “cheese product” - THAT is not actual cheese but cheese-flavored goo. Here’s an easy tip off: if the slices have to be individually wrapped to avoid melding into a solid mass it’s not cheese. If the slices can be up against each other and still retain their identity as individual slices then it’s cheese.
Either way, though - I don’t like the texture of melted cheese so no, I wouldn’t eat what’s described in the OP. Although I often take ramen noodles, throw away the included “flavor” packet (which is to soup what “cheese product” is to cheese), use my own broth/bullion, and add a handful or two of vegetables. I just don’t like cheese in soups.
If you’re looking for an alternative to the traditional Japanese dashi packet included in the bag, check out Hon Dashi which has way less sodium and is the base for many Japanese broths and soups. Be aware that it does contain MSG, but so do most of the packets included in the ramen bags.
Honestly, for those not used to it, it pretty powerful with its strong fishy odor. Similar to flake fish food, which it’s actually similar to since the main ingredients are bonito flakes and seaweed.
It’s really a soup base which you add other ingredients to enhance the flavors. I usually add a few shakes of the ramen packet to add to the flavor. Be careful when using it as there’s a fine line between it being subtle and overpowering!
If you’ve had miso soup or clear soup at a Japanese restaurant, that subtle seafood flavor is dashi, though hopefully fresh made and not prepackaged.
Just realized. My idea of ramen broth is probably different from what a lot of you may be used to. To me, ramen broth is either seafood flavored, with a slightly strong fish or shrimp and seaweed flavor, pork bone (tonkotsu) flavor or shoyu (soy sauce) flavor. To me, the chicken and beef broth flavors in cup noodles and packaged ramen isn’t what I think as ramen broth, though there are ramen restaurants that do offer chicken and beef broths.
Here’s a video of one of my favorite YouTubers, Bubbly (Bo Young) proudly having her first taste of “cheez” in a can with her super spicy ramen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW1tX0uXKvU.
I’m not Korean and can only reference what I see on Korean TV shows, but Amercian Cheese (i.e. processed cheese) is likely the choice*, especially since natural cheese isn’t likely a big seller as most Asians are lactose intolerant to a certain degree. Personally, I sometimes get slight hives when I eat natural cheese.
*A holdover from the Korean War along with Spam and Americano coffee, which is supposedly an even more watered down version than what you get at Starbucks.
If you’ve got a source for the ingredients (I use Whole Foods, so it’s easier than it used to be) making your own dashi is about as hard/easy as making a cup of tea. A basic recipe is konbu (dried kelp), dried shiitake mushrooms, and bonito flakes. If that’s too fishy for you, just use konbu and mushrooms.
Yes, but that is not legally cheese even in America. That’s why it’s “cheese product”. Although I can see how it became known as “American cheese” aboard.
My point being there is, in fact, an actual cheese called “American cheese” which greatly resembles but isn’t exactly cheddar.
“Processed cheese” is, actually, cheese and it’s NOT what “Kraft Singles” are, or Velveeta, or cheese in a can - those three are all “cheese product”. Nor is “processed cheese” limited to the US - Laughing Cow (La Vache qui Rit) is a French processed cheese which has been made in France since the 1920’s.
Processed cheese, being real cheese, contains lactose, casein, and all those other dairy proteins and sugars that can be problematic. If you are lactose intolerant you should stay away from processed cheese. At least if you’re reading labels in the US.
Cheese product is a different story, and may contain little to no actual dairy or cheese. And then there is “vegan cheese” which, needless to say, is NOT a dairy product nor is it cheese. It is cheese like, but it is not cheese.
I’m still confused about “American Cheese”, but here’s an article with a video from Roy Choi demonstrating and explaining his recipe. Note that the cheese slices are shiny and the edges are beveled like Kraft Singles.
The article explains that: “The reason for this [Korean’s taste for cheese] is that American soldiers stationed in Korea during the Korean War received “cheap, fatty rations that weren’t easily perishable” — including processed American cheese slices [Whatever that may be].” - My bold and notations
To my understanding, all cheese in the U.S. must be made with pasturized milk, so that isn’t the the issue, but sometimes when I eat certain types of cheese not from the dairy aisle, but from the deli or gourmet section, I get slight hives. Heat it up and I’m fine. This happened more often as a child when Woolworths and Sears would often have huge blocks of cheese on display with sample cubes.
I riff on raman with eggs, but no cheese. I usually add in some green onions and perhaps some other veg, bonne herbes, and miso and use very little of the provided flavor packet. I dump the whole egg in and then break the yolk and stir like crazy. It becomes like egg drop soup: silky from the yolk and then all the bits of the while cling to the noodles.
I considered buying (mucho expensivo) individual bags of bonito, konbu, and dried mushrooms, and making my own dashi. Then I read that hardly anyone in Japan still makes their own dashi, and bought a jar of Hondashi like all the other freaks worldwide.
I also buy Tom Yum in a jar, for quick Thai soups.
And I suspect it’s what Koreans are using when they say American Cheese