When the economy takes a turn for the worse, one of the first things we all do is start cutting our food budgets. One of the cheapest foods available is ramen noodles, with a single pack costing as little as ten cents. Ramen has developed a stigma for being quick, college student budget food, but with a few added ingredients and changes in preparation, ramen can be a delicious lunch or dinner time treat!
My top five tips to easy gourmet ramen!
5) The Bare Necessities
Number five in my list is all about amplifying the flavor already available in ramen seasoning. When preparing ramen, most people use much more water than necessary, turning the dish into a soup. Indeed, most packages instruct the user to do so. Instead of preparing a soup, I like to prepare something closer to fried noodles. First, boil the ramen as normal until it is tender and ready to eat. Next, drain all but a few ounces of water from the pan using a strainer to catch the noodles. With a little bit of water left in the pan, return to the stove and mix in the seasoning. Once the seasoning is dissolved, mix in the noodles. Keep the stove on med-high heat and lightly fry the noodles. Don’t fry for too long – the noodles should still retain some moisture. Serve in a bowl and enjoy! You should notice that the ramen’s sauce is thicker and richer than the soup you may be used to, and the flavor will be more intense. Now let’s start adding some ingredients of our own to makes some true gourmet ramen…
4) Eggs to the Rescue
One of the easiest and best ingredients to add to ramen is scrambled eggs! This dish is prepared fast and the taste and texture of the eggs adds whole other dimension to an otherwise simple dish. Prepare the ramen as you prefer – as a soup or as I described in idea number five. The eggs should be cooked and scrambled in a separate pan. When you’ve finished cooking the ramen as usual, just add the cooked eggs and mix in! For an extra special treat, melt a slice or two of cheese into the mix (this works best with noodles prepared as idea number five). The cheese adds an extra, creamy kick to the entire dish. Enjoy! Now, let’s try for some healthy ramen gourmet with idea number three…
3) Vegetable Toppers
This idea works great with a soupy style ramen dish. Prepare the ramen as per the instructions on the package. Serve the ramen in a large bowl with a lot of hot soup. Now it’s time to add your fresh vegetables. Popular additions to ramen in Japan include bean sprouts, corn, green onions (negi), and thin carrot slices. Experimenting with other fresh and cooked vegetables is part of the fun with this style of ramen dish, so don’t be afraid to think outside the box and have fun! Talk about easy gourmet, but wait until you see the idea at number two…
2) Ramen Salad
Ramen salad is a unique, delicious twist on ramen and pasta salad! Cook the ramen as usual, but be sure that it has a slightly more undercooked quality than usual to keep the noodles firm. For this idea, you will not need the spice that came with the ramen, so feel free to toss it out. Let the ramen cool after cooking. From there, you simply replace the regular noodles in your favorite pasta salad recipes with the ramen! I find that ramen salads work best with clear, light dressings like italian. Fresh vegetables like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and olives go well with the noodles. This is one of the best ways to make ramen into a gourmet side dish, but with idea number one you can make a great ramen gourmet dish that the whole family will love…
1) Ramen Yaki Soba
Finally, my favorite ramen dish! For this idea, you’ll boil the ramen noodles as usual. In a separate pan, fry strips of beef and cabbage. When the noodles are cooked, drain them completely. Add the seasoning to the cabbage and beef, then stir in the noodles. I highly recommend beef or oriental flavoring for this dish for the most authentic yaki soba taste. Keep the heat high as you stir fry the beef, cabbage, and noodles for several minutes. The amount of ramen, beef, and cabbage can be adjusted to taste and of course depending on how many people will be served. I personally like to to make roughly 1/4 pound of beef strips and 1/4 head of cabbage for each two packages of ramen. This dish does well as both a main and side course.
Well, that does it for my top five easy gourmet ramen ideas! I hope you try some of these out and I really hope I’ve inspired you to look at ramen a bit differently! Experiment with your own recipes; ramen is a cheap, flexible start to many fun and interesting meals!
