How to go from instant ramen to gourmet meal? [closed]

Question

I'm looking for some common (or not so common) ingredients that you add to your instant ramen to make it a little closer to a full-blown meal.

Answer 1

I use thin chopped bacon slices(uncooked) as a flavoring agent. Also drop 1-2 eggs in there and stir, this adds texture.

I normally stir-fry some chopped steak on the side and dump in the ramen afterwards. I don't use the seasoning pack that comes with the ramen. For flavoring, I use ponzu sauce, soy sauce and vinegar mixed with garlic powder.

Here's my process with photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinny76/sets/72157607170272817/

Final step:

Answer 2

1. Throw away the flavoring packet

2. After you empty the ramen out, put peanut butter, soy sauce, a bit of chili oil and a bit of water in the pot, and heat and stir it just enough that the peanut butter melts. You could also add some scallions or other veggies at this point (frozen peas are especially good!) Now add the noodles back into the pot and toss enough to coat them in the sauce. Yum.

Answer 3

Drop in an egg in the last bit of cooking. The egg will cook quickly, and it's a good way to add some protein.

Also try adding in some scallions, random veggies, and maybe some hot sauce if you want to spice it up a bit.

Answer 4

A comment on the dropping of egg. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Stir the hot soup in a circular motion to get the soup in the outer portion of the pot moving quickly and steadily. Continue stirring while pouring a small stream of egg into the pot near the edge where the broth is moving most quickly. This the technique for chinese soups with ribbons of egg, like egg drop and hot and sour and will guarantee no large clumps of egg.

Answer 5

Any vegtable you'd like in soup, just make sure you cook it a little bit before you drop it in the ramen pot, since they'll need a bit more time to cook than the noodles.

Carrots and celery fit well with the standard flavors of the ramen.

Answer 6

Some good ideas here that I will have to try, but I like mine for simplicity and cost.

1. Bring the water up to a good boil. Drop in two eggs, stirring after each one. You get a kind of "egg drop" effect. Throw in the seasoning packets. I like to add a shot of cayenne as well, for extra heat.

2. Once the water is up to a boil again, add in 1/2-1 cup of frozen veggies. I like the peas/corn/carrots/etc. mix you can get at any supermarket. I recommend rinsing them in a colander before adding to the boiling water, otherwise the soup will be cloudy (but still good).

3. Once water is at a boil again, it's time to add the ramen as a final step. Cook for maybe two minutes, then remove from heat.

No chopping. No mixing. If you use the cheap ramen, your overall gourmet super ramen price is still under a dollar. But I like to use the better Korean ramen packets.

Answer 7

My veggie add-ins are mushrooms, broccoli, or baby bok choi, none of which require precooking (as long as you're ok with slightly crunchy broccoli). At the end I'll add an egg, as other people have suggested.

After cooking but still on the stove, stir in a healthy spoonful of miso paste. It adds wonderful deep flavour and a nice texture.

Once it's in the bowl, sprinkle chopped green onions and/or dried seaweed - wakame is perfect for this.

The result is a bowl of ramen that looks and tastes like something you'd get in a restaurant, prepared in the same time as the basic instant ramen!

Answer 8

I like to cook shrimp ramen, strain off all of the water, and then add some alfredo sauce.

Answer 9

Add veggies and meat or tofu, black pepper or chili oil, an egg: in short, anything you like or happen to have on hand!

Answer 10

When boiling the ramen add 1/2 a knorr stock cube.

Then fry slices of spicy Italian sausage with some mushrooms, garlic and chilli and add to noodles. A dash of sesame oil is nice too.

Answer 11

As a college student, I would occasionally combine it with a can of chili to improve both. The chili-flavored seasoning packet goes well with it, but most other flavors are a bit off.

Answer 12

I like boiling the ramen noodles, draining them, then adding to a mixture of browned ground-beef and spicy baked beans. Great warm dish for a cold day.

They also taste good with teriyaki sauce, beef or chicken, and 1 or 2 vegetables.

Answer 13

Buy yourself a "Benriner Japanese Mandolin". After cooking ramen, thinly slice some onion on top. The same goes for other vegetables (radishes are particularly good). Also, you can freeze some meat, thinly slice it on the mandolin and add it just prior to serving: paper thin beef will cook almost instantly.

I sometimes cook ramen in homemade stock, usually dashi.

Answer 14

You can treat it like Pho, and add other thinly sliced items (bok choy or other cabbage or dark green, onion, mushrooms, meat). or even some thawed previously frozen shrimp (and even sliced hot dogs occassionally).

I'll also make a stir-fry, add a bit of water, throw on a brick of ramen, slap a lid on it and then let it steam for three minutes 'til the ramen's softened.

Answer 15

I always add grated cheese to the ramen and diced hard-boiled egg. It is so good. And this way you can still prepare the ramen how you would normally prepare it. For instance I add the noodles, powder, and cheese to a bowl. Then cover with boiling water and cover the bowl til done. Then finally add the eggs and mix. So good!

Answer 16

Nice question; a lot of great recipes in this answer!

This sounds a little strange, but I used to:

1. Prepare the ramen like normal
2. Put a colander over a bowl and separate the noodles from the broth
3. Toast two pieces of bread
4. Put the noodles between the two pieces of bread and dip it in the bowl of broth

Answer 17

I enjoy instant ramen by cooking it as directed, draining th broth, mashing up saltines and mixingthem together with mayo. This way you can eat it as it is, as a sandwich, or with crackers.