Ramen Noodles - Favorite Additions

[calla0413]

My mother was great at seriously doctoring up a boring, plain package of ramen noodles and turning into a culinary work of art. Even as an adult, every once in a while, I have to make my own version of doctored up ramen noodles. I know I am not alone. I have seen other Hounders elude to their own versions of ramen noodles. Come on, share your ramen noodle secrets with us.

Here is my current favorite:
1 package of Maruchen Chicken Flavored Ramen
1 egg
2 frozen potstickers
1 green onion
1 tbs. of Franks Hot Sauce

All eaten with a side of kimchi.

[jill kibler]

grated or cubed cheese and peanuts in the bottom of the bowl. pour the noodles and soup over and wait for the cheese to melt. if i don't have cheese, good yougurt is great mixed into the broth.

the korean kim chi style has a real kick.

peace, jill

[K K]

For me and millions of Hong Kong expats (and those with roots in HK) grew up eating Nissin Demae, a Japanese brand of I would say the defacto instant noodle.

The chicken Nissin Demae is an all time favorite. Usually I just toss in supermarket or Chinatown deli Cantonese bbq (cha siu) or roast duck for a quick fix with it.

But HK style cafes (in Hong Kong) are great at re-inventing this dish, from stir frying Nissin Demae noodles with XO sauce and spam to pork liver soup base (with pork liver slices).

[fuuchan]

1 egg - it must be soft poached with the yolk still runny. The ramen we usually have in this house (eaten sparingly and in the event there is nothing else to eat) is usually too assertively and complexly flavored to add anything else to it. No nuclear neon yellow broths here.

The egg is probably the only consistent addition, for less complex soups, like instant udon, I may add shrimp, scallions and Chinese cabbage, or fish balls, squid balls, beef balls, etc.

[krisrishere]

While the water is coming to a boil add thinly sliced red jalapenos and mushrooms. Cook the chicken flavored ramen. Once in your bowl add a tablespoon of cilantro, green onion, 1-2 drops sesame oil, 2 lime wedges and a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce. YUM.

[burritobelle]

I also like to scramble an egg into the broth to make it like egg flower soup. If I have it in the house: cubes of firm tofu, chopped scallions, straw mushrooms, slices of fish cake and a squirt of sriracha.

[Chew on That]

Here is how I make my ramen. I cook the noodles in water and then strain and then just pour half the seasoning package onto the noodles and eat! I hate to admit it but I love it like this. I add hot sauce sometimes. I buy Maruchan chicken flavor too.

[KaimukiMan]

you might want to try pan frying the noodles after draining, almost like you would fry rice, some spam, ham, egg, frozen veggies, whatever. I'm getting hungry.

[porker]

I agree, cook the noodles in plain water, strain, fry in hot pan to crunch up the edges, add the seasoning pack to the dried, fried noodles, and whatever else - ohhh, a dab of oyster sauce.

[tastycakes]

i had a vietnamese roommate once and he taught me all kinds of tricks with asian ramen, in the foil packets. my favorite combo was asparagus, garlic, egg, cilantro, green onion, lemon, and sriracha. sometimes we added tomato if it was around.

[RealMenJulienne]

Please please don't eat Maruchan Ramen, as it is really the worst variety! Any random pack of noodle you find at the local Asian food store will be far better. I think Tung-I beef flavor is an excellent palette for experimentation.

Your add ins sound delicious though. I'd not thought to put potstickers in there before. I like to add:

Chinese beef meatballs, or rou4 wan2
Chopped Napa cabbage
Scallion cut into long strips
One egg, right at the end of cooking, so each bite of noodles is coated with runny yolk
Sriracha

On a related note, when I was a child my dad told me eating one pack of noodles would shut down my immune system for 15 minutes. When I get the obligatory sodium headache/slight nausea after eating these I wonder if there isn't some folk truth to that.

[katkoupai]

--Thinly sliced red onion or thinly sliced green onion (or both)

Sometimes, I'll add very thinly sliced fresh mushrooms. :)

My favorite brand is actually Korean (I think?)-- it's spicy and comes in it's own bowl. The lid is red.

I have also added cooked grean beans to it-- very good.

I would like to add thinly sliced green cabbage to it. I think that will be great. :)

[pattisue]

If I don't have leftover chicken, beef, or pork, then I take three flash frozen chicken tenders from the freezer, season & slice them up and throw them in. They cook very quickly, along with the noodles. Then I add frozen peas and a big squeeze of sriracha. The potsticker idea sounds good, too. Oh, and I use the Sapporo Ichiban brand (chicken flavor) more often than not.

[justagthing]

I do like so many others, but the only thing I am going to add that I haven't seen yet is frozen green peas and/or frozen corn.

[Whosyerkitty]

I add frozen peas. Well, actually, I put them in the bowl and dump the soup (often with other things added) in, the heat thaws them do they are warm but still firm. Have used beaten egg many times, but now I have to try that poached thing. Maybe right NOW.

[hannaone]

Drop the egg(s) in just before ramen is done. DO NOT STIR. When done egg is runny yolk with solid white - soft boiled without the shell. Spam/hotdog or both. sliced onion. green onion, mandu, dried anchovy, ddeok, and cheddar cheese. All in Shin Ramen of course.

[Trufflebaby]

I started eating them when we were living in Hawaii - that was about 25 years ago and haven't stopped since.

I didn't think anyone else ate this with other things added in! Happy to hear I'm not alone !!

I love them w. chopped vidalia onions, water drained, 1/2 seasoning packet mixed in, hot sauce and a little honey mustard! I have also been known to add chopped fat free hot dogs to them as well!

I think they are being discontinued at Stop & Shop where I usually pick them up - Does anyone know where else they can be found ??

[goldenroxy]

i love adding ingredients to my noodles. i usually buy the Japanese brand. i forget the name, but it's in the bright green and white package. it's very similar to roman. this may be odd but i love scrambling an egg and making it into a egg flour noodle soup.

[grishnackh]

In college I loved to pour off almost all the broth after the noodles were cooked, then add one or two raw eggs, and stir until the eggs were cooked through, scrambled into little bits. So good!

[bkhuna]

Spam, green onions and loads of chili oil.

[cherrylime]

crunchy peanut butter and hot sauce and scallions..

[katkoupai]

What does the peanut butter do? This sounds interesting...

[amyvc]

there was a long post on this a while back. you should do a search for "ramen noodles."

[calla0413]

Oh my goodness! I've found my long lost cousins! Hot dogs, Spam...I thought I was alone.

LMAO

[SomeRandomIdiot]

a fried egg, some fried spam and raw scallions

[bitsubeats]

i forgot about fried spam! thats good and so are chopped up hot dogs.

[SomeRandomIdiot]

i fry hot dogs when im out of spam.

[dty]

That is the credited response.

[drgnflychic]

I like to put pepper jack cheese in mine and let it get all meltey and gooey, yum!

I love Ramen.

There is a website that has some cool recipes on it, and some not so cool ones, like Inmate Ramen. haha

http://mattfischer.com/ramen/

[choctastic]

i found a cache of ramen in the pantry so have been eating it. not my favorite thing in the world but hey it's edible. my sis taught me to poach an egg next to the noodles and in the time it takes to cook the noodles, the egg is perfectly poached with firm whites and runny yolk. also, i mince green onions and throw that in, and add whatever vegetable is avail. today it was green beans. i guess i would add kimchi too but if it's good kimchi i'll just eat that straight. cubed tofu sounds good, i'll try to find some in the fridge for lunch tomorrow.

[GurglingStomach]

An egg, green onions, and japanese or korean fishcakes or fishballs.

http://damnedgoodfood.blogspot.com

[bitsubeats]

how about putting the kimchi INTO the ramen? I do that with shin ramen. I also add an egg raw at the end or I swirl it in while its on the stove.

I also add korean ddeok (oval rice cakes)
frozen mandu
kamaboko or other fish cakes
sliced green onions

[MsDiPesto]

I sometimes sprinkle additional chicken boullion powder into the broth. Yes, I know a lot of people only use half of the little package that comes with the ramen, but I like salt.

[kristyn]

I think I have a new pregnancy craving. Thanks.

[dagoose]

Wow, did you grow up in my house? we do the egg, the potstickers and the green onion, also the kim chi, but instead of frank's we use Yank Sing's sauce (I get it shipped to seattle from the restaurant in SF) Its perfect for ramen.
That and a diet coke, and I need no other food in my life.

[calla0413]

That's only my version. My mother's is much more elaborate than mine. When I was in elementary school I went to a friend's house for lunch and I saw ramen noodles on the counter. I was so excited then, I realized, oh wait, why didn't she put an egg in or wait.......just noodles and broth? Real shock to the system.

My mother's favorite additions:

green onions
zucchini
a touch of sesame oil
tofu cubed
kimchi
some leftover pork
korean hot pepper

Takes ramen to whole new level!