Seven Days of Ramen
by Baylee Shaw
When COVID-19 hit in December of 2019, people were freaking out. No one knew the severeness or how long it would last. Come March 2020, the first stay at home order was issued. When this order was issued, grocery store shelves emptied faster than ever before. One of the first items to go was instant ramen.
One time or another, instant ramen becomes a staple for everyone. Whether you're lower on money, or you just enjoy the taste, it has probably been in your pantry. One thing that people don’t realize is that there are so many different things that you can do to dress up ramen.
It’s no longer debating whether you drain the water, or leave it in before you put in the flavor packet. Now people are discovering that there all sorts of things that you can do with the 25 cent pack.
After asking around and searching the internet, I have discovered and cooked seven different instant ramen recipes. Some are sweet and savory while others have a spice. Below are all seven with short instructions for each so that you can be the judge. Take on one recipe each day of the week, or make them all in one day like I did! Just remember, even if there aren’t specific measurements for these recipes, always measure with your heart. If you want an extra tablespoon of butter then do it. The sizzle will be worth it.
1.Eggs Noodles & Cheese
This is a family favorite. I have been eating this since I was a child. It is my go-to meal when I am sick. The directions are very simple. Crush the noodles… do not leave them as a block. Once you’ve crushed the noodles you can boil as normal. When the noodles are finished cooking, drain the water in and add the flavor packet. I prefer chicken or beef flavoring, but you can choose your favorite! Once the packet is in, add scrambled eggs and your favorite type of cheese and boom! You’ve got yourself a meal.
2.TikTok Inspired
Next on the list was the famous TikTok ramen. I have been aching to try this after seeing multiple videos of this recipe on my feed. You’re going to take a saucepan and put in one tablespoon of butter. Add any amount of garlic to your liking. Then soy sauce followed by crushed red pepper and about ¼ cup of brown sugar. You’re going to stir it from here and let is simmer until a sauce forms and then add cooked noodles! Once the noodles are added, crack an egg in there and stir it up until cooked. Serve and top with everything but the bagel seasoning. This was the perfect mix of savory, sweet and spicy!
3.Instant Alfredo
As a chicken alfredo lover myself, I HAD to try this recipe. It is extremely easy and so worth it. In a saucepan, heat up butter, garlic, and heavy cream. Once this comes to a small boil, add in parmesan. Yes, you can even use the one in the bottle that sprinkles out, but I prefer a good freshly grated parmesan. Once this thickens, add black pepper and spices of your choice. I added paprika, cayenne pepper and onion powder. This all only took about five minutes. I then added a pack of cooked noodles and stirred! Chicken is totally optional on this one, but it definitely gives you a good source of added protein.
4. Stir Fry
If anyone follows me on social media, they know that I make a MEAN looking stir-fry. It is my signature dish! I was very excited to see someone make a stir fry from instant ramen. There are SO many different ways that you can put together a stir fry, but my personal favorite involves lots of veggies, garlic and cayenne pepper. For the one shown, I only had carrots and broccoli for vegetables so I took it and ran! Normally, my favorite stir fry vegetables would be green beans, broccoli and zucchini, but sometimes we just gotta use what we got! Here I cut up some onion and garlic and sautéed it with olive oil and the vegetables. Once the broccoli got to the desired softness, I added my sauce. Listen, you can be fancy and make your own stir fry sauce, but if I’m making ramen or any type of stir fry, then I’m not looking for more effort. I use the bottled version of Panda Express Kung Pao sauce. It is my favorite for flavor. I also added in onion power, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic pepper. Once I finish the vegetables I stirred in the noodles and topped it with beef and sesame seeds.
5. PB Thai
This one I had really high hopes for. I have seen so many videos and social media posts about putting peanut butter in ramen. I tried my best to combine a bunch of my own thoughts to create this recipe. For this one I started out with coconut milk and added red curry paste, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, and honey. I stirred in all of these until combined and it made a thick broth. I then added in a beef instant ramen packet. Once I finished this I boiled the noodles in that broth. I think this is what really did the trick for me. I was going for a Pad Thai kind of flavor. Once the noodles were cooked I served in a bowl and garnished it with cilantro and limes.
6.French Onion Ramen
This is what honestly made me decide on anything related to instant ramen recipes. Back when quarantine started I looked up on YouTube “instant ramen recipes” and this video came up. One of the recipes includes a French onion soup ramen and I’ve truly been thinking about it ever since. Now was my time to shine. I followed the video pretty closely, but in short terms here it is. First you slice up an entire onion(or two, or three). You will cook these in a saucepan with butter until they are caramelized. This takes at least 15-20 minutes usually. Once these are caramelized, I added 2.5 cups of water and then my chicken flavor packet. You can totally do beef, or whatever flavor you like. Once That was mixed, I added my block of noodles. I let them boil until ready. When the noodles were cooked, I served them in a bowl and topped them with Monterey jack cheese. I would have preferred gruyere, but unfortunately not all of us can find that on one trip to the store.
7. Instant Ramen Ramen
I really don’t have a name besides ramen for this one. This is exactly what I think of when I hear someone say that they got ramen somewhere. I like to call this my fancy instant ramen. I started off with garlic, the sauce packet, and onion. I sauteed until browned. Then I added 2.5 cups of water, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic pepper. This is when you decide how much broth you like. Once that’s done, cook your noodles in the broth you made. When the noodles are cooked, add it to a bowl and top with your favorite ramen toppings. I used backed brussels sprouts, bean sprouts, green onion, a soft boiled egg and beef. The taste of this is so similar to the bowl I get at Ramen Tatsuya, only about $15 cheaper!
"A surprising mix of sweet,salty and spicy"