April 28, 2020
The other day, my boyfriend said he was going to make some “fancy” ramen. I love ramen, and I assumed it would be good, but little did I know he was about to make one of the best ramen dishes I’ve ever eaten. The ramen was similar to a chow mein dish, and he made it with ingredients that most people already have in their households. If you are a poor college student like me who loves food and anything cheap, try out this recipe! See the end of the article for additional ways to spice up your ramen.
For this recipe, you’ll need four packets of ramen, vegetable of choice (we used onions and cabbage, but sliced carrots, peppers, or whatever else you like is fine), protein of choice (we used frozen chicken), oil of choice (we used olive oil) and teriyaki sauce or the ingredients to make a similar sauce (soy sauce, cornstarch and honey).
Cook the ramen as you normally would, boiling it for three-four minutes. Do not add the flavor packets. Pro tip (because I am clearly a professional): save the flavor packets to add to proteins or other recipes later!
Drain the noodles and set them aside.
Add some oil and your protein to the pan. Cook on medium heat until the chicken is cooked through. Add the vegetables and sauté for five minutes or until they are cooked to the consistency you like.
Lastly, add the noodles back to the pan and mix all the ingredients together. Add some teriyaki sauce, or if you do not have any on hand, make your own by combining 1/4 cup soy sauce, one-half cup water, one tablespoon cornstarch and 4-5 tablespoons of honey. I personally like to lather my noodles in sauce but add however much you like.
There are also a few other easy ways you can take your basic ramen game up a notch. Add an egg to it! Eggs are even more versatile than ramen. Top your ramen with a fried egg, add some halved boiled eggs to the dish or mix in some scrambled eggs.
Add vegetables, and for extra protein, add meat. For a vegetarian option, add some tofu.
Take your broth game to the next level by adding soy sauce or sriracha to it, or even swap out your broth entirely for miso soup.
Honestly, the possibilities are endless, and you can customize your ramen egg-xactly how you like it. For real, I am not eggs-aggerating. Plus, ramen is a great food to experiment with as it is one of the most affordable food items in the grocery store.
So, get cookin’ (or should I say crackin’), and see what kind of fancy ramen ideas you can come up with.