How To Easily Make Cheap Ramen More Tasty

There are more than a few ways to make cheap food into something delicious. With just a few extra steps, the classic packaged ramen can be one of those.

Source: Nissin Foods.

How do you make something like packaged ramen have a better taste? For those low on budget, like college students, the sight of packaged ramen is a familiar one. Most of them are anywhere from 99 cents for a single package to $2.39 for a package of six in one. The most common varieties are chicken, beef, shrimp, and soy sauce (the latter occasionally being labeled as oriental flavor). It’s simple food that’s easy to cook—just boil some water, heat the prepackaged noodles, and dump in the flavor packet for a quick meal. They are a surprisingly tasty food. Just because something is tasty on its own, however, doesn’t mean that it can’t be spiced up for a more enjoyable eating experience. Nor does it even necessarily need to be expensive. 

1. The Spice of Ramen is Spices

Source: Jessica Gavin.

Most of us have at least a few spices that we keep around the house and those spices are great additions to packaged ramen. Once the flavor packet has been mixed into the broth is the ideal time to add in the extra flavor offered by your spice rack. One of the best additions is a spice that is common to almost every household: pepper. You can add this as liberally or excessively as you so choose—it’s all based on your own palette. 

If you are looking for a spicier experience, a popular addition to ramen noodles is paprika. Other options for the spicy inclined are chili flakes or Sichuan pepper flakes. The limit is only what you have in your own kitchen, and what you personally prefer to eat. 

2. Add Some Vegetables to Your Ramen

Source: Freshpoint.

There is a variety of vegetables that you can add to the ramen soup broth that will make it more palatable. One of the most common can be seen in the picture above, the green onion. Slice the onion off the end of the stalk after cooking your ramen package, then add the onions to the broth after mixing in the flavor packet. 

Similarly, you can use vegetables such as sliced mushrooms, diced peppers, spinach, and carrots. Many vegetables sticking around your crisper or your freezer would work well in these broths—if you have a variety of frozen vegetables, for example, frozen peas will work well. These are all best to be added after the flavor packet, like with the green onions. If you add them sooner, it may result in the vegetables becoming withered and soggy while the water boils. 

It is best to experiment to decide which vegetables work best for you in which broth, as well as deciding which way you would prefer it to be cut. Many like their vegetables sliced thin in ramen noodles, however, others prefer large chunks. Try both ways out and see which you prefer!

3. Ramen Packet Flavor and Meat Types

Source: RecipeTin Japan.

One of the easiest ways to make tastier ramen may be that isn’t immediately as cheap as the other option, which is to add meat. Most ramens, outside of the soy sauce and chili flavors, are based on some form of meat stock. To save on expenses, it is not recommended to go out of your way to purchase meat just to enhance your packaged ramen. Rather, focus on the meats you may already have in your freezer. See if you have the right meat immediately available rather than going out of your way. 

Each meat should stick to the broth flavor that they are for. For example, it would be best to use thinly sliced beef for ramen with a beef flavor packet. Fry up the slices of beef, chicken, and pork and place them on top of your ramen after mixing in the flavor packet. For the more skilled chef, it is possible to cook the meat by slicing it very thin and placing it in the heated broth. In about a minute, the heat of the broth should cook the meat. It is advised to use the frying method rather than the broth heated method if you are not confident in your skills at slicing meat, as this method requires extremely thin slices of meat. 

4. Egg on Your Face, Egg in My Ramen Soup

Source: Reddit

Finally is the option of eggs. Many traditional ramen dishes in Japan use eggs as an ingredient, and many ways have been found in how to use eggs. Easily the most popular is the soft-boiled egg option. Once your ramen is prepared, prepare a soft-boiled egg, and slice it in half. Place that egg on top of the ramen for a quick, easy, and tasty garnish to the final product. For those who do not care for soft-boiled eggs, this can be done with hard-boiled eggs as well, though it is not as common. 

Source: Saunder's Eggs.

Another option is the egg drop method. While boiling the water for your ramen, crack an egg into the water and let the water cook it while mixing in the ramen noodles. Be sure to add the noodles in quickly afterward, to avoid the egg overcooking while using this method. This allows the egg to be part of the soup rather than a garnish and is a tasty yet cheap alternative to the abovementioned method of using thin-sliced meat. 

Ramen truly is delicious food. With a little extra effort, anyone can make it even tastier—even when it’s coming out of a cheap 99 cent package. There’s nothing not to love about food that is cheap, efficient, and tasty. Especially when it has such a wide array of ways to customize it to be even more appetizing. 

A writer located in the lush Redwood forests of Northern California who loves animation and food.

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