You’ve Never Eaten Ramen Noodles Like this Before
Ramen is popular for multiple reasons. For one, it’s cheap. Secondly, it’s pretty filling. And third, it really does the trick when you only have ten minutes to make a delicious lunch. Sure, it’s not the most nutritional thing you have at home, but it can really get you by when you’re in a pinch.
Many people assume that ramen is simply a square chunk of noodles with a small, silver packet of chicken flavoring. And while they’re kind of right, they’re also very, very wrong.
Here are a few interesting ways that you can take your pack of ramen to the next level.
You’ll be abandoning your flavor packet for this odd treat. All you need are some dried cranberries, sliced almonds, dried raisins, sunflower seeds, a bit of oil, and a crushed up packet of Top Ramen. You’ll saute your dried ramen until it’s brown and crispy. After cooling them off, add them into a bag with the rest of your dry ingredients, and you’re good to go!
2. Ramen and Salsa
It sounds really gross, I know. But it won’t kill you, unless you break off a ramen chunk that’s large enough to be a choking hazard. While I wouldn’t serve this at parties, I would attempt it if I ran out of Tostitos, and was feeling desperate. Or, if I was still an undergrad.
There’s no picture, since I’m pretty sure people are too ashamed to photograph their sad memories of ramen and salsa. Honestly, that makes me want to try this food adventure just a little bit more.
This recipe takes an hour, so at least it won’t feel like ramen is your base food. In this recipe, your cooked ramen will serve as a top layer to a delicious, beefy casserole dish that also incorporates sweet corn – and if you’re feeling creative, you can add other veggies to the mix. It’s easy to make, and will give your noodles a whole new purpose.
If you have 25 minutes, you have enough time to whip up a batch of ramen alfredo, which include the pork flavored version of Top Ramen. Heavy cream, butter, and a little bit of parmesan cheese make up a creamy sauce, and some minced parsley leaves add a bit more flavor. This is a great dish, since a lot can be added onto it (like ham) to make quite the meal.
If you don’t want delivery, or DiGiorno, this is an interested contender in the pizza category. Since all simple ingredients can be turned into a pizza, you should have expected this one.
This recipe doesn’t require anything you wouldn’t expect, and hey – it looks pretty tasty. Even better, the noodles are used in a pretty interesting way. Instead of being a weird topping that will make you slowly die of carb poisoning, they’re used to make a crispy crust.
This recipe can be changed up to form a few different meals, but the base is the same (and tasty!). This recipe will utilize your flavor packets, as well as eggs. Yep – eggs.
The stir fried veggies will add a nice kick, and the sweet chili paste will give it even more flavor. You definitely won’t feel like a po’ folk after eating this for dinner.
7. Kimchi Ramen Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Even the creators of this magnificent invention thought it was kind of a weird concept, but I have full faith in their quote of “it’s not as horrifying as it sounds.” Kimchi and ramen actually pair together quite well, and who doesn’t like a little bit of cheese on their pasta? While you might not want to make this dish on a daily basis, it’s definitely worth trying.
If you’ve got a zucchini lying around without a purpose, here’s a great way to incorporate it into a fun meal. Plus, they’re pretty simple to make. You’ll be mixing your noodles up with the aforementioned zucchini some other fun vegetables and flour, and fry them up for a pretty creative lunch.
For the record, I’d personally replace the spam on this one and use regular ham. Or something else. Anything else. However, I won’t deprive the spam-lovers out there, and talk about this recipe as-is.
The recipe is pretty much in the title – besides your Top Ramen package, you’ll need stir-fry vegetables, Spam, and some oil to cook it with. Barbecue sauce is even added at the end, to add some more taste.
While this dish looks pretty complicated, it’ll only take about 15 minutes (and two packages of ramen – the flavor choice is up to you). What makes this dish unique? It also includes peanut butter, as well as light coconut milk. And of course, shrimp. Any dish that includes shrimp is pretty much guaranteed to make me happy.
Have you tried any of the above? If not, have you created your own ramen masterpieces that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear about it!
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