Let me make something incredibly clear for you. I can hit the Powerball for 1 billion dollars tomorrow and still request ramen noodles as a meal while sitting on my yacht in the south of France.
I feel like people who look down upon ramen noodles have some sort of weird complex. You've clearly never cried in a corner after handing over $2,200 in rent for 400 square feet of space and it shows.
I do not care who you are, where you're from, or how many riches you have. Ramen noodles are life.
So please cut the shit.
Thank you.
Many moons ago when I was living in a ridiculously overpriced apartment in Manhattan, I would make ramen noodles, like, 4 times a week as a way to keep cost low. The result was an extreme obsession (and massive sodium overload), to which even when I started making ~big girl money~, I would still keep them stocked and continue to try and make them as fancy as possible with whatever I had in the house.
I would have friends come over and actually ask me to cook this over anything else. Why? Because there's something soooo comforting about a big bowl of noodles, and the possibilities are endless when it comes to variety. Add chicken, add steak, add tofu, or add nothing at all. You truly only need a few ingredients to make it feel like you're indulging in an expensive meal. Plus the $0.50 price tag doesn't hurt either.
The noodles themselves take about 16 seconds to cook, so the only real time you'll be spending here is on your mixins. I made spicy chicken this day for another upcoming recipe, but it won't kill you to keep some frozen chicken breasts in the freezer to quickly pop in. The food industry has really upped their frozen nuggie game, far from the rubbery Tyson strips that mom used to make you after school.
Where the hell am I going with this? Oh right -- noodles. Literally add whatever you want. I did a mix of fresh veggies that I had in the fridge as well as some frozen peas and baby corn.
And guess what? It was delightful.
fancy ramen noodles
you'll need:
- 2 packages ramen noodles (discard the flavoring packet)
- chicken breasts, cubed, seasoned and sauteed (recipe coming soon!)
- 1-2 tbs olive oil
~ mix-ins such as:
- broccoli
- snap peas
- carrots
- cauliflower
- green peas
- baby corn
- scallions
- whatever the hell you want
sauce: (recipe below)
- 4 tbs low sodium soy sauce
- 1-2 tbs water
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced (garlic powder works fine)
- 1 dime-sized piece of fresh ginger, minced (ginger powder works fine)
- pinch of red chili flakes
- 1 tsp cornstarch for thickening
how to:
Prepare your sauce. Add all the ingredients besides the cornstarch to a bowl and mix until combined. We're going to add the cornstarch in at the end. Set aside.
Boil a pot of water and cook your ramen noodles for 3-4 minutes, separating the noodles with a fork or tongs as they cook. Drain, toss with some butter, and set aside.
Assuming your chicken is already cooked, heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and sautee whatever veggies you're using. Once brown, add in your cooked chicken and toss everything together to allow the flavors to mesh.
Add in your drain noodles and immediately toss. Moving quickly, add the cornstarch to the prepared sauce and whisk until the cornstarch is undetectable and completely combined.
Pour the sauce onto the noodles and toss FAST! The cornstarch acts as a thickening agent for the sauce, so it'll bubble and become thick pretty quickly once it hits the hot skillet. Toss toss toss for an additional minute or two, or until everything is coated and looks complete. Depending on how quickly you get the sauce tossed in before thickening, you may have to add in some additional soy or water to loosen it up so you're not left with a big clump of noodles. (which isn't exactly a bad thing)
This took me a few times to perfect, but you'll get it.
Turn off the heat, transfer to a serving bowl, top with some sesame seeds (which I did not have), and enjoy!
