I once got tired of packet ramen and put some free milk I pilfered from a hotel into the broth to make it more like a creamy sauce. Black pepper and peanut butter can also do wonders. It’s not 5 star dining, but it was better than you’d think. Especially after the 8th day in a row eating Raman and stolen fruit.
Ive done it again on the rare occasion, even now that I don’t have to. My partner goes green when she sees it.
As I’ve learned more, I do think it could be made really good for cheap. Make your Raman first, and remove your noodles. Make sure to use whole milk.
If you’re using peanut butter, you’ve got your work cut out for you because it doesn’t like to mix. I never tested this, bit I think you’d do well to add bit of extra starch (like corn starch, which is cheap) to better emulsify it. Mix the starch with cold water outside of your pot first to make a slurry.
This is a cheap meal built with not a small number of stolen parts. If you have the cash though, use sesame oil (go slow with it. It’s expensive and it’s easy to overdo it). I’ve noticed that the combined nuttiness of sesame oil and peanut butter is much stronger than the sum of its parts.
Eggs are pricey still I think? I used to get them at like $1 for those 32 packs though. Add an egg. If its as cheap as it used to be, they’re just free calories and always good with Raman. Doesn’t matter how you do it really, but if you’re feeling lazy, just put it right in there while the Raman cooks. I’d go towards the end, or you get some ugly strands of egg white I don’t love, and it doesn’t mix well. Maybe try after the starch slurry?
There’s nothing weird about those. Ramen may not lend itself to creamy sauces as Italian noodle dishes, but it’s not like it would change the flavor immensely. As for peanut butter and pepper, spicy peanut sauces (e.g. satay) are pretty common in Asian cuisine. You’re doing nothing unusual, just improving instant ramen.
When you’ve been terribly poor, you get creative.
I once got tired of packet ramen and put some free milk I pilfered from a hotel into the broth to make it more like a creamy sauce. Black pepper and peanut butter can also do wonders. It’s not 5 star dining, but it was better than you’d think. Especially after the 8th day in a row eating Raman and stolen fruit.
Ive done it again on the rare occasion, even now that I don’t have to. My partner goes green when she sees it.
As I’ve learned more, I do think it could be made really good for cheap. Make your Raman first, and remove your noodles. Make sure to use whole milk.
If you’re using peanut butter, you’ve got your work cut out for you because it doesn’t like to mix. I never tested this, bit I think you’d do well to add bit of extra starch (like corn starch, which is cheap) to better emulsify it. Mix the starch with cold water outside of your pot first to make a slurry.
This is a cheap meal built with not a small number of stolen parts. If you have the cash though, use sesame oil (go slow with it. It’s expensive and it’s easy to overdo it). I’ve noticed that the combined nuttiness of sesame oil and peanut butter is much stronger than the sum of its parts.
Eggs are pricey still I think? I used to get them at like $1 for those 32 packs though. Add an egg. If its as cheap as it used to be, they’re just free calories and always good with Raman. Doesn’t matter how you do it really, but if you’re feeling lazy, just put it right in there while the Raman cooks. I’d go towards the end, or you get some ugly strands of egg white I don’t love, and it doesn’t mix well. Maybe try after the starch slurry?
There’s nothing weird about those. Ramen may not lend itself to creamy sauces as Italian noodle dishes, but it’s not like it would change the flavor immensely. As for peanut butter and pepper, spicy peanut sauces (e.g. satay) are pretty common in Asian cuisine. You’re doing nothing unusual, just improving instant ramen.
Finally, vindication after all these years.