There's a lot of good info on making ramen edible, err, I mean "improving" it. :

Here's a particular link I like: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/...0-easy-ways-to-upgrade-your-instant-noodles-japanese-what-to-do-with-ramen.html

 

One of the best ways to improve ramen is to quit buying that garbage they sell in the American food aisles and buy them from Asian grocery stores instead. The noodles themselves are better than Top Ramen and Maruchan.

Trust me, the difference is like night and day.

If you are so poor that you can only afford the cheap American brands I understand, but if you can afford to add veggies and stuff then you can afford to pay a buck for the good brands.

In fact, you can buy bulk ramen noodles pretty cheap. Comes in bigger packs and its just the noodles. You provide your own broth and additives. Much better than those little foil bombs of salt and MSG.

 

Ramen noodles, my every night fare for work. Thanks for info on changing it up.

 

Shin Ramen.......yum stuff. Use to eat it over in Korea with Kimchi, now I eat it at home with homemade Kimchi.

Add chopped onion, a slice of cheese, and a scrambled egg.......oh yea!

 

I knew some Indonesians at my college. They put egg in their ramen,with some of their native spices; they ate that almost every day. good stuff.

 

ramen noodles by themselves are very low in nutrition.... I used to eat a lot of them by adding in vegi's and meat to add nutrition and taste... eggs with them are great as well

 

I feel obliged to say this: Ramen noodles are super-unhealthy. Instead of adding meat and veggies to Ramen, just eat meat and veggies. I actually like Ramen noodles but after reading the nutrition facts some years ago, I avoid them like the plague. You'd probably be better off eating a bowl of Twinkies, seriously.

Also realize that 1 package is 2 servings.
Sodium (salt): 1702mg
Add one tablespoon of soy sauce: +533mg for a total of 2,235 mg of sodium.

The suggested amount of sodium for an adult per day is 1,500 mg. Ramen is bad.

 

You have to be nuts to add the entire "flavor pack" to one pack of Ramen. I add about 1/3 and then add green peas and an egg. Simple.

 

The problem with Ramen is you eventually reach that burn out point where you've had one too many packets and it will forever taste like garbage afterwards. Sort of like when you were a kid and you realized that you no longer liked Fruit Loops.

 

Or like when you're in the middle of nowhere on a roadtrip, and suddenly smell a McDs up ahead. You order, maybe even finish your meal, and that leaden feeling in your stomach reminds you that you're too old to eat that crap anymore. :

 

I'm gagging at adding more salt (soy sauce) to ramen, but some of the other suggestions are good ones.

TinFoilSurvivalist---I keep some on hand, since they cook quickly, but I either throw out the "seasoning" pack, or use half. Most of the really gross stuff is in the packet. There are definitely some brands that are worse than others though, as shared above.

I put ramen in a similar category with Chef Boyardee, spaghettios and boxed mac and cheese. I don't want to live on any of them, but every once in awhile they're kind of a guilty pleasure. They're cheap, easy and calorie dense, so I think have a limited place in preps.

I know in a crisis situation my kid would be excited that any of the above for dinner, since we don't usually eat them.

 

TinFoilSurvivalist---I keep some on hand, since they cook quickly, but I either throw out the "seasoning" pack, or use half. Most of the really gross stuff is in the packet. There are definitely some brands that are worse than others though, as shared above.

I put ramen in a similar category with Chef Boyardee, spaghettios and boxed mac and cheese. I don't want to live on any of them, but every once in awhile they're kind of a guilty pleasure. They're cheap, easy and calorie dense, so I think have a limited place in preps.

That's a good way to approach it I think. Letting them soak and then draining the water before refilling might cut some of the sodium out as well. Ultimately though, they're low nutrition and high junk content. That said, I'll still crack open a Twinkie now and then.

 

I'll chime in here. As others have already pointed out, there are much better brands of noodles you can get from the Asian supermarket stores such as from "99 Ranch Market". Literally a whole aisle full of different brands of noodles, I'm talking the better quality stuff. I also use the seasoning packet very minimally, as it's full of sodium.

Link to 99 Ranch Market store:
http://www.99ranch.com/

In my younger days, I would add some sausages to the noodles, plus some fresh lettuce and a 1/4 bag of frozen mixed veggies such as corn and peas. Makes for a satisfying quick lunch, especially when you're starving.

 

Ok, I am not going to help anyone with health, or preparedness with this post but...

Ramenmac is stupid awesome (Mix ramen with macaroni and cheese) Typical is one box with one pack, but I personally prefer one box to two packs. Obviously this is a concoction for a few people but it's great. My buddies and I used to do this and occasionally I delight myself with the stuff.

Another thing I like (but many do not) is to take the picante stuff, and add cottage cheese to it once it is ready.

For both of these recipes (if you can call them that) the ramen needs to be mostly drained.

I personally the recipes already listed here to (with scallions and an egg) but I only eat the stuff a handful of times a year. It should almost be on the thanksgiving table... lol

 

Large pot, more water than called for...add flavor pack and bring it to a boil, toss in leftover cut up rotisserie chicken and a pack of frozen veggies. Stir in a can of mushroom soup Bring back up to a good rolling boil.....crack a few eggs into the pot, let the pot boil until the eggs are done.
Drop the noodles in, push them to the bottom and take the pot to the table, drop some fresh raw green onion on top.

Can use any meat really, leftover steak is great and using it this way you only need a 1/2 an already cooked steak.


I'm also a fan of cooking them in plain water, drain, sprinkle with part (not all!) of the flavor pack, blob of butter, stir....then drop a slice of American cheese on it. Stir up after the cheese melts.

Damn..I'm hungry.

 

This is probably a good place to remind people that ethnic markets are a treasure trove for preppers. Especially Asian markets. Not only do they have really good ramen in all sorts of amazing flavors, but they also have all sorts of other dried ingredients that go well with it, as well as with many other recipes. Everything from dried fruits and veggies, to dried seaweed and meats, to some of the very best soup base powders you'll ever try (WAY better than the salt-lick American brands). They have all sorts of spices and sauces. And most of their stuff is meant to be shelf stable, since a lot of them don't have refrigeration. I buy most of my rice and noodles there too.

 

Asian Markets have great preps

Not meaning to highjack the original message. If you are a prepper who has focused on basics like wheat, beans and rice types of preps, you might consider the Asian variations.

Indian/Pakistani/Bangli stores have many varieties of small beans and lentils. These make a dish called dal (pronounced doll) which a classic Indian dish served over basmati rice. There are many, many recipes calling for many varieties of the lentils and beans. These small beans do no take as long to cook as many other beans do.

Serve your dal over basmati rice and you have a complete protein. Add some Indian flatbread such as naan and you have a simple, relatively cheap and easy meal. Manjala's Kitchen on youtube shows many simple Indian recipes and how to make them.

Indian food is considered healthier than many other cuisines. The spices have many medicinal attributes. The spices can be added to your preps: turmeric, garlic, ginger, curry.

 

Not meaning to highjack the original message. If you are a prepper who has focused on basics like wheat, beans and rice types of preps, you might consider the Asian variations.

Indian/Pakistani/Bangli stores have many varieties of small beans and lentils. These make a dish called dal (pronounced doll) which a classic Indian dish served over basmati rice. There are many, many recipes calling for many varieties of the lentils and beans. These small beans do no take as long to cook as many other beans do.

Serve your dal over basmati rice and you have a complete protein. Add some Indian flatbread such as naan and you have a simple, relatively cheap and easy meal. Manjala's Kitchen on youtube shows many simple Indian recipes and how to make them.

Indian food is considered healthier than many other cuisines. The spices have many medicinal attributes. The spices can be added to your preps: turmeric, garlic, ginger, curry.

That's generally how I cook around here. You can smell my house from a block away! :

 

Ramen noodles go in my oatmeal. I also take a can of mackerel and add it to the noodles. The noodles make a good extender.

 

Yes ramen is pure salt, but now and then it won't kill ya. I might eat it 3-4x a year max. I use about half the flavor packet.

I agree there are way better options out there (e.g. Asian market stuff). I just like to see what others do with it to enhance.

 

This is a topic that been too long ignored...ramen has huge potential, and super-low cost. I bought ten cases of it recently when it was cheap. It should last forever plus ten years, can be made darned good (onions, soy sauce, a meat of some sort, or an egg, plus carrots, cabbage, etc., and if I need to donate preps to a friend (in a bad time), it won't hurt my survival chances much.

 

Actually, commercial ramen doesn't last that well. The noodles have oil in them that go rancid.

 

Cold Raman noodles with chopped onions, squeezed into hotdog sized logs, wrapped in bacon and fried crisp.

Did this once on a two 12 pack night, and was actually pretty good. Hard to make it hold its shape though.

 

Good morale food for sure. We're always on the lookout for reduced hot sauces etc for our ramens, rice and other preps..

 

wait you can put meat in it? a bag of ramen with a bullion cube john boy and billy sauce and a slice of cheese and im good!

 

More easy but good.

Take carrots and slice them thin. Take onions, slice and cut in half (so they are like noodles). Then get turkey lunchmeat and roll it up, slice across the roll to get noodle like strips.

When you make the Ramen, use less of the mix and add bullion or use stock from a can/package. That cuts the salt.

Put the uncooked veggies in with the noodles so they soften. When the noodles are done, add the flavor, meat and make little pockets to drop the egg in. Cover, cook until the eggs are done (just barely past runny. if they are still runny, no worries, it'll cook).

Easy peasy.

Or even better order noodle soup the next time you are at a decent Japanese place. You can see how they do it and copy.

 

I always like this post in regards to ramen noodles. It seems to cover all the bases.

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showpost.php?p=3676508&postcount=93

 

I always grab a palmfull of peanuts or mixed nuts and throw into the water before boiling-I like having a crunch to it. It's better than you think! I often also only use half a packet of seasoning. Cut up a hot dog, or dice up any leftover chicken into it. Have tried it with bokchoy, is good; and after reading here, I'm gonna try adding egg.

 

My favorite texture additive to Asian noodle soups is bean sprouts. Learned that from eating at Pho soup shops.

 

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I keep a case of it for when the lights go out. Raman is very high calorie and high salt. But hypothetically if you were in a situation were you had a lot of walking climbing and sweating.And had to carry light stuff is that not the kind of food you would want ???

 

I keep a case of it for when the lights go out. Raman is very high calorie and high salt. But hypothetically if you were in a situation were you had a lot of walking climbing and sweating.And had to carry light stuff is that not the kind of food you would want ???

It's not that high of calories for it's size. 380 calories per pack for Top ramen. Not everything will involve lots of sweat. I'd rather control the sodium level myself. I use my own broth powder rather than the pack that comes with them.

 

Use to eat these quite often but ran into a problem as most of them have MSG in them
The effects of MSG or mono-sodium glutamate and relatives can be subtle and slow acting or can hit you like a Mac truck. Mild to Fatal.
This stuff like to killed me a couple times and made my life hell for most of my childhood.
Took me into me twenties to figure it out.
First I get mean, then congestion the migraines hit. Insomnia, terrible joint pain and dark depression, flu like symptoms, terrible gas.
In the past if I got a good dose it took 2-3 1/2 week to go through my system.
Nowadays if I get into enough to be a problem I can get it out within about 2-4 days.
This being said I love pretty much all Asian cuisine and eat it whenever I can. I just don't do or try not to to do it if it has MSG and its relatives (Disodium guanylate,disodium inosinate....)
This means if I want Ramen noodles I don't by the cheap crap.
Those that think they can get away with the cheapest possible food (not food anti- food IMO) in a high stress situation are asking for serious trouble.
Once it a while is fine but please don't count on this give you what you need when you need it most