It all started about six years ago, when I ended up in the hospital with a severe allergic reaction. I had developed an allergy to artificial food coloring and was covered in hives from right below my ear lobes, down to my toes. It was so itchy; I scratched my sides till they were bleeding. I had to be treated with steroids which then made me all bloated, and this all happened when I was on a trip out in California.
It was then that I started avoiding processed foods, under strong advisement of the doctor in the emergency room, who said something like, “Dang, this is the worst case of hives I’ve ever seen.” I was discharged with a sheet of paper pointing out a few of the common foods with artificial food coloring (yellow #5, red #40, etc.) and told to start reading labels. After some research, I realized that most fast food chains across America used coloring in so much of their food, so I gave it up, with the exception of McDonald’s fries, my one major weakness. Thank goodness they didn’t color those.
Slowly, I started eating more and more naturally, trying to avoid processed foods as much as reasonable. We even try to make lots of things ourselves to avoid excess chemical or preservative consumption. Honestly, I don’t miss fast food. I don’t miss Skittles and M&M’s, Kraft American cheese, or Wonder bread. There’s only three things I miss out of the mountain of processed foods lining the shelves of our supermarkets: Duncan Hines Strawberry Cake Mix, sour gummy candies, and instant ramen noodles.
When I went shopping with my mom this past Wednesday, I spotted my old favorite instant ramen package, Nong Shim Neoguri Spicy Seafood Ramyun. I scanned the ingredients and was pretty surprised that there were no artificial colors used, tons of other bad stuff, but no numbered colors. Yay! I would allow myself this little indulgence…
You won’t be able to remove the MSG, but instead of eating something completely void of nutrients, I added some shrimp and tofu, stuff I happened to have in the fridge.
I thought of our cousins in college and know they’re probably eating instant ramen more often than they should. Brian? Christina? Jeffrey (Yang and Lai)? Justin? So I decided to give you a list of things you can add to your ramen to make it a little more nutritious, plus some tips on their cooking times.
After bringing water to a boil, you add the noodles, dried veggies and seasoning packet, and allow it to boil for 5 minutes. I list things optional toppings in time sections, 0 minutes means add at the same time as you add noodles, 1 minute means one minute after that. It ends at 5 minutes and if you add anything at that point, you are basically pouring it into the boil one second after you add your last touches. Make sense?
Choice of additions/toppings:
~choose 2 or 3 per bowl
0 minutes
- 1/2 cup diced firm tofu
- 3 fish balls
- 3 beef balls
- 3 cuttlefish balls
1 minute
- 1 scallion, cut in three segments
- 1/4 cup sliced leeks
- 1 tablespoon fried shallots
2 minutes
- 1/4 cup sliced bamboo
- 4 slices fish cake
- 1″ segment of corn on the cob (husked)
3 minutes
- 1 large egg (removed from shell)
- 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
- few pieces of soaked wakame seaweed
4 minutes
- 4 shrimp
- 1/4 cup sliced squid
- 1/3 cup shredded napa cabbage
- 1/4 cup chopped pickled mustard greens
- 1 large bok choy halved or 2 baby bok choy
- 1/3 cup bean sprouts
- 3 thin slices hot pot meat
5 minutes
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 1 tablespoon of crumbled nori
For more easy college eats, Lon wrote up some ideas from the good ole days a while back.
Also, I asked Lon to proofread this post for me and he told me that NPR just did a round-up of interesting ramen stories, so I guess my reunion with ramen was quite serendipitous.
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I love this. Instant ramen is truly the original recession meal, and I grew up on it. My mom never used the seasoning packet so instead we used it cut up in tiny pieces for serving with chili, or with stroganoff, or in when I was college, as a fettuccine alfredo pasta. So versatile, so cheap and at $.26 (although I’ve seen as low as $.06) I say this is the perfect start for any cook.
I’ll have to email you–I teach a ramen class for those who need to stretch their dollar.
I love ramen! I particularly like to nosh on the dry noodles while the water boils.
The Annie Chun brand doesn’t have any msg or stuff, though it’s more expensive.
I love Nong Shim! I’m so happy you get to indulge in it once in a while now 🙂 Ironically, I cooked a pot of instant ramen for dinner today. I haven’t eaten it in years after I realized how bad it is for you. However, I just came back from a $600 shopping spree and felt guilty. So in an attempt to “break even” (ha), I ate instant ramen for dinner ;p Thanks for the post! It’ll serve me well on my rare shopping spree days and beyond 🙂
My uncle made a really great egg scramble with these! He’d cook the noodles in the broth and then put the eggs in the pan and top with noodles and cook. I like to put the noodles in the pan and fry them up a bit until chewy and then add the eggs and flip to cook the other side. I always put cilantro and tomatoes in it as well. I used to think Ramen was high in sodium, but if you look at a ton of other boxed or packaged things – it’s either less or not as bad (if’n you don’t eat the whole thing alone). I think they color it with tumeric. I am allergic to beef as well as a ton of other things – so I totally understand. I too get the dreaded rash. Even on the palms of my hands and bottoms of my feet to my fingertips and toes. Zyrtec and claritin work sometimes if I have eaten too much of something and get a flare up. benadryl, benadryl gel, or even strong corisone cream is like water to my skin when it gets that bad. i’m glad you are able to find alternatives for yourself and are able to deal.
EMC, stroganoff and fettucine alfredo? a class on ramen? Wow!
Christina, I used to eat them dry as a kid too.
Krizia, haha, I’m just thinking that if I splurge on an expensive dinner, I’ll have to wear my old sweats. haha But, ramen doesn’t seem like much of a punishment. =)
Mamma3, it sounds like a ramen omelet! How awesome. I might have to try that.
Looks good but your shrimp still has legs.
Love Nong Shim and love Mama (Thai) as well. And Indomie. I’ve never chucked meat or prawns in there though. I usually opt for the egg and any leftover veg that needs using up. Hooray for instant noodles!
Any reaction that leaves you in the hospital is one to avoid. Scary! Using ramen noodles in new ways is something we’ve never done. You can totally lose the seasoning pack and use them in a million ways. Very smart.
While I do love Ramen, believe it or not I never eat it. I guess you could say in our apartment my friends and I don’t really eat like college kids. I regularly make chicken parm, pasta with homemade pesto, and other fun dishes. You should come visit and I’ll show you!
I so love Ramen,…MMMMMM
I found a tiny little bug in my ramen noodles when I was cooking them the other day. blah!! I can’t eat ramen anymore.
Jean, I love shrimp legs. Tons of calcium!
Su-Lin, since I haven’t had instant ramen for years until now, I’m not that familiar with many brands now. I don’ tthink I know Mama and Indomie. Will keep an eye out.
Brian, I hope your friends know how lucky they are. We’d love to visit you. Let’s figure something out.
Oh no Crystal, that would probably kill it for me too. =/
I used to love ramen. I haven’t had an instant one in a while! Now I have cravings…esp for the Shin ramen! My fave!
I loved how you have these different options for quick-fix meals…this must be thumb-tacked on every college kid’s fridge!
Mmmm I grew up with these noodles! 🙂
My mom always stores at least 2 giant boxes of these in her garage back home 😛
So Korean…
I loved the Tom Yum ramen that we got at Bangkok. A brand called Mamas. Miss them. Hope you are better Jessica
Neoguri is the best! Scott and I always have a handy supply.
Sophia, hope you’re having a great time in school!
Chai, so Asian, my parents (Chinese) do it too.
Kalyan, Su0Lin mentioned Mamas too so I guess I have to try that one.
Angie, I thought Scott would. haha
I love ramen! Here’s a tip I learned from a friend on how to make ramen “healthier.” She boils two pots of water, and puts the noodles in one pot. When the noodles are cooked, she drains the water from Pot 1, and puts the noodles in Pot 2. This way, you’re draining out some of the oiliness and other processed ingredients. The oily taste is diluted a bit, but if you’re adding veggies, shrimp, etc, it might be a great way to make ramen a little healthier.
Yum! I just bought some of those noodles today. 🙂
ooh indomie is my staple food. i always have a huge box of them every now and then.
jessica: that is how my dad who is a doctor thought me to cook instant noodle. even though its not as good as if you use the noodle water. it drains out the chemicals out. my dad eats instant noodles maybe like once or twice a year. so hard to believe for an indonesian.
brian: believe it or not, instant noodles is way BETTER than pasta. hahaha im serious! some people think that we are “forced” to eat them cause its cheap and easy to make. but in reality, indonesians have to control themselves to NOT eat them. i really have a hard time to not eat them everyday cause they are just soo good (indomie brand in particular)
Shasa, I’ll have to see if I can find Indomie here. I”m glad I don’t have to feel SO bad anymore.
You definitely made that bowl of instant Korean ramen noodle look so delicious!
I haven’t had instant ramen in years, but you totally sparked a memory. When I was a kid, my mom used to get these Vietnamese instant ramen noodles in an orange package with a chicken on the front. I used to eat those raw in bed while watching cartoons. Never once did I decide to add all the fixins you did, but I bet actually cooking the soup and eating it proper with shrimp and tofu would have been really good.
I love Nong Shim too! It’s one of my favorite quick lunches. Thanks for all of the great suggestions for making it a little tastier and healthier!
mmm instant noodles. they’re the best in asia!
in taiwan, you can get a bowl that comes with real chunk of meat. just pour in boiled water and you’re all set for a very delicious meal. but i also love making my own fancy ramen. usually with some spinach, ground pork, and a egg poached!
My brother just made Nong-Shim Neoguri and added eggs (into the pot). I dont know how and what order he cooks. After he eats the noodles, about an hour later he breaks out and allergies are all over his body (insides, lip, ear, neck, sides, etc). He hasn’t goten a food allergy test yet (i dont think).
We’ve eaten this noodle (and other various kinds too) for a long time, since we were about, say 13?, and I’m 22 now. As everyone says, I (we) love neoguri. But what could be the issue in my brothers case?
Also, I’m gona have to try out your way of cooking. Sounds good!
Nick, tell your bro to get an allergy test. It sounds serious! I’m not an allergist so I’m not going to make guesses about his condition. Good luck!!