The Spread

By Rachel King

 

We’re college students, so there’s no doubt we have all hit that low point in our lives where we have nothing left to eat in our pantries except one thing: ramen. Eating ramen doesn’t have to signal rock bottom, though. By adding common household ingredients and maybe a fresh herb or two, ramen could become the most sophisticated meal of your week. Here are a few ways to dress your ramen up to the nines!

1. Add green onions or scallions.

I will never really understand what the difference is between these two toppings (or whether there is a difference at all), but grab one or the other and sprinkle them on your noodles after they’ve been prepped. You will have an elegant yet simple-to-make bowl of ramen.

2. Do it Italian style.

Steal Kylie’s ramen trick and transform your ramen into Cacio e Pepe with just some cheese and pepper. The best part is you can choose your cheese depending on your mood and experiment with various flavors.

3. Mix in or top with an egg.

As soon as your ramen is done cooking, mix in an egg. The hot broth will cook it, making it a tasty and good textural addition to your noodles dish. Also, because you’re mixing it in, you don’t need to dirty any other dishes — this is a one-bowl ordeal. Another option is to cook your egg any way you like and just place it over the noodles.

4. Spice it up.

Toss in some pepper flakes, Sriracha, or even crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to liven up and counteract your overly salty ramen! Not only will the flavors balance out, but the redness of any one of the three will create a Snapchat or Instagram-worthy aesthetic.

5. Try exotic flavors.

Experiment with different flavor packets you can buy at the grocery store, particularly with South Asian spices such as curry powder. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, mix the powder together with coconut milk and then add the noodles as well as the protein of your choice for a unique spin on traditional curry.

6. Make it creamy.

Elevating your cup of noodles can be as simple as stirring in some half and half. The half and half thickens the broth, making it creamy so that the soup becomes a sauce and now evenly coats the noodles. This quasi-pasta is the perfect way to fool yourself into thinking you’re a fancier chef than you actually are.

 

With these simple yet effective twists on the conventional noodle dish, you will want to eat ramen every day – and everyone else will want to eat your ramen, too!