An Ode to Instant Ramen
Expensive products or complicated preparation methods are an easy way to impress everyone, but sometimes it’s a simple, humble product that you’re craving the most. Right? So today, an ode to a product that has saved many a student from hungry evenings: instant ramen.
Just add water. Isn’t that the most perfect preparation method you’ve ever heard of? It sounds too good to be true, but in the case of instant ramen, it really is. Dried noodles, a sachet of undefinable powder and sometimes another sachet of goo or oil. Add boiling water, cover for a few minutes and your meal is ready.
50 cents
Now, I’ve written odes to cheap ready-made meals before, such as the frozen pizza for less than €3. Still, instant ramen takes the crown: for less than €0.50, you get a complete meal from market leader YumYum. You can’t cook for that yourself, can you? Packed with flavor enhancers and salt, admittedly, but that does make this poor man’s meal extra delicious. Mmmm.
Upgrade
Instant ramen is the ideal bite when you come home drunk or crave a salty, carbohydrate-rich hangover cure the next day. Want to turn it into a real Asian feast? Then you can easily upgrade your bowl of noodles with fresh ingredients. Some stir-fried bok choy, a fried or boiled egg, bean sprouts, sriracha, fried onions or furikake. A few of these add-ons turn the contents of this colorful sachet into a full-fledged meal.
Ramen tasting
The great thing about instant ramen is that it comes in all shapes and sizes. The favorite here in the editorial office is definitely YumYum shrimp, but for fun, step into a large Asian supermarket. You’ll often find more luxurious varieties there too, sometimes costing the enormous sum of €2. Kimchi ramen, tonkotsu ramen, curry ramen or even Malaysian laksa. For ten euros, you can have an entire ramen tasting and quickly discover your favorite flavor.
PS. Slurping is a must.
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