Recipe: ramen carbonara

Did I just say ramen carbonara? And am I actually going to use instant ramen noodles and not even fresh ones? Yes! And do I still dare call it carbonara? Erm…

Look, I know you’re not supposed to mess with people’s culinary pride. Have you ever seen Italians mad at food? They’d genuinely come after me with pitchforks now, or I’ll find a horse’s head in my bed tonight. I also know perfectly well that real carbonara has to be made with guanciale (smoked pork jowl), and that pancetta is only grudgingly permitted when there’s nothing better available.

But, in my defense, I’m not adding any cream, at least. And that makes this an easy, quick and delicious budget dish, where those instant noodles that absorb liquid so well (because they’re fried first) come in very handy.

How to make instant ramen carbonara

• First, beat the eggs thoroughly in a bowl with a whisk.
• Then whisk the cheese into the eggs. Set aside for a moment.
• Fry the bacon until crisp in a large frying pan or sauté pan.
• If desired, remove some of the fat from the pan.
• Add the garlic and fry for another minute over low heat.
• Turn off the heat and leave everything in the pan, but do remove it from the burner.
• Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.
• Drain the noodles and immediately add them to the pan with the bacon and garlic. Pour the egg and cheese mixture over them, and stir like crazy with a wooden spatula or silicone tongs. Toss the noodles up and down in the pan while stirring.
• Season with (a little) salt and plenty of black pepper, spoon into a bowl or onto a plate and eat immediately.

Tip: you can really go wild with the Parmesan. I grated the cheese into the bowl with the beaten eggs, which was sitting on a kitchen scale. Naturally, I didn’t want to give you inaccurate information about the grams. But because the Parmesan came down from the Microplane as such incredibly fine, soft, fluffy magic dust, the digital scale registered absolutely nothing! So I just kept grating until there was roughly the equivalent of a coffee mug full in the bowl.

This recipe is more than enough for 1 person with a huge appetite, and just enough for 2 people with moderate appetites. (If such a thing exists.)

Scrambled egg ramen?

And don’t forget this: the stirring and tossing at the end is very important, because you don’t want the egg to have enough time to make a lot of contact with the bottom of the still-warm pan and set. You don’t want scrambled egg ramen. Although…

Also read:

• 4 common mistakes when making carbonara
• 18 recipes you should know by the time you’re thirty
• Recipe: pasta chips