Yeah, I know... A lot of us have had more than enough ramen (and cup noodles!) in our college days or in hard(er) times when we were just getting started in life. I've always liked the convenience and variety that ramen provides for a quick kid's meal and would throw in a handful of chopped carrots, celery, and whatever fresh vegetable might be lurking in the 'fridge, just to up the nutritional value. I've since added my "super ramen" to my camping menu items. I introduced my super ramen to a couple of my fellow Lone Star Chapter members, and they were quite impressed. There HAVE to be folks out there that have just thrown a few chopped-up leftovers into the ramen pot, so I'm not trying to "re-invent the wheel." Let's just say I'm giving a "brief history of a type of wheel." So...how does one make ramen more palatable for adults while camping?
First, decide what flavor ramen to use as the base, e.g. chicken. Pack a small can (5 oz) of chicken along with the ramen. Next dice or julienne up a handful of your favorite fresh vegetables and put them in a sandwich size zip bag. I use carrots, celery, onion, cabbage, and calabaza squash. Yes, you can "cheat" and toss in a can of mixed vegetables, but you won't get the flavor that the fresh veggies add to the pot, literally! In a small, plastic reuseable container, collect pinches (about 1/8th of a teaspoon of each, for those of you who like to measure) of your favorite seasonings. For the chicken variety I recommend thyme, parsley, garlic powder, half a bay leaf, and some fresh ground black pepper. Another "cheat" is to make a "pocket" in the bag of chopped veggies and put the seasonings into that space, then close the pocket.
Ramen calls for two cups of water, but add a 1/2 cup more because of the veggies. For the chicken version I also drain the canned chicken into the water. Put the veggies and seasonings in the pot with the water and bring to a boil. I recommend breaking up the ramen into smaller pieces before adding the noodles to the pot - the noodles will mix in with the veggies better and the soup will be easier to serve. Cook for the prescribed three minutes, toss in the canned chicken, and serve. This will feed two with light appetites. Add some of your favorite snack crackers, to fill things out if needed, or double/triple the ingredients for more folks/heartier appetites. A surprising variation - got some leftover fried chicken? De-bone it and chop it up, crunchy covering and all, and add it to the ramen at the last minute.
As a bonus for sitting through this ramble, here's a pork ramen version. Check in the snack section of your stores and look for sausage sticks in the jerky area. Here in San Antonio I can get some pork-venison dried sausage sticks that come from a Polish smokehouse between SA and Houston. Add one or two sausage sticks (chopped) per packet of ramen. If you can't find the sausage sticks, see if you can find some pork jerky. Just note it'll be a little sweet in flavor. Don't use Slim Jim's - waaaay too greasy!!! Seasonings - I like to give it a Tex-Mex kick: Mexican oregano, cumin, dried cilantro, crushed red pepper, parsley, fresh ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Same veggie bag as the chicken ramen, but I add a small can (+/-8 oz) of corn.
DJ Davis
LSCD
First, decide what flavor ramen to use as the base, e.g. chicken. Pack a small can (5 oz) of chicken along with the ramen. Next dice or julienne up a handful of your favorite fresh vegetables and put them in a sandwich size zip bag. I use carrots, celery, onion, cabbage, and calabaza squash. Yes, you can "cheat" and toss in a can of mixed vegetables, but you won't get the flavor that the fresh veggies add to the pot, literally! In a small, plastic reuseable container, collect pinches (about 1/8th of a teaspoon of each, for those of you who like to measure) of your favorite seasonings. For the chicken variety I recommend thyme, parsley, garlic powder, half a bay leaf, and some fresh ground black pepper. Another "cheat" is to make a "pocket" in the bag of chopped veggies and put the seasonings into that space, then close the pocket.
Ramen calls for two cups of water, but add a 1/2 cup more because of the veggies. For the chicken version I also drain the canned chicken into the water. Put the veggies and seasonings in the pot with the water and bring to a boil. I recommend breaking up the ramen into smaller pieces before adding the noodles to the pot - the noodles will mix in with the veggies better and the soup will be easier to serve. Cook for the prescribed three minutes, toss in the canned chicken, and serve. This will feed two with light appetites. Add some of your favorite snack crackers, to fill things out if needed, or double/triple the ingredients for more folks/heartier appetites. A surprising variation - got some leftover fried chicken? De-bone it and chop it up, crunchy covering and all, and add it to the ramen at the last minute.
As a bonus for sitting through this ramble, here's a pork ramen version. Check in the snack section of your stores and look for sausage sticks in the jerky area. Here in San Antonio I can get some pork-venison dried sausage sticks that come from a Polish smokehouse between SA and Houston. Add one or two sausage sticks (chopped) per packet of ramen. If you can't find the sausage sticks, see if you can find some pork jerky. Just note it'll be a little sweet in flavor. Don't use Slim Jim's - waaaay too greasy!!! Seasonings - I like to give it a Tex-Mex kick: Mexican oregano, cumin, dried cilantro, crushed red pepper, parsley, fresh ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Same veggie bag as the chicken ramen, but I add a small can (+/-8 oz) of corn.
DJ Davis
LSCD
I've thought about doing a reduced salt version of ramen seasoning but haven't looked too hard for the reduced sodium bullion. Nice to know it has been done and congrats to you for making the effort. I can find plain ramen (no seasoning packets included) at one of the Korean markets we frequent and have used that for my chicken version, but it lacks flavor using only the stock/juice from the canned chicken. Adding the 1/2 cup extra of water in my version when boiling the veggies dilutes the taste of the flavor packet, but the excess salt is still there! Just spread out amongst more water molecules.
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