Habanero pepper!

Lots of parmesan cheese helps, although it probably multiplies the heart-attack factor...

I put Texas Pete hot sauce on absolutely everything. I also love the Tabasco Chipolte sauce. Mix in either one of those.

I like a bit of black pepper, cayenne, salt, garlic powder and onion powder

Eat it off my chest

Santa cruz chili powder, and curry powder will spiff up ramen for months.

I think it was Alton Brown that said that ramen was actually precooked (fried then dried), so you can eat it crunchy. Maybe you can cover it in Tabasco?

Or take the sweet and sour variety and add curry or cumin or chili powder.

i never ate ramen in college. I did in high school, and my kids do now occassionally for lunch, but I never did in college. *shrug*

crushed red pepper / cracked black pepper
crack an egg into the pot while it's boiling
mushrooms
cheap ground beef (brown, then drain the fat)

Gold Star jasmine rice rocks... You'll never go back to plain rice once you've tried it.

/been broke before

i used to make it with canned vegetables, like toss in some creamed corn and boil it all down. Makes for a nice somewhat filling meal.

Add steak and potatoes.

Do what they do in Japan - buy a big bag of a spice called "shichimen". It looks like cayenne pepper, costs about $7 a bag, and 1/2 a teaspoon will spice up a HUGE bowl of ramen.

Hot and spicy.

If you can find kimchi it's fun to add it (or just buy the kimchi ramen.) Spicy!

I mostly eat the normal shrimp flavoured ramen. I'll have to check out the Fark Ramen thread. Ramen makes up a significant part of my diet - pretty much all of it that isn't filled by burritos and ham-cheese sandwiches. (Which are also pretty cheap if you buy crappy cheese, crappy bread, and crappy ham.)

Oh, and I'm not submitter. I am a poor college student farkette, though.

I use half the flavor packet and add Chinese 5 spice powder, chilli powder, oyster sauce and soy sauce.

There's a book called 101 Ramen Recipes or something like that

Add an egg.

Taco Bell sauce packets, just the right price as well.

mialynneb: There's a book called 101 Ramen Recipes or something like that

umm.. if she's living off ramen noodles I kinda doubt she'd want to spend more cash buying a book on the subject

I'm sure if you google the book title it'll bring the recipes up.

2005-09-03 07:51:22 PM Errk

That's some damn good stuff right there.

I love butter and lemon pepper on drained ramen. Also, try putting some kind of cheese over the noodles, it's right tasty.

indenture: Add an egg.

that works really well

Ramen noodles and a can of green beans for dinner got me through the poor years.

Errk had it right. Drown it in sriracha a.k.a. "hot cock".

/It's okay, my wife made up that name...

Add broccoli and tofu if you're feeling flush...just throw it in when the noodles are about 3/4 done. yum.

Srirachi sauce is great stuff, Errk, but Sambal is even better - poor man's pad thai:

Ramen Noodles
Sambal to taste
ginger soy to taste
Peanut Butter to taste
1 Chicken breast, cubed
1/2 cup crushed peanuts

There is so much MSG in the seasoning, i suggest you throw it away first.

http://mattfischer.com/ramen/

too lazy to link

If you're looking for raw heat, get some dried peppers (I prefer tabasco peppers, but any hot chili will do) and get a cheap pepper mill from your local grocery store. Roughly chop up enough peppers to fill the grinder, and grind that shiat on. All the character you can stand.

bboy: Errk had it right. Drown it in sriracha a.k.a. "hot cock".

/It's okay, my wife made up that name...


Wow that totally beats what we call it - "rooster sauce".
Come to think of it "cock sauce" sounds appropriate now too...

Good stuff though.

NINJA RAMEN!!!

Seriously, this is the tastiest ramen recipe I've found. It involves cooking the noodles until just tender, then pan-frying them in sesame oil. So very tasty.

Here's the link with directions and pictures.

Another cheap thing you can prepare (just in case you get tired of those oh-so-good-for-you ramen noodles) are dried beans. If you can lay your hands on a slow cooker, dried beans tend to be less than $1.00 a pound and can cook during the day while you're at school. They're a whole lot better for you than the fried noodles, as well.

There are other "poverty foods" than ramen, submitter... If you have access to an oven, roaster chickens give pretty good bang for the buck, especially if you fry up the liver etc. with onions. Some people are wimps about that, but it's good, nutritious eats. Lots 'o vitamins and minerals.

Jasmine rice is wonderful stuff, and probably better for you than ramen. You can jazz it up the same way you would ramen. Basically throw any sort of vegetable or meat you have in the fridge in with it. Rice and frozen peas is especially good.

If you want some good cheap recipies, check out vegetarian websites, even if you're not planning on going vegetarian. Lots of cheap dishes there.

http://mattfischer.com/ramen/index.php?cat=2

The official ramen recipe homepage- lots of choices.
Enjoy!

Putting a little butter or Ranch in it makes it a lot creamier. Not spicier though. For that, I like to use a can of Rotel Tomatoes. It is delicious.

//lots of good ideas in this thread.
///not in college. Just poor.

Errk beat me to it with the 'rooster sauce'.

I boil the ramen in just 1/2 cup of water, stirring constantly. When the water is gone, I remove from heat.

I then add 1/2 of the seasoning packet, and about 2 tablespoons of rooster sauce. What can I say - I like things hot. Stir and enjoy.

Errk

Man, that stuff is fantasitc.


Also, the crushed red peppers like you put on Pizza are great in Ramen.

Also, a couple of raw eggs dropped in as you finish cooking really add some meat to them. (the eggs cook of course)

Cayenne Pepper.

Chopped fresh jalapenos if you have them on hand. (Which is unlikely since you are asking how to spice up Ramen.)

Cilantro.

Garlic.

You can really do lots of great stuff with Ramen.

Speaking of that, I haven't had dinner yet, and I'm hungry.

Steal [anything] from the dining hall.
Chop it up and mix (I assume you're using a microwave, they don't allow stoves in most dorms).
Be happy.

Question, am I the only one to eat ramen raw and unflavored?

Erkk thanks for deciding what I'm having for dinner tonight.

Kimchi goes GREAT with ramen and it adds a good amount of spice too.

Did somebaody say RAmen?



/captain obvious reporting for duty

Put a chamomile tea bag in the water while you're boiling it. Its fantastic.

Obligatory semen joke.

I have a few methods, but it depends if you are living in America or Japan.

carrot: Did somebaody say RAmen?


Yep, only the flying spaghetti monster knows the ONE TRUE way to spiff up ramen.