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Instant Ramen Hacks 

Ramen has come quite far since the days that we had a bowl full of one-dimensional instant chicken noodles in our dorm room after class. 

Tiktok is actually one of the reasons why ramen has been elevated to proper food levels these days. If you have 30 seconds or 1 minute to show off a recipe, nothing works better than a quick instant ramen hack. 

Furthermore, elevated ramen as it’s called is just fun to make, affordable and very quick. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from, but we think the following three are the best. 

Kewpie Mayo Ramen 

Don’t be put off by the image of mayonnaise in ramen, because this is not your regular tangy variety. In fact, you won’t be successful if you do decide to try our normal “western” staple for this recipe. 

Kewpie mayo, or even sushi mayo, has a completely different flavour profile and consistency. This is the big secret to this hack. It’s available from quite a few different shops nationwide. 

Secondly, it is very important to finely mince or “microplane” your garlic cloves. Normal chopped garlic will not deliver the same punch. 

You could use a zester or the extra fine part of your grater if you don’t feel like investing in one of these. 

Here’s a video to help you along. 

Ingredients: 

1 pack instant ramen (spicy if you enjoy that) with its seasoning 

1 tbsp kewpie mayo 

500 ml hot water (for noodles) 

1 raw egg 

1 tsp garlic, minced or grated 

(Optional: Garnish with scallions, spring onion or green onion) 

Method: 

• Whisk egg, mayo garlic and seasoning packet together. 
• Add half of the hot water from the noodles to the egg mixture and mix. 

• Add noodles and rest of noodle water to taste.  
• Mix and enjoy! 

Roy Choi’s Perfect Instant Ramen 

Roy Choi is one of the most exciting Korean chefs that has hit the foodie scene in the last few years. With this recipe, he shows us that you can go gourmet with just a few ingredients. 

He insists that this version of instant ramen is the closest we non-Koreans will get to authentic traditional Korean cooking in a flash. Here he is cooking his recipe with poached eggs, scallions, sesame seeds and—in a stroke of brilliance—processed cheese. 

Ingredients: 

2½ cups water 

1 pack instant ramen 

1 egg 

½ teaspoon butter 

2 slices processed cheese 

¼ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds 

(Optional: ½ scallion, green part only, thinly sliced) 

Method: 

• Cook ramen with flavour packet for 2 minutes. 
• Turn off the heat and crack in the egg, but do not mix it in. 
• Pull the hot noodles gently over the raw egg and allow the egg to poach, about 3 more minutes. 

• Place into a bowl without breaking the egg. 
• Add the butter, cheese and sesame seeds to the bowl and stir gently to incorporate. 
• Garnish and enjoy! 

Let us know which one of these recipes you enjoyed the most by sharing with the hashtag #homemakerssa.