Chinese Cooking: Tips for Making Great Ramen Noodles

Ramen noodles are a true convenience food. They're cheap, they're fast, they're easy to make. And they are a major food group to college students everywhere.

They can also be soggy, bland, and tasteless, especially when you follow the instructions on the pack.

Well, at ten to twenty cents per pack, can you really expect ramen noodles to taste any better than they do?

Yes, you can. There are ways to make the few minutes it takes to cook this convenience food more than worth your while.

Don't Cook Ramen Noodles for Too Long.

Don't boil ramen noodles any longer than the instructions indicate, which is usually three minutes. Cooking them longer can make them soggy and unappetizing. So, set your timer for three minutes, and take your noodles off the stove the minute that bell dings. In fact, if you want a firmer noodle, you can take the noodles off the stove after two or two and a half minutes. If the noodles haven't broken up yet, giving the pot a vigorous stir will do the trick.

Pour Off Some of the Water.

Most packs of ramen noodles instruct you to boil the noodles on high in two cups of water. But all of that water doesn't all have to be part of your meal. Once the cooking is done, pour some of that water off.

Ramen noodles absorb water, which is another reason they become soggy. Pouring off some of the water means less water for the noodles to absorb.

Also, the packets of seasoning that come with ramen noodles don't usually contain enough to fully season all the water that's left after boiling, which is probably why the ramen noodles you've had in the past lacked flavor. By pouring off some of the water, there's less water for the little packet to season.

How much water you pour off depends on how intense you want the flavor to be. If you want a really intense flavor, you can pour off all but a little of the water, leaving just enough to create a well-seasoned "sauce" for your noodles. If you want a less intense flavor, pouring off a cup or so of the water will leave you with a milder, more "soupy" end result.