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Favorite Ramen Toppings?

Okay everyone, I need to tap into your creativity. I just love ramen, and have had some really great stuff - one of my favorites was at a Japanese restaurant in New York that had sesame paste, pickles, and pork. I want to make some at home. Aside from the nasty 12-for-a-dollar packaged kind, this will be my first try.

Anyone have any favorites they'd like to share as I venture out? Any tips for broth-making? I am, sadly, allergic to shellfish. Help a sister out, will ya?

48 Comments:

Nothing gourmet about my answer... I make the 12/buck Ramen with about 1/3 the suggested boiling water then stir in some peanut butter, a bit of soy sauce and sambal oelek to taste. A garnish of sliced spring onions and I'm a happy camper.

There's a decent packaged product. It's manufactured by Myojo Foods.
Package name is Myogo Chukazanmi - Japanese Style Noodles with Soup Base. Comes in a few different flavors including Soybean and Miso.

We poach an egg in our soup base before adding the noodles.

It's not as good as good fresh ramen, but better than most restaurant ramen and the other packaged products. Better yet it comes in under $5

if we have them around, tea eggs or soy sauce eggs. sometimes i'll add miso or seaweed to give it some extra umami.
mmm... now im hungry!

For a typical Japanese broth: Boil water. Once boiling, add a a tsp of salt and a stick of kombu*. After five minutes, add a a couple Tbsps each of of Shoyu / Tamari or/ Soy Sauce and dried bonito flakes*, 1 Tbsps of sliced or chopped ginger, and 1 tsp sliced garlic. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, adjust seasoning to taste. Chili peppers can be added, if you like it spicy.

For toppings, I use whatever I have on hand. Sometimes I go the seafood route. Otherwise, sliced leftover meats are included. Occasionally, I will even use the cheapo packets and make my own broth and add toppings like egg, and some excess frozen vegetables like spinach or peas, along with sliced leftover meats for a quick, cheap meal on the run.

* Kombu (seaweed strips), and Dried Bonito Flakes can be found at Whole Foods, Asian markets and most grocery stores in the International Foods section).

Cheers,

~ Paula

Real ramen broth is not something you make at home, but I think ramen shops cook torigara (chicken bones) and/or tonkotsu (pork bones) with a bunch of leeks, ginger peels, and vegetable scraps for >12 hours. Seafood-based ramen broth exists but is not very common. So you can enjoy real ramen without shellfish, no problem!

Toppings depends on the kind of ramen.
General:
Menma (reconstituted and seasoned dried bamboo shoot), thinly sliced Japanese leeks, slices of naruto (fishcake), char-siu, soft-boiled egg

Miso ramen specific: corn, bean sprouts
Shio ramen specific: wakame, lightly ground sesame seeds (a must)
Shoyu ramen specific: nori
Tonkotsu ramen specific: beni shoga (those red/pink pickled ginger cut into thick needles, different from the sushi ginger) and black wood ear mushrooms

I need combinations of toppings, so I can't pick a favorite :-)

PS
here are pics from famous ramen shops in Japan (click to enlarge)
I'm glad Ramen museum is still open (The curry museum closed).

oh sorry, there was an English site too.
http://www.raumen.co.jp/ramen/ramen.html

I love ramen too! Teriyaki chicken/pork pieces are terrific with miso-based ramen. I also like adding eggs at the end of ramen-cooking so that the eggs gently poach in the soup. Anything crunchy (like beansprouts) adds great texture as well.

I don't eat MSG laden salt licks. Read the ingredients. That stuff is junk.

For all my posing as a foodie, man I love ramen. Like honeybaby, I usually toss an egg in at the end and then top with cilantro and sriracha. In fact that just might be my dinner.

And btw, folks, MSG is not bad for you. And most people aren't allergic to it, it's usually psychosomatic or it's something else in the food.

Kimchi, chopped green onions and/or a fried egg. Even the cheap stuff has potential!

Love the stuff, eat it all the time, keep it in house for kids / grandkids etc. My favorite is (believe it or not) too take a slice of cheese and melt it into the brothy noodles. Tends to add a little flair to the flavor. Will also add leftover chicken, steak or ground beef if I have any.

For about 10cts. a package, not a bad meal.

MSG is not bad for you. Very true. And so called MSG allergies are total BS.

There is a store in Tampa, Fl (believe it or not) that is the greatest Asian market I have ever been in. My dad and I experiment with the different ramens they sell there and we almost always add an egg! Yum!

Wow, thanks everyone! Man, I'm starving.

I wish my MSG reactions were bullshit but sitting around with my heart racing for no apparent reason is not bullshit and is never fun. Anyone can be allergic to anything. Just because you don't think it is serious does not make it so. I can tell when there is MSG in something about 10 mins after I have digested it. It let's me know.

I always keep some of the cheap shit around. I add a tablespoon of white vin and a quarter cup milk to the broth, along w/ some cayenne.

Sesame oil, sriracha, cilantro, sherry, soy, green onions, hot pepper oil, basil, mint, jalapeno peppers, veggies, maybe some potstickers, as you can tell I like to blow myself to mars with heat lol.

Im almost ashamed to admit it, but the only ramen I've ever had is the 12 for a dollar type. I used to use it occasionally for a quick side or even a meal, but I never used the flavor pkt. I like salt but that stuff was just too much. Nowadays I wont buy it because the noodles are fried, not only do I have issues with fried food, but talk about empty calories! I usually buy a pkg of buckwheat noodles and cook some of those, add some homemade or even boxed chicken or veggie broth, and whatever veggies I have on hand, and top with an egg yolk.

@jerzee tomato...
do you have a reaction to seaweed as well? MSG isnt great for you, but seaweed extract has a high concentration of the glutamic acid.. (as do a lot of other things with protein) and monosodium glutamate is just a sodium salt of glutamic acid. I was just wondering.
Also, I think the main nasty part of ramen is that "broth" packet it comes with. Chances are thats where all the MSG and excess sodium is. I never use it since we always have broth on hand at home.

@huneybumper- I think Myojo Chukazanmai that @tinat mentioned is non-fried. there are many non-fried kinds in Japan, and the noodles have better texture than the fried ones.
Most Chinese grocery stores carry fresh egg noodles- that's what you need to make real ramen.

@MSG=monosodium glutamate; glutamate is a naturally occurring amino acid that contributes to umami (Kombu contains lots of glutamate, bonito flakes are high in inosinic acid). In nature, degrading proteins by drying or fermenting produces amino acids, but artificially you need the sodium ion to get the amino acids delivered. So, in addition to high salt (sodium chloride), you are taking additional sodium from MSG. If you are sensitive to high sodium, this can make you ill.

In Japan MSG is sold in salt shakers, and my grandma's generation used to sprinkle MSG on everything before people realized it wasn't such a good idea (and some people still do). But considering how long they live, MSG itself doesn't seem so harmful.

@all those who call MSG allergies BS why get so up in arms about it? Cmon folks lets face it some people do have a sensetivity to it, just like some people have sensetivities to other things. why all the hatred?

I made "fancy" ramen this weekend.

First I reconstituted some dried shitake mushrooms in water brought to a boil. I cooked the noodles and drained half the broth and replaced it with the mushroom broth. Then I added the flavor packet, some leftover chicken, green onions, the mushrooms, and crushed red pepper seeds. It was delicious.

@MSG- It's only harmful if you have to watch your sodium levels. The glutamate is water soluble and doesn't pass the blood brain barrier

I use salt. I am not salt sensitive but again if I ingest any MSG I get heart palps. I do not eat seaweed so I do not know if it effects me. Now that I think it might not likely to happen.

What's with all the bickering about MSG? I personally love the stuff, unfortunately some people don't react well to it.

Anyway, my favorite way to eat ramen is to poach an egg into it (I prefer the korean varieties - shin ramen, neoguri or jang ramen). Also like to add dduk (rice cake) and mandoo.

Just make sure you crack and egg in it - i make it all runny and it thickens the broth...but maybe that's just a personal taste :)

@ jerzee, so you don't eat it. don't need to post! and if you had read the post you might see that the OP was trying to make it, NOT the "msg-laden salt lick".

i agree with yummy, i always add an egg. also sesame oil, gomasio, red pepper flakes, toasted nori and shittakes. my fave ramen place does it with a hard boiled egg that's been soaking in soy, so good! and pickled ginger.

I once worked with a woman who said she was "deathly allergic" to citrus, nuts (especially peanuts), mushrooms, peppers, and MSG, amongst other things. Yet she loved take-out Chinese food, go figure.

I'm not disputing the existence of allergies, but too many people feel the need to be a victim. Chris Rock put it best:

"We got so much food in America, we're allergic to food. Allergic to food! Hungry people ain't allergic to shit. You think anyone in Rwanda's got a fuckin' lactose intolerance?!"


And don't forget, Viccini built up an immunity to iocane powder.

While at an Army base in Korea, we would go into the village and get ramen (the spicy kind) topped with a slice of American cheese and a scoop of Kimchi...delicious! We re-create that here at home by using sriracha to get the heat.

There are very few items in my fridge that I wouldn't add to ramen. It is the absolute best use of leftovers. A smidge of fresh tomato, some thinly sliced onion, eggs-scrambled or poached, almost any kind of meat... and on and on!

I was recently reminded that canned tuna has MSG. The celery juice in the tuna water is a natural source.

Oh yeah. I've commented this before, but I'm a fan of the Korean Shin Ramyun as well. for a packaged instant "good" ramen, it's relatively cheap. my topping for Shin Ramyun always includes an egg- I feel like the egg somehow neutralizes the heat a bit.

Poached egg, scallions and that junky Japanese sprinkle seasoning with black sesame seeds, chili powder, etc.

@schmonsequences: off topic, but for some reason I decided to watch The Princess Bride last nite. It's Vizzini, not Viccini. And it was Westly/The Dread Pirate Roberts who built up an immunity to iocane powder.

On the subject of Ramen, this is not remotely authentic or healthy, but I grew up eating the cheap ramen, with an egg mixed in, topped with grated parmesean, and Sriracha. I still get strange cravings for it.

I too am a big fan of Shin Ramyun - I always keep a packet on hand for emergencies. (I think my hunger after reading this topic counts as one!) I always throw an egg in (fried, or poached in the broth), and usually some scallions and a little sesame oil. Coriander, sweet corn, and leftover roast chicken also lovely, as is a slice or two of fried spam.

i LOVE ramen.. i guess after consuming so much of it in college it just is one of those things that makes me happy... i also liek to put a slice of cheese in it and make it creamy... or for a "healthy version" some green peppers or green onions...

my fiance and i just got a house together and just said yesterday that we were going to have to live on ramen for the next two years :) great ideas if so!

Without getting too shilly...I think a link to my Noodle Soup Oracle website is appropriate here! Just keep clicking to generate new noodle soup (or ramen) toppings. Have fun :)

I'm so embarrassed... I am a ramen addict. I eat Sapporo Ichiban's kitsune udon and Chow Mein, but I'm not proud. I usually put Kimchi on top, it makes it healthier somehow. Never an egg though, just too revolting a thought. I have managed my addiction pretty well these days. I've only eaten ramen twice in about 6 or more weeks! As opposed to the former packet a day habit...

Let's face it, while comfortingly delish, ramen is not good food and I can prove it. It makes me feel weak after I eat it..... hmmm is there kryptonite in those little packets??? Or wait, maybe MSG is really kryptonite!!!

Wow, this is great everyone. Thanks! I have a stockpile of fabulous ideas now...

When I was in London, years ago, there was an instant ramen-like product called Bachelor's Pasta (I think that was the name). It was basically instant ramen noodles with instructions to cook them in about a cup of water and add the seasoning packet (we usually bought curry flavor) for a quick side dish. Sometimes I will cook the instant ramen noodles (the 12 for $1 ones) now in a cup of water (until the water is almost completely absorbed) or broth and add a heaping spoonful of peanut butter, a dash of soy sauce, chile paste and sesame oil to make quick peanut noodles. That's probably my favorite way to eat them.

For an instant rise to your blood pressure, do two packets of the cheap noodles with one packet of the seasoning...add a dash of worchestershire sauce and a couple of dashes of rice wine vinegar...then drop an egg in the water as it's boiling and swirl it around...adds a richness. top with a spinkle of green onion and your good to go.

Okay, I do the 10/$1 kind too, but I cook them for three minutes in two cups of water, drain them, add them to 1.5 cups of boiling water, and add the flavor packet. Am I getting fewer calories? They still taste good; the broth is just less thick, and I don't drink it, anyway.

i always get the 10 for a dollar kind and use half the flavor pack, a fairly healthy amount of sriracha, touch of sesame oil, garlic powder and an egg....then if i have on hand some veggies like cooked carrots, frozen corn, canned mushrooms or some scallions. it can become a very decent meal!

I so so love ramen. My favorite way is like @yankeesgal - kimchi, scallion and maybe a fried egg. Sometimes a sliced HB egg.

Re: MSG, I adore the stuff.

Back in college, I used to do something ridiculous, and I can't believe I survived.
Two bricks of ramen, cooked by soaking in boiling water (no stove, just a spout-fill electric kettle). Dump the drained noodles (steaming hot) into a big plastic bowl, shake on one and a half of the "flavoring" packets, and a tin of anchovies with the oil.
I honestly can't believe I survived, but to this day, I love an anchovy or two (not a whole tin; good lord, no) on my ramen. Egg is great, same with furikake seasoning. I add scallions to the broth sometimes, perhaps some button mushrooms.

When eating ramen at home, it has to be Ichiban, original flavor or beef flavor, a fried egg, scallions and sriracha.

At the ramen shop, it's tonkotsu ramen, with a soy sauce egg, scallions, wood ear mushrooms, pickled ginger, and of course extra pork slices. Yum yum.

I usually put the following in mine:

coleslaw mix (bagged salad section)
sesame oil
mushrooms
texas pete hot sauce
soy sauce
either shrimp, chicken or no protien at all

pretty groovy :)

my friend's korean husband once made me ramen with {among other things} fish cake, egg, and a tin of smoked oysters. oh, man. that was delish.

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