Could someone explain to me the appeal of ramen?

.03 cents per metric ton.

five for a dollar
The chicken isn't bad. Add some canned corn.
I favor bulk rice but . . .

Ramen is great.

Believe it!

It's edible and cheap. And some of it isn't bad at all.

Besides, enough hot pepper and anything tastes good.

Excelsior said:

.03 cents per metric ton.

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That about sums it up. Plus it's high energy.

As others have said - it's cheap. That's the primary reason I ate it during some lean years in my life. The taste is....'okay'....and you can modify it in various ways, but bottom line, it's cheap and it's edible.

Excelsior said:

.03 cents per metric ton.

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Amen to that.

I actually liked it, but it's LOADED with MSG, and I'm allergic to MSG. (If I'm going to eat ramen, I'm using the damn flavor packet...so...none for me)

Quick dumb question from someone not in the colonies:

What's Ramen?

Bmwhtly said:

Quick dumb question from someone not in the colonies:

What's Ramen?

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Instant noodles.

They're god's food for the young and poor: quick, cheap, tasty (with a few pieces of ham and some mushrooms, for example), and high-caloried. Some from Japan don't have MSGs at all, remember, all you need is less than half a packet -- most of it is salt anyway. I guarantee you that half a packet is enough.

Bmwhtly said:

Quick dumb question from someone not in the colonies:

What's Ramen?

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Ramen noodle soup.

1. Boil two cups of water in a saucepan, add noodles and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally. (the noodles are curly and sold packaged in hard bricks roughly 4in x 4in x 1in) The boiling water and stirring breaks up the brick.

2. Turn off heat, add contents of seasoning package, stir. (seasoning package is beef or chicken or....?) usually it's on the salty side regardless of 'flavor'.

3. Serve immediately for best results. Makes 2-8oz servings.

190 calories per serving/70 calories from fat. Each serving has 840mg of sodium(35% of your daily value).
Edit: This is from a Maruchan Ramen noodle soup 'beef flavor' package.

maestrowork said:

Instant noodles.

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Now I understand.
Yep, they're a staple (or entire diet) of students and single people here too.

Most of the sodium is from the flavor packet. Like I suggested, use less than half. The fat is not bad, as long as it's not trans fat. I also like the Japanese instant udons -- they're healthier (not fried and less salt) -- and just as tasty. A bit more expensive.

Cheap and salty.

maestrowork said:

Most of the sodium is from the flavor packet. Like I suggested, use less than half. The fat is not bad, as long as it's not trans fat.

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Yeah, half a packet is MORE than enough. According to the Nutrition Facts on the back of this package:

Total Fat....8g 12%DV
Saturated Fat....4g 20%DV
It doesn't say what the other 4g of fat is....
Is trans fat - 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil'? If so, then there must be some in Ramen noodles (or at least this brand) because that's listed among it's ingredients.

Usually if there's trans fat, they will list it. Saturated fat is not the same. The fat comes mostly from the oil that fried the noodles. Don't forget, each pack of noodles has 2 servings... So don't eat too much unless you're a scrawny young guy like I was...

maestrowork said:

Usually if there's trans fat, they will list it. Saturated fat is not the same. The fat comes mostly from the oil that fried the noodles. Don't forget, each pack of noodles has 2 servings... So don't eat too much unless you're a scrawny young guy like I was...

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Yeah, I used to break the bricks in half unless I was really hungry.

My-Immortal said:

Ramen noodle soup.

1. Boil two cups of water in a saucepan, add noodles and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally. (the noodles are curly and sold packaged in hard bricks roughly 4in x 4in x 1in) The boiling water and stirring breaks up the brick.

2. Turn off heat, add contents of seasoning package, stir. (seasoning package is beef or chicken or....?) usually it's on the salty side regardless of 'flavor'.

3. Serve immediately for best results. Makes 2-8oz servings.

190 calories per serving/70 calories from fat. Each serving has 840mg of sodium(35% of your daily value).
Edit: This is from a Maruchan Ramen noodle soup 'beef flavor' package.

Click to expand...

Modified directions:

Fill microwave safe bowl with hot water

Break Ramen brick in half; attempt to cram in bowl

Microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes

Stir

Put back in microwave for 1 minute to soften the crunchy bits that stuck up

Pour most of water out

Stir in contents of seasoning packets

(option: add canned veggies; or, nuke some frozen veggies prior to first step and mix in here)

Eat fast before your tastebuds catch on

Yummy! Ramen!

Ramen popularity? Salt. Cheap. Eat.

Thank you.

What is this serving size and excess sodium of which you people speak?

Ramen: it's not just for college kids. It's also for poor folks with ten-year-old sons who love Naruto and will eat what he eats.

(I wish Naruto would eat more broccoli...)

swvaughn said:

Modified directions:

Fill microwave safe bowl with hot water

Break Ramen brick in half; attempt to cram in bowl

Microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes

Stir

Put back in microwave for 1 minute to soften the crunchy bits that stuck up

Pour most of water out

Stir in contents of seasoning packets

(option: add canned veggies; or, nuke some frozen veggies prior to first step and mix in here)

Eat fast before your tastebuds catch on

Yummy! Ramen!

Click to expand...

Yeah, when I had a microwave I'd do it that way but I didn't always have one. You can toss all sorts of different things into the ramen noodles....after Thanksgiving my mom would always send home leftovers so I'd shred the leftovers up and toss them in. Chopped up hotdogs. Vegetables. Croutons. All sorts of things work with ramen noodles.

Ramen ramen ramen! Ramen ramen ramen RAMEN!!!!! It's flavorful, and filling, and cheaper than dirt (seriously, I've purchased bags of dirt for way more than pounds of ramen) and it's friggin RAMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!11

After the noodles have begun to separate, I like to add some frozen veggies (peas and/or corn and/or carrots! Yummers!) then beat two eggs with a fork and pour them through a fine mesh strainer, into the cooking noodles and veggies. Add the flavoring packet and viola! Egg drop soup!

BenPanced said:

Egg drop soup!

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Mmmmm. Egg drop soup! I might have to make that (sans Ramen) for lunch later.

Ramen with Fried eggs (yolks half-done). Yum.