Written by Mateo Biggs
As many Maroons enter back on campus at the start of the new semester, many who live on campus might just start missing proper home cooked meals or might miss cooking in general. For some, ingredients for full meals might be just a bit too out of budget or their dorm kitchens might be just a bit difficult to work with given the fact that many common rooms are shared with large groups of fellow students. With this, many turn to cheap and simple alternatives– one such alternative that I have in my own “pantry” being instant ramen.
Of course while having ramen on the days where you’re not craving commons, Cavern, or Freshens can be a great solution, you might find yourself soon becoming burnt out on the taste of artificial chicken or beef.
However, don’t get rid of those cup ramen! Here’s a list of simple ways you can spice up your between-class snack or evening dish.
- Hard Boiled Egg: Now, buying eggs in today’s economy might be a bit pricey, Walmart’s “Great Value” eggs come at around $1.73 for a 12-count carton. Not only is it a cheap bundle, but boiling the egg and adding it on top of your ramen adds a nice bonus of protein for nutritional balance! The egg, from personal experience, also neutralizes the overwhelming salt taste for some people. I also like to add some chopped green onions on top with my egg as well, simply for color and an additional texture.
- Tuna: While this isn’t exactly Top Ramen, Samyang’s Buldak– specifically their Carbonara flavor –is a creamy yet spicy noodle brand that I enjoy eating in order to not burn myself out on the flavor of normal noodles. I recently have been buying Walmart’s “Great Value” tuna packages– each only being $0.96 –and in order to add protein and extra flavor to my Buldak, I experimented and added the sweet and spicy flavored tuna. While this might not be enjoyable to those who don’t like seafood, the tuna added a new texture to the noodles and easily blended into the original flavor at hand as well. This is definitely going to be a recurring addition to my noodles from now on.
- Ham: Like I said before, if you’re not a seafood lover but want meat in your noodles, I found that pairing ham with your ramen does just as good. Many of us have seen “Ponyo”, and I will admit this is where I got the idea. However, this is definitely a great idea since it adds just as much as the tuna does, just with less of a salty tinge.
Hopefully these ideas inspire your dorm cooking!
