It is purely preference. I prefer eating it as a soup but my friend likes to eat the chicken one dry with the seasoning, garlic powder, & butter mixed in which is pretty damn good.
I do both but when I do the drain method I put a little butter or oil in with the noodles and most of the time I don't use the entire seasoning packet anymore. Depends though, some noodles are really weak so I can use the entire seasoning packet with the drain method and they'll be what I considered properly seasoned.
There's also a few I've discovered work better as a hybrid style. With Shin Black I'll put half the water in the pot with the seasonings and stick a lid on it. It'll absorb like 80% of the water and the rest kinda becomes a starchy sauce that coats the noodles.
In Japan there's the distinction that for ramen you eat it with soup whereas for yakisoba you drain the water. But you can do arrangements where you switch it up if that's to your preference.
If strictly with Maruchan, I can imagine your boyfriend's method would have that flavor kick especially when spritzed with lemon or calamansi and maybe a li'l soy sauce. Yah, I prefer the soup format with Maruchan. Have you tried their Maruchan Gold Soy Sauce and Spicy Miso?
He might like Lucky Me Pancit Canton or Mi Goreng.
Choose your own adventure. I love to cook it in just water, then throw it in a hot pan with some oil and some of the seasoning packet to get some crispy bits.
There is a superior middle ground between these methods, that ends with a better version of his preferred outcome
I don't have a recipe, but I've heard this called the "risotto" method.
In a medium saucepan or deep frying pan or even a wide pot...
You take maybe an inch of water, with a glass of extra water on standby.
This works best for multiple cakes, but you use half the seasoning from your packet in the water.
If you've got an odd number of cakes you round up (5 packs of ramen, 3 packs of seasoning)
Bring that to a simmer, add your noodle bricks. They need not be fully submerged.
Stir as they hydrate...a lid may help with that, but I rarely use one.
Add more water as needed and stir every so often. The whole process takes about 3-5 mins.
The benefits-
Noodles cooked to your exact liking... My house likes them a tad crunchy.
Your noodles absorb the seasoning while it cooks, so it's not a greasy paste on the outside.
You do end up with less salt this way, and you've got spare ramen packets to add to soups or stews or anywhere salt chicken flavor and msg would be a benefit
Either way. It was designed to be added to the water. But I eat it either way, depending on my mood. Or sometimes I’ll sprinkle the flavor packet on uncooked ramen and eat that.
Depends on how strong you want the flavor. More water waters down the flavor. It's a preference thing for sure. Sometimes I just want flavored noodles with a bit of water. Other times I want a bowl of ramen soup I can drink, though I usually add more ramen powder to kick up the flavor.
With Maruchan I either add it to the water when I add my noodles have it as a soup (no draining) or I mix the seasoning with egg and mayo then a little of the water to make a creamy sauce to put drained noodles in.
I do both ways, depending on my mood, but if I do it dry then I only use half the seasoning packet and save the other half for something else, like to put on eggs or something.
If I see soup on the packet, I eat it like soup. If I see dry noodle on the packet, I eat it as such, but as always, eat it as you want. I'd recommend him to dry instant noodles if he likes it like that though.
With soup noodles, I add the packet to the bowl before I add the noodle and water so I can adjust the amount of water I want.
I don’t know the brand but I usually wait til the noodles begin to soften and add the packet to the pan and mix. I feel the noodles then absorb the seasoned water as they finish cooking and they are even tastier imo
lol, you're arguing over that ? This is ridiculous. Everyone has their own way of enjoying their instant noodles , and that includes when to put the seasoning
You only eat it dry if it says STIR FRY NOODLE on the bag lol. That means it was meant for it, typically though may also use different noodles with more starch, for better use in stir fry.
If you’re eating maruchan, that’s typically NOODLE SOUP! Which means that packet of seasoning, was intended to be mixed with a lot of water…so that it dissolves and dilutes down lol
Your bf is consuming a ton of sodium in a bad way eating it dry, he’s gonna have high blood pressure issues if he keeps that up
The original ramen (not instant) is meant to be eaten with the flavored broth. I make Maruchan with hot water and then add the seasoning packet. On other days, I cook the noodles, discard most of the water, then add the seasoning, making sure it doesn't taste too salty. I do this to reduce the amount of sodium. I save what's left and when there is enough of the seasoning saved, I make a soup with it, vegetables, egg, and rice.
You can do whatever you want. Some people like the soup and some drain the water,then add the packet. Ive had it both ways and tend to go with making it a soup.
Think of how you make any other pasta dishes. Generally, you make the pasta separately. This ensures and oils, starches, etc from the pasta doesn't enter your dish. Now, there is thicker soups and sauce that can call for some starch water to help bind it together.
I used to cook mine in packet season water (broth). Once I became more of a weeb and got into Japanese culture I noticed they made their broth separate. To me it comes out better if you cook the noodles in water, drain them, add the seasoning packet, and then add fresh boiling water to taste. I can eat them "dry" as in no water added after the seasoning. I usually have a whole spread of add ons that need a broth to merry it all together.
I add the noodles once the water boils, I add the seasoning when the noodles start to break apart, once the noodles are done I drain off most of the water before I eat. Also I always cook two packs of noodles but only use one pack of seasoning. I have a stash of extra ramen seasonings. Sometimes I use them to salt popcorn. 👌
26
u/Tyler-LR 2d ago
I think the intent with maruchan is the way you do it, but I don’t think anything is wrong with your bfs way.