What is ramyeon?
Ramyeon (라면) is the Korean word for instant noodles. The word comes from Japanese ramen, and in Korea it almost always means the packet with a noodle block and seasoning powder. Korean varieties are usually hotter than Japanese ones and have thicker, chewier noodles. Well-known brands are Shin Ramyun by Nongshim and Jin Ramen by Ottogi. You can find both at an Asian grocery store and in many supermarkets.
The right ingredients
- Noodles: Any Korean variety with a red, hot soup works. Samyang Buldak noodles are a dry kind with no broth and do not suit this recipe.
- Kimchi: Use aged, sour kimchi. Freshly made kimchi tastes flat in the soup. You can find a recipe to make it yourself at kimchi. Kimchi usually contains fish sauce or shrimp, so the soup is vegetarian only with vegan kimchi and a packet without meat extract.
- Water: Stick to the amount on the package, which is 550 ml for Shin Ramyun. With kimchi the soup can take 50 ml more, because the cabbage brings salt and acidity.
How to make instant noodles with egg
Add the kimchi and seasoning powder to the boiling water along with the noodles. The cabbage cooks along and gives its tang to the broth. For the egg you have two options:
- Beaten: Crack the egg into the pot and pull it through the broth a few times with chopsticks. It sets in strands, and the soup gets cloudier and milder.
- Whole: Lay the egg on the noodles, put the lid on and let it steep for 2 minutes. The yolk stays runny, and you break it only in the bowl.
The noodles keep cooking in the hot bowl. Take the pot off the heat half a minute before the end of the package time.
Common mistakes
- Too much water: The broth tastes watery, and the seasoning powder is no longer enough.
- Egg in the pot too early: If the egg goes in the water with the noodles, it is hard by the time you serve.
- Sesame oil boiled: Toasted sesame oil loses its aroma in boiling broth. Drizzle it over only in the bowl.
Variations
- With cheese: In Korea many people lay a slice of processed cheese on the finished noodles. It melts into the broth and softens the heat.
- With vegetables: Bok choy, button mushrooms or tofu cubes cook along for the last 2 minutes.
- With sausage: With sausages and canned luncheon meat, it becomes a small version of Budae Jjigae.
- With ramen egg: Instead of the raw egg, put a halved ajitsuke tamago on the soup.
More ingredients and tricks for packet noodles are collected in the article upgrading instant noodles. Use leftover kimchi the next day in kimchi bokkeumbap, fried rice with kimchi.
