Ramen might not be the healthiest thing to eat, but no doubt it, it’s satisfying carbs in the backcountry. No need to cook them in a pot either; all you need is boiled water and a few minutes to sit and wait.
I took the boys to the grocery store a few miles from a trail and told them to pick out what looked good to them. They bypassed the old-school ramen in a bag, and the Nissin Cup Noodles, for the more giant paper bowls of ramen sold by Maruchan. Being 12 and 13, they have teen boy appetites.
These bowls are nicely sized. A traditional “instant lunch” (the same as Nissin Cup Noodles) is 64 grams in weight. These bigger bowls are 93.9 grams in weight. So, definitely a bigger bowl of carbs.
It’s cost was $1.49.
It comes with two packets, one is the broth powder, and the other is dried vegetables. Sprinkle those both on, and add boiling water to the line inside. I carefully placed the bowl in an FBC cozy sidewise so they would stay toasty warm. These bowls fit perfectly in it.
There’s a reason always to have a cozy on hand.
A hack I have done for years is to let instant lunch noodles sit for 10 minutes, not 3 minutes. This way, the noodles plump up.
How it looked after 10 minutes.
Give it a good mix, and start enjoying. It’s not much different than their regular Instant Lunch noodles, just a bigger serving. The 13-year-old would rate that 5 unhealthy stars of deliciousness.
The other hack is draining that salt lick off a bit after you stir. Not drinking the broth means less sodium.
Now, I saw the giant paper cup of Maruchan Wonton Ramen Noodle Soup. A long time ago, Instant Lunch made a wonton version but stopped back in, I think, 2010. This giant cup was $2.39. It’s weight is 104.8 grams.
Can it get any more perfect? Ramen AND wontons! The bowl comes with two packets: of broth powder and a bag of dried vegetables. Add in, pour in boiling water to the line inside and let sit for 10 minutes. Due to how big the bowl is, I used a cozy under and a cozy on top to mostly insulate it. It wouldn’t have fit into the cozies.
How it looked after 10 minutes. The wontons are delicate so eat them first off the top.
Served with chopsticks. I did drain off most of the broth. What I found was that this bowl was so big I could only eat about half. A certain 13-year-old appeared out of the mist with his moochin’ fork and took off.
The thing is, if it is cold out, and you want a hot meal, this is downright affordable in the nasty inflation at grocery stores right now.
~Sarah