STORY BY SHELBY JENSEN
Ramen noodles are the quintessential college food. These salty noodles may or may not count as actual food, but they’re cheap, filling and easy. What could be better?
Maybe something just as cheap, filling and easy that doesn’t have an entire packet of chicken-flavored MSG sprinkled on it. Such a thing must exist, right?
A Google search for “fancy ramen” brought up lots of recipes with chicken (not cheap) and things you had to bake (not easy).
Then I found a recipe for ramen with peanut butter, sriracha and soy sauce that seemed easy enough to make in a dorm room.
I was skeptical of the peanut butter, but decided to give it a try.
Results: Pretty Good
This recipe was VERY easy to prepare. I borrowed my friend’s ramen cooker and everything went perfectly well. Everything I needed except for the soy sauce was available at the C-Store, so I was able to use my flex dollars and spend next to nothing.
Even if you don’t have flex dollars, the ingredients are available at any grocery store for an affordable price.
In my opinion, it was slightly better than normal ramen. It was definitely less salty, and the sriracha added some spice.
The peanut butter wasn’t overpowering, but it was definitely there. It added a bit of creaminess that isn’t usually present. All in all, the result was fairly enjoyable.
I’m not yet desperate enough to eat ramen for every meal, and this recipe wasn’t delicious enough to convince me to do it anyway.
However, if I ever get to that point, I will definitely be making this in lieu of using the included seasoning packet. Do try this at home.
The Recipe:
- 1 package instant ramen
- Peanut butter
- Sriracha hot sauce
- Soy sauce
Instructions:
- Find a microwave-safe bowl, add ramen square and water, boil in microwave until they’re mushy as you like (about 3 minutes).
- Add a big spoonful of peanut butter to the bowl, swirl it around until it’s melted.
- Use a fork to get the noodles out of the water. Skip this if you like noodle soup.
- Add hot sauce and soy sauce to taste.
