Back-to-School Ramen Article

2100 words, 2 photos (RGB for Ditial and 4C for Print) with 2 recipes for Ramen in a Microwave. Scrape the copy of pick up from dropbox.com

THE SUPER-SAVER-CHEAP-EATS-INSTANT-STUDENT MEAL…RAMEN!!!

Little did Momofuku Ando know in 1958 when he invented the instant noodle, how many students he would save from starvation. With the increased use of the microwave as a common cooking appliance, instant ramen has spread to worldwide use. Ramen is now sold and manufactured in over 40 countries with over 300 BILLION packages sold in 2013. The amount sold to students each semester is as yet uncounted.

MR, NOODLES AND THE IDEA Ando was born Wu Pai-fu in Taiwan in 1910. Ando moved to Japan and became a Japanese citizen after WWII. “Momofuku” is the Japanese interpretation of the Chinese characters of his Chinese given name; he took Ando as his Japanese surname. Ando tried and failed in a series of start-up ventures and actually ended up in jail for tax evasion in 1948, he served 2 years in jail. Never to be daunted by misfortune Aldo started a small salt making business called Nissin. In the post-war era, Japan was suffering from a shortage of food and was purchasing tons of inexpensive wheat flour from the US. Long lines of people would wait for hours to purchase bowls of fresh noodles. The traditional small family-run noodle makers were overwhelmed by the mass demand. Ando realized the need for a mass produce noodle, that could be easily stored, that was tasty, fast and easy to make. He experimented wheat flour, palm oil and a special salt (kansui) to form the dough. The dough was kneaded and processed in a pasta maker similar to western style noodle machine, but Ando processed his dough until it was 2mm thick, then he than cut the dough into 2mm thick strands. The noodles are fed on to a special conveyor belt that forms the noodles into their distinctive wavy appearance. Then are steamed for 1-5 minutes and formed into tiles/bricks, folded in half and flash-fried for 1 minute to remove moisture, presto instant noodles. Ando, the magician, created these delicious instant noodles in August 1958, Momofuku Ando, named the world’s first instant noodle Chikin Ramen and in 1971, developed “CUP NOODLE®,” the world’s first cup-type noodle product.

In a poll conducted in Japan in 2000, the Japanese believe that their best invention of the twentieth century was instant ramen, ramen beat-out the Sony Walkman! The New York Times named Momofuku Ando the inventor of instant noodles “Mr. Noodles,” a well-deserved title. He serves as inspiration to every college grad and budding entrepreneur—he had a great idea, perseverance and the work ethic that took him from bankruptcy to being a billionaire and a national treasure.

Ramen is the go to fast, cheap and easy meal for college students and single meals. The bonus is it’s the perfect platform to hack your way to a creative and DELICIOUS instant meal. A few condiments in the college pantry (or a shoe box under the bed) with the addition of frozen, canned or fresh ingredients you can create a balanced nutritious meal to sustain you through the long hours at the library or testing that code. The cup-style ramen has 8 strands of noodles 16 inches long, a single serving of the classic brick of ramen has over 180 feet of noodles AND an astronaut aboard the space shuttle Discovery, ate ramen out of a specially designed vacuum pack while weightless in space.

Instant noodles are high in carbohydrates and fat, and zero in protein To make your instant noodle dish into a balanced meal just add some fresh or frozen chopped vegetables, a can of tuna, an egg or lean meat. Nissin product line does not use salt in the dough to make noodles. If you have a concern about the sodium content, just discard the flavor packet or use half. The current U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance of sodium for adults is 1,500 mg/day. The cup-style instant style noodles contains 2400 to 2700 mg of sodium. SO… nix the cup style noodles and be cautious with the “flavor” packet.

What are the 10 best instant ramen brands/flavors.
(These are more expensive than the 59 cent Top Ramen)
#10 Mama Shrimp Creamy Tom Yum Flavor Oriental Style Instant Noodles – Thailand
#9: Paldo Kokomen Spicy Chicken Flavor – South Korea
#8: Nongshim Shin Ramyun Black Premium Noodle Soup – United States
#7: Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein – United States
#6: Myojo Ippei-chan Yakisoba Japanese Style Noodles – Japant
#5: Indomie Curly Noodle With Grilled Chicken Flavour Special Quality Instant Noodles – Indonesia
#4: Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja Flamin’ Hot & Nutty Noodle Soup – United States
#3: Indomie Mi Instan Mi Goreng Rendang – Indonesia
#2: Prima Taste Simgapore Curry La Mian – Singapore
#1: Prima Taste Singapore Laksa La Mian – Singapore
#1: Prima Taste Singapore Laksa La Mian – Singapore

R U A VEGETARIAN? One brand of US manufactured ramen noodles, Top Ramen’s “Oriental” and “Chili” flavors are vegetarian, they do not contain animal fat. UK’s Pot Noodle are vegetarian friendly, stay away from the ‘Pot Noodle GTI’ they contain meat.

IS RAMEN THE ANSWER TO WORLD HUNGER?
The World Instant Noodles Association works with the Red Cross and relief organizations to offer disaster relief in the wake of International natural disasters. The instant noodle manufactures have donated millions of packages of instant ramen as emergency rations to the people in disaster-hit areas. Perhaps this is the year you will start development of a new food product to ease world hunger and help make the world a better place to live. We hope you do.

Here is a Ramen book and recipes to start you off. Your mother would approve AND you can afford it in digital or print.
Rah! Rah! Ramen, by Sara Childs is fast, easy, cheap, good and healthy microwave cooking. It’s been microwave tested and approved for use in the dorm, frat house, sorority or kitchen remodeling zone. So simple even a nerd can do it. So cheap even an art student can afford it. So fast there is no excuse for not handing in class assignments or serving yourself healthy meal. 128 print pages with easy-to-follow recipes and color photos of each finished dish. Perfect for those without a stove, budget or time, to cook and eat an healthy meal. Better yet, the book is available in digital format or print. Easy to find on your smart phone or tablet and even better, harder to loose or misplace under the laundry (again). No excuse for not eating while doing that all-nighter cram session. With a few simple ingredients, a few minutes and a microwave, meals, including dessert, are ready to eat. A valuable alternative to “fast food,” cheaper and healthier too! 53 recipes, kitchen-tested with easy to follow instructions. Perfect for the starving student or just a fast, easy meal.
Ramen is inexpensive and using a microwave oven is faster than standing in line to order a fast food burger. Ramen has almost half the calories of a popular fast food chicken sandwich, less than a third of the calories of a reuben sandwich and has less than a quarter of the fat and a third of the calories of deep fried xcrispy chicken tenders.
It’s high in carbohydrates and if you use the flavor packet, fat and sodium. BUT… the up side is, ramen has fewer calories than many fast foods. But ramen noodles can be more than a super fast microwavable carbohydrate meal. If you discard the flavor packet, add a can of stewed tomatoes, some Italian herbs, powdered garlic and dried onion flakes you’ve created Ramen Marinara in 5 to 7 minutes or try Ramen in Red Clam Sauce, the prep and cooking time is 7 to 10 minutes.
Ramen is one of the cheapest foods in the supermarket and with imagination can be a versatile staple in your cuisine. Rah! Rah! Ramen recipes will add flavor and variety for a super fast, super-cheap, super-good meal. Ramen is a staple in American student cuisine. If you’re a full-time college student, money and time are major issues. Ramen is cheap and with a microwave oven super fast to prepare.
Ramen is high in carbohydrates and if you use the flavor packet, fat and sodium. BUT… the up side is, ramen has fewer calories than many fast foods. Ramen is less expensive and using a microwave oven is faster than standing in line and ordering fast food burger. Ramen has almost half the calories of a popular fast food chicken sandwich, less than a third of the calories of a reuben sandwich. Ramen has less than a quarter of the fat and a third of the calories of deep fried xcrispy chicken tenders.
Ramen noodles can be more than a super fast microwavable carbohydrate meal. If you discard the flavor packet, add a can of stewed tomatoes, some Italian herbs, powdered garlic and dried onion flakes you’ve created Ramen Marinara in 5 to 7 minutes or try Ramen in Red Clam Sauce, the prep and cooking time is 7 to 10 minutes. Ramen is one of the cheapest foods in the supermarket and with imagination can be a versatile staple in your college cuisine. Rah! Rah! Ramen recipes will add flavor and variety to a super fast, super cheap meal.

ramen n cheese Rah! Rah! Ramen

Macmen N’ Cheese

1 Package ramen (discard the flavor packet)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup half & half (4 take-out containers from your cafeteria)
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon butter (2 take-out pads of butter from your cafeteria)
1/4 cup cheese (Kraft shredded Cheddar, Monterey Jack mixture)
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese (I used x-sharp white cheddar)
2 tablespoons Bacos (optional)
Combine the water, half & half, hot sauce and dried onion flakes. Mix well and set aside.
In a bowl crumble the cheddar cheese (white or yellow) and combine with the reserved Kraft cheese mix. Mix well and set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, break up ramen into 1 inch pieces. Pour the water mixture over the ramen; make sure all the ramen has been coated. Cover the bowl with microwave-safe wrap, microwave 2 minutes, remove the bowl and unwrap the bowl, (reserve the wrap) with 2 forks separate the strands of ramen, add the bacos, recover the bowl and microwave 1 minute, remove the bowl DO NOT UNCOVER, and let stand foe 2 minutes. Uncover the bowl, add the butter and cheese mix to incorporate, do not over mix.
Serve in a bowl and top with toasted breadcrumbs (optional).

Microwave Toasted Bread Crumb Topping (Optional)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs
1 ½ teaspoons of butter (1 take-out pad of butter from your cafeteria)
Prep the Bread Crumbs
Combine the bread crumbs with the butter in a shallow microwave safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds, remove the bowl from the oven, stir to incorporate, microwave 30 seconds, remove the bowl from oven, stir to make sure the bread crumbs are browning evenly, microwave an additional 10 seconds. Remove the bowl from the oven, stir the bread crumbs and set aside.

ramen n tuna Rah! Rah! Ramen

Tuna Casserole

1 Package ramen (discard the flavor packet)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup half & half (4 take-out containers from your cafeteria)
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter (2 take-out pads of butter from your cafeteria)
1 cup frozen peas*
1 can (4 ounces) of water packed tuna
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley (optional)
Combine the water, half and half and onion, mix well and set aside.
In a small bowl run cold water over peas to remove frost, do not defrost and set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, break up the ramen into 1 inch pieces. Sprinkle flour over the ramen, pour the water mixture over the ramen; make sure all the ramen has been coated. Cover the bowl with microwave-safe wrap, microwave 2 minutes, remove the bowl from the oven and unwrap the bowl, (reserve the wrap) with 2 forks separate the strands of ramen. Add the butter and peas, recover the bowl and microwave 90 seconds, remove the bowl from the oven, DO NOT UNCOVER and let stand for 2 minutes. Uncover the bowl, (reserve the wrap) add the tuna, mix well, recover the bowl and microwave 1 minute. Uncover, mix and plate. Serve topped with parsley.
*Reseal the bag of frozen peas for later use in Ramen with Pesto and Peas.

Please credit
Rah! Rah! Ramen by Sara Childs
128 Print pages 53 Recipes with full color photos
Available online at Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, Kindle, iBook and ePub.
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9898036-1-8 / eBook ISBN: 978-0-9898036-3-2

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