Transform Maruchan Ramen into Korean Ramyeon

Do you like instant noodles? How about Korean instant noodles? Korean companies make many different kinds of delicious instant noodles called “Ramyeon (라면)” in Korean. I’ve been living in America for about 9 years and I can see that more and more American stores are starting to sell Korean ramyeon. It shows how tasty they are. The price of one pack of Korean ramyeon is about a dollar. It is a really cheap price for a snack or meal. But, what about American ramen? Whenever I go to a grocery store, I see huge piles of different flavors of American ramen, particularly, the brand named, Maruchan. They are so cheap that you can buy 12 packs of ramen in a box for only a few dollars at places like Walmart. At less than a quarter per a pack, it is really hard to beat, price-wise. I think you cannot come up with any cheaper meal than that. The price is just amazing. However, to be honest, even though I’m a instant noodle lover, I don’t like their flavors that much. But, I came up with an idea. What if I can transform these American noodles into delicious Korean flavored ramyeon? Well, that’s how I made this recipe. 🙂 My husband and I both think that some of the changes I made for it are very successful. It tastes like Korean ramyeon, but has a little different noodle texture. (I still think that Korean instant noodles have a better texture.) When you go to a grocery store the next time, grab some ramen noodles and experience a flavorful ramen transformation in your kitchen. Maybe you already have some ramen in your pantry. hehe Please try this recipe and share your opinion with us. 😉

Yield:  Serving

Short Korean Lesson

• ByeonSin (변신) = Transformation
• ByeonWha (변화) = Change

Video Instructions

Main Ingredients

• 1 Pack Maruchan Ramen (Beef Flavor)
• 2 Cups Water
• ¼ Cup Kimchi
• 1 tsp Carrot
• 1 Tbsp Green Onion
• ¼ tsp Dried Sea Mustard

Seasoning Ingredients

• 2 tsp Hot Pepper Powder
• ⅛ tsp Garlic Powder
• ⅛ tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tbsp Kimchi Broth

Directions

I heard that the chicken flavor is the most popular ramen among Maruchan noodles. You might already have some too. I tried this recipe with both chicken and beef flavors. They are both good, but my choice is beef over chicken. The beef flavor comes closer to tasting like Korean ramyeon than the chicken flavor. It is up to you though.

Now, let’s prepare the ingredients. First, get 1 pack of beef or chicken flavored Maruchan ramen. The pack has a block of noodles and a seasoning pack.

To improve the flavor, I will combine the ramen powder, 2 tsp of hot pepper powder, ⅛ tsp of garlic powder, and ⅛ tsp of onion powder. Mix everything together. This seasoning powder will transform the plain powder into a spicy and savory Korean flavor.

Korean ramyeon usually comes with noodles, and 2 little packs. One pack is the seasoning powder pack like the one found in normal American ramen and the other one is a dried vegetable pack, which American ramen doesn’t have. Those dried vegetables give good flavor and extra texture to the ramyeon. So, next, I will prepare some vegetable ingredients to replace the dried vegetables. This is the dried sea mustard that is used in Korean birthday soup called “miyeokguk (미역국)” in Korean. You can break about ¼ tsp worth of it into tiny pieces with your fingers. You will also need to finely chop 1 tsp of carrot and 1 Tbsp of green onion.

For the last and the most important ingredient, obtain ¼ cup of well fermented kimchi and 1 Tbsp of kimchi Broth. You might wonder, what the kimchi broth is. As you can see, it is some liquid from your container of kimchi. All the preparation is done, now let’s cook the noodles.

Pour 2 cups of water in a small pot. Then, add the carrot and the dried sea mustard. They take sometime to cook and release flavor into the broth, get them cooking now.

Once the water starts to boil, add the kimchi into the pot.

Then, right away, add the seasoning mixture. Boil for about 30 seconds on medium-high. I love the kimchi flavor in ramyeon. 🙂

30 seconds later, add the noodles into the broth.

And add the kimchi broth. The kimchi broth will enhance the flavor. Cook it for 3-4 minutes on medium high. You can adjust the cooking time for your preferred noodle texture. I like my noodles a little chewy, and not too fluffy or soggy, so I cooked mine for about 3 minutes total.

When the noodles are almost done cooking, add the green onion and finish cooking.

 

If you want, you can add one egg. If I did, I would add my egg, right after I added the noodles into the broth. If I did not tell my husband that I made this ramyeon with normal American ramen, he might not have notice it because it was so delicious. 😉 I hope you enjoyed my special attempt.

Also, I will try to post videos on a regular schedule, so you can expect more frequent videos from me. According to my new schedule, I’m planning on posting a mukbang (eating show) video on Thursday and a cooking video on Friday. In that case, you can watch my mukbang video first and then, the next day, you can watch how to make the food featured in the mukbang video. Some recipes might not have a mukbang video, in which case, just one video will be posted on Friday. Thanks. 🙂