How To Cook Tasty Korean Ramen?
How Do I Cook Delicious Ramyun?
This question sounded strange to me first - how to cook delicious ramyun? To me, ramyun is tasty no matter what, and it’s very difficult to screw up with ramyun. You don’t need a lot of special skills to cook ramyun. To most Koreans, cooking ramyun is the easiest thing in the world.
But I realized that we could cook more delicious ramyun when I had ramyun in a restaurant specialized in ramyun only for the first time. Maybe ramen places had been popular in Japan much longer, but it’s been less than two decades since ramyun-specialized restaurants got popular in Korea, as far as I can remember.
The point is there ARE ways to cook more delicious ramyun!
Here are some tips about how to cook more tasty ramyun. I wasn’t initiated in the secrets from anybody in any way, so these are totally my ideas!
1. Add some more ingredients if possible.
There are tones of things that you can add to ramyun depending on your preference and imagination: mushrooms, potato, sausage, curry, milk, cheese, seafood, tuna from can, rice cakes, bean sprouts, garlics, spinach, hot pepper powder, vinegar, and so on.
The most common ingredients are eggs, dumplings, spring onions and kimchee. Obviously, these are additional ingredients, so pick whatever is available or whatever you’d like to. I usually add spring onions and eggs.
2. Get recently made ramyun if possible.
It’s said ramyun made within two weeks tastes the best because it absorbs water best. Unless you live in Korea, it’s very difficult to buy ramyun that recently made. But if possible, check the date when it’s made and get one made earlier. If you have ramyun that’s relatively old, it’s not a big deal as long as it’s within the expiration date. Just add more water when you cook old ramyun.
3. Turn the gas up to the highest and keep it like that while cooking ramyun.
The strength of heating power is very important. When you cook ramen, keep the gas at its highest. If you want to put the lid on after it’s boiled once, turn it down to the second highest. But it’s recommended not to put the lid on and keep the gas at its highest.
4. The amount of the water is important, too.
When I cook other Korean dishes, I usually use eye-ball measurements. But with ramyun, it’s a different story. Follow the directions of the package about the amount of the water, and it will make it more tasty.
Let’s cook delicious ramyun now!
This is for one serving.
(1) Boil 550ml water at the highest gas.
(2) Add the powder soup before the water boils. Stir it once or twice.
(3) When the water boils, put noodles in it. Once the noodles get loose, massage them by lifting with chopsticks a few times and stirring after. This will make the noodles more chewy.
(4) Boil the noodles for about 2.5 or 3.5 minutes without the lid on. This can vary depending on personal preferences. I like ramyun a little bit undercooked. But some people prefer to cook 4 minutes or more.
It’s said they cook for 2 or 3 minutes at a lot of ramyun restaurants. Another important thing is to keep the same heating power while boiling. Keep the gas at its highest!
(5) Egg! When and how to add an egg can vary as well depending on personal preferences. Some like to add it when they put the noodles and break it all the way. Others don’t want to break it to have a nicely-shaped yellow yolk.
If you like an undercooked egg, separate the white and yellow yolks, stir the white yolk and add it 2 or 3 minutes after you add the noodles. Then boil it whatever time you want. Add the yellow yolk at the end before you turn off the gas.
(6) Add some spring onions if you have 1 minute or 30 seconds before you turn off the gas.
(7) Serve it in a large bowl. Kimchi is the most recommended side dish for ramyun. Enjoy!
Other ingredients
You can add some red pepper powder (gochu-garu) for spicier taste.
You can add a drop of vinegar for more fresh taste.
You can add some milk for softer taste.
* Some of most popular ramyun in Korea
Shinramyun, Ansung Tangmyun, Neoguri, Kimchi Ramyun and so on
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