If you don't want to actually go to the trouble of making your own: boil the ramen for about 2 minutes, instead of the recomended 3, then drain the water, and rinse, this gets rid of a lot of the oil used to preserve the noodles. Measure out ONE cup of water, instead of two, and only use half the package of seasoning. Add veggies, and bring to a boil. While stirring briskly, add an egg white (you're making egg drop soup, here), then add the noodles back in and boil until done.

I like the idea of making my own base, but I don't like rice noodles; they taste great, but I'm always starving half an hour later because they're just starch. You can buy chinese egg noodles dried, and in some places, you can actually buy fresh or dried ramen noodles. Soba is also really good, both hot and cold.

Nissan makes now a very low fat version of Ramen noodles.

I say 1) definitely skip the sodium laden seasoning packet. You can make a base out of true kitchen staples (sorry, i don't consider miso something that i keep around) with a few dashes of memmi (less salty than soy sauce, and is actually meant to be used as a soup base... found next to soy sauce in most grocery stores, made by kikkoman) and rice vinegar. If you have some fish sauce, throw that in there too.

As for the noodles, 2) toss those too, if you can spare an extra 5 minutes. Use soba noodles with are filling and delish, and not fried like the instant kind. Plus, you can make a one pot meal by boiling the noodles in the soup base described above.

Throw in some frozen peas or edamame, maybe some dried chopped mushrooms, and you've got real food. :)

That is a great idea for making your own home-made Ramen. I just can't buy the stuff after reading the list of ingredients -- the transfats are bad enough, but then there are all the artificial flavourings and colourings...

When I make my version of a similar soup, I make a Japanese omelet (with a tiny bit of sugar), roll it, and cut into slivers. I might add some frozen shrimp as well, or other times, might cook thin slivers of chicken (from a single frozen chicken breast) in the hot broth.
For veg, I would add diagonal cuts of carrot, steamed baby bokchoy, snow peas...

I've actually been experimenting with "fried" ramen noodles.

You let the ramen noodles sit in hot water from the tap while you chop up meat, veggies, etc. This usually takes about 5 minutes, but I've also taken longer with no problems. Then I just heat up a bit of sesame oil (personal pref, boyfriend uses corn when he makes it) and lightly fry garlic and then put in the noodles and veggies/meat in. Sometimes I'll fry a bit of egg up too.

I think the part that makes the ramen noodles bad for you is that packet of MSG & sodium - throw it away!

-Ruth

I've been eating ramen since high school, my dad being a lifelong ramen-lover himself. We've developed the following strategies to make our late-night noodles healthier:
- make your own broth: I use a tablespoon each of chicken bouillon powder, oyster sauce, fish sauce plus a little chili oil and sesame oil, and maybe a little of the seasoning package
- add veggies, like you've been doing: Dad likes to use frozen veggie mixes, I prefer fresh
- add a little protein, like you've been doing: Dad favours frozen shrimp and scallops right out of the bag, I do marinated chicken or beef strips
- vary your noodles: my current fave are udon noodles, but you can also get fresh ramen or egg noodles in Chinatown to keep cooking to one pot.

Trader Joe's has a pretty decent instant rice noodle bowl--the garlic flavor is very tasty. Not sure how it is on sodium, though. And I think they're at least $1 apiece--in other words, 10X the cost of typical ramen.

I totally sympathize, though. I get these really spicy ramen packets with dehydrated seafood in Chinatown--so terrible but soooo perfect on a freezing cold day.

Maybe you could season homemade chicken stock with soy sauce/fish sauce/whatever, then boil it way down to demi-glace consistency and freeze it in an ice-cube tray.

sorry ramen is gross, actually Im not sorry its really gross and nutritionally poor-- with that being said most Asian soups take minutes to make anyway and taste much better.

I love ramen! Definitely rinse the noodles in hot water to lose some of the oil, and if you have any other broth possibilities, toss the flav-r-pak.

I like to add scallions, sliced thai chili peppers, and bean sprouts to the drained noodles.

Rinse out the pot. As the new water or broth heats, add some dried mushrooms, they'll be soft by the time it's boiling, and will flavor the broth; slice them and add to the noodles.

To the boiling broth I add what I have on hand:
veggies (sliced bok choy or spinach; frozen peas and corn)
sliced frozen fishcake (narutomaki, kamoboko, chikuwa)
sliced abura-age (fried tofu, the flat kind)
cubed tofu
an egg, hard-boiled and halved, or poached in the broth

I prefer the Sapporo Ichiban noodles. The flav-r-pak is not half bad if you need to use it (original or miso)

I am in favor of making the noodle portion of the dish healthier, but isn't the sodium-laden seasoning packet kind of the point of Ramen Noodles? Mmmm.... I often throw away the noodles and top other pasta, noodles, etc with the seasoning packet.

Check your brand of ramen. Some are fried, but some aren't and there's a huge difference in the level of fat. Udon, of course, is never fried so that's a good option too. Check out the selection at your local Asian grocery and you'll find some healthier options and things like fishcake and snow-dried tofu to add some nutrition. It'll cost more than Cup Noodles but if you don't go for the fanciest ones you can stay under a couple bucks per meal.

Lots of good suggestions here, especially making your own base. Try other kinds of stocks--chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, etc. And since the noodles are nutritionally void but still tasty, you might want to crack the noodle cake in half and cook just that instead of the whole deal, then "fill the gaps" with other veggies and proteins. Experiment with everything--clean our your fridge and toss it in the soup. Spinach? Chard? Frozen peas? Strips of steak? In it goes!

How do you make ramen healthier? Why would you want to? It's not something you eat all the time, right? So enjoy it the way you like it, just not as often. I like mine with a whole egg cracked into the pot but zero other add-ins.

I found some organic ramen packets in the natural food section of my local grocery store. Even at 99 cents each, they make an inexpensive meal when mixed with ingredients from your fridge. No MSG. Natural sea salt. You can see a quick-to-fix recipe I developed using ramen in my recent food column: http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/articles/index.cfm?id=20655&section=Columnists&columnist=Sue%20Doeden

I just assumed the noodles were healthy, but the packet of soup mix stuff was bad. I don't make it with the packet because I hate that stuff.

Re: "I just assumed the noodles were healthy, but the packet of soup mix stuff was bad"
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They are both bad. The noodles are loaded with transfats, and the flavour packets are full of sodium and chemicals approximating natural tastes.

Miso keeps forever -- I just keep a little tub in the fridge, and use it for soups table spoon by table spoon. Or use bonito flakes to make a quick soup.

They are so good. I make quick miso noodle bowls by sauteing some ginger and garlic (you can get pre-grated or chopped if you're in that much of a hurry at Trader Joe's and Asian markets) in sesame oil for about 30 secs. Add broth, or water and instant bouillon. Add some instant dashi mix if you'd like, and definitely some miso (I like the darker varieties for a heartier soup).

In the meantime, cook some Chinese egg noodles, which are oh so cheap at the Asian food store.

While the noodles are cooking, add proteins (I like frozen shrimp and baked tofu and egg) and veggies as so many others have suggested. Put noodles in bowl, ladle over broth with veggie and protein and enjoy!

I don't know how to make it better for you but I can certainly tell you how to make worse. Make ramen drain water add 1/2 the seasoning package and 1/4 of a stick of butter mix together and enjoy...

Like most others I add veggies to the mix (frozen peas, spinach, etc.) and also stir a beaten egg into it to up the protein content and give it good mouthfeel. Delicious.

Last night I made the yummiest ramen dish.
I used half a packet of noodles, I made my own broth from a small piece of Kombu and some shitake mushrooms I bought fresh one day and now keep frozen in my freezer just for making broth.

Once that was boiling I added my noodles and went to chopping scallions and pan frying two halves of tofu skin (really yummy and sweet, different from what I think of "tofu" being). When the noodles were ready I topped them with the pork and scallion, and one soft boiled egg. The undercooked yolk mixing with the noodles is heavenly.

A meal fit for a king and I only used half the packet of noodles. Enjoy!

people that are insulting ramen need to hold off their insults until they've tried japanese, korean and chinese brands of the ramen...the kind that they only sell in the ethnic supermarkets. it doesn't even compare to the stuff you see everywhere. yes, it might be a bit bad for you but it's so so so good.

edit: "pork" above should read "tofu". I made pork for my husband

glass noodles cook even faster than ramen. i boil water, add hondashi, some miso, the noodles and an egg... maybe some shitake and tofu, and finally, a dash of soy sauce. Thats probably one of my favorite comfort dishes in the world. And doesn't even take 5 minutes.

Maybe it's Nissan, as mentioned earlier, but I thought there was a healthier lower sodium version out there. I've found them in Hannaford Grocery stores. Part of me wanted to say campbells or mauruchan.

Ahh, ramen, staple of student life. :D
...D:
I like noodles, and ramen is no exception; but looking at the nutrition facts...oh my.... The packet, naturally makes it to the waste bin almost straight-away. There's simply no helping that one. The noodles themselves, however, have served as my proving ground for all sorts of spices for years now.

My ramen is rarely the same twice, and because the flavour is so neutral, I can get a good appreciation for different combinations of ingredients cheaply while warming the innards (touch nippy today...down to -5 or so). Sometimes I drain the noodles and add sauces (the minced garlic and peanut sauce worked well), topped with a bit of whatever sounds good; other times I keep my own broth (chili powder, tare, creole seasoning, cumin and oregano) and add egg or meats. I tend toward the soy variants to provide saltiness (especially the teriyaki-type sauces: soya is far too salty and the citrus of ponzu worked poorly), rather than stock, but I've been thinking of breaking that trend.

And yeah, Nisshin has a "Select Ramen" that's air-dried and less salty.

I'm currently addicted to a brand I can only buy at the Japanese market. The noodles are a bit textured and there are two seasoning packets, one that has a tiny bit of sesame oil, and one that is the powdered stuff. I can't even explain how good these things are. 360 cal, 6 g fat, 2 g fiber, no trans fats. They have MSG, but I don't understand why MSG is bad for you, it's not like I eat this every day.

I can't tell what the brand is, maybe Myojo Chukazanmai? I get the soy sauce and the oriental flavors and they're $1.75 per package.

Nissan low-fat Ramen noodles are pretty yukka - kinda defeats the purpose of the comfort-food aspect, as they are less than comforting... I'm not convinced that baked ramen noodles (as opposed to fried, as most packages are) have to taste bad, but Nissan didn't do a very good job with the product.

Foodporncess, I'm dying to know the specifics on the brand you speak of - I shop at Asian markets quite a bit, but can't read half the products, so I'm often clueless as to its nutritional content. Let us know if you remember - maybe I can order it.

i always add veggies and an egg when I make ramen.

I just tried one of those thai kitchen brand ramen. more expensive about .89 cents a package. it was pretty yummy but like regular ramen the sodium was sky high.

Take chicken stock (I prefer Imagine organic for taste), toss in a few coins sliced of ginger, simmer. Add Miso (again, keeps forever in the fridge-why can't it be a staple?) and simmer very gently, do not boil.
Slice the green of several scallions on an angle, saute a few shitake mushrooms and add some sesame oil and soy, add the scallions at the end and toss.
I've been on an udon kick lately, so boil your udon, rinse and hold in cool water until your ready.
Noodles in the bowl, toss on the veg, ladle over the broth. Drizzle with a bit more sesame oil or chili oil. done.

Also, if you study the history of MSG and umami, you will realise that MSG really is only 'bad' for those who get an affect from it. There are plenty of naturally umami rich foods like miso, shitake, soy, etc. It's not the MSG in those packets that is the worst it's the sodium level.

I have just discovered the wonder that is Napa Cabbage in Ramen broth. I am a happy, happy girl.

Add a small drop of vineger

Great ideas.

Saving for my recipe files....thanks!

I can't believe I missed this! I make ramen at least once a week, roughly based on what you'd get at a shop in Japan. Boil dried shitakes, frozen turnip or collard greens, root veg like turnips or spicy radishes, scallions, sometimes, when especially broke I throw in frozen lima beans. Throw in a dried chili pepper or two for heat. Mix some miso with hot water on the side, cook ramen separately then rinse before adding to pot. Stir in miso & deliciousness is ready. Another great option is curry miso ramen, where you add some curry powder to the broth before cooking. Even if you've just got instand ramen & a tub of miso, still elevates the dish to something so much more satisfying. (Always toss the packet).