Maruchan Instant Lunch Chicken Flavor

Hard to believe anyone hasn't tried this brand of noodles. Popular among teens, adults and foodies of all kinds, as it's convenient size makes it a nice lunch at school or work.

If you're moving above baby food and peas that you regularly eat, looking for something many "cool" folks dine on, you're looking at the most low-budget yet popular lunch in dining history. Even if it's for dinner, it's still the most simple yet delicious dish anyone can eat.

The instructions are simple: unwrap the plastic from the cup, open the paper lid roughly halfway and pour in the hot water. Like the cardboard box says, for best results, use boiling water. I mention this because I never realized folks used hot water instead of hot boiling water. Using regular hot water doesn't open up the flavors that have been pre-applied on the noodles, so in that case, I strongly recommend boiling water fresh from the pot. Remember to use caution when handling boiling water as you don't want to burn yourself.

After pouring the water in the cup, at least what I do, is to cover and press the lid closed using a plate. What this does is it traps the steam keeping the contents warm, let alone tenderizing the noodles and the vegetables. The box says "3 minutes" but I recommend letting the boiling water continue doing its work for a minimum of 5 minutes. Personally, I like the noodles near the softer side but if you like a little 'al dente,' then 4 minutes might do.

Depending how much water you put, its temperature and how long you let it sit, there are times when some of the vegetables don't cook. In case of that occurrence, simply fish it out, and reason I say so is letting the cup sit for too long makes the noodles mushy and gets cold.

If you notice on the bottom of the cardboard says, "When writing to us, please include code number stamped on package." If a cup didn't come with enough of the soup powder flavor, may as well let them know (if any weird problems happen, along with odd contents included in the cup).

That's all? I'm going to guess you want to be culinarily adventurous, or likely are an aspiring chef-to-be, so may the following give you creative ideas in adding more pizazz on Ramen noodles. Check this out:

- If you're looking for more of that chicken flavor, despite the random application of the soup powder, instead of water, pour hot chicken broth (via simmer).

- After the noodles are tender, you can add sautéd onions, thinly sliced carrots, cabbage and celery, bringing in a chow mein-like dish. ("Thinly sliced" meaning julienne cuts.) For a little depth, top it with crumbled, cooked bacon. Unless you bake your bacon, make sure it's dry before adding. Be easy on the bacon, as the ramen is already salty.

- You can also add sliced boiled eggs. If you want a little more richness, or an alternative taste, you can add 3-4 boiled quail eggs.

- Lastly, after the noodles and soup are done, while it's piping hot, add just one (1) scrambled egg. Pour it over the noodles and stir, in one direction, until the eggs are fully cooked by the hot soup. And you got egg-drop soup style Ramen!

Those are a few suggestions to twist up the deliciousness of ramen noodles. If you've got a custom recipe to "gourmet" ramen noodles, feel free to share!

Kris Caballero

Founder and operator of KCU Network, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially retired from video production and going back to the computer sciences, Kris enjoys studying Math, Quantum Computing, playing old video/DOS games, and listening to sports radio.

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