10-Minute Egg Drop Ramen Noodle Soup

A new way to make an old budget friendly classic: ramen noodles. Throw away that salty packet and make your own “homemade” egg drop ramen soup!

Ramen noodle soup is one of those classic comfort foods I never get sick of. Once various recipes using ramen noodles started popping up over Pinterest, my mind was blown. Whaaaat? You can add veggies? While you can use fancy new noodles found in the grocery store aisles, I stick with the easy $0.25 per packet noodles. This meal costs less than $1 to make!

Before college, I remember hearing people talk about their “ramen months”–those times where money was a bit tighter than normal. I thought it was another one of those myths…such as the “freshman 15”. Like how could I gain so much weight in a year of school?!

I, unfortunately, worked 5:00 AM shifts at a place called Bagels Forever second semester of my Freshman year at University of Wisconsin. Since I didn’t have a car, I had to ride the shady city bus at 4:15 AM to get to work.  The bus would have a combination of people who were wasted out of their minds or heading to their shifts at the hospital up the street. I dreaded every weekend when I had to work.

I knew the job was going to be a disaster from the beginning. After scanning the job boards, my friend Maggie and I thought working at Bagels Forever sounded fun. Hey, it was $10/hour! We walked over 2 miles from our dorm for the interview. A few days later, I received a phone call saying I got the job (yay!), but could I please tell my friend Maggie that she didn’t get the position. Umm, awkward.

The major perk was I could take home a bakers dozen of bagels after each shift. Hello Freshman 15. Between the drinking of shitty beer at College Court, Toppers Sticks (cheese sticks from a local pizza place) and the bagels, I started to feel my jeans become much more snug. After a few months, I had to give up on my job at Bagels Forever. Hence, my food budget getting a bit tighter. I ended up LOVING ramen, especially those quick microwave cups.

This recipe is like the adulting version of ramen. Don’t get me wrong, I still like plain old version, but this is quite tasty. The girls call this Crazy Noodle Soup and after making this a few times on SnapChat I knew I had to post this easy recipe.

You can add other veggies than listed: cabbage, mushrooms, bean sprouts–have fun with it! I douse mine with sriracha for extra heat.

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Egg Drop Ramen Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 1 packet Chicken Ramen Noodles
• 1 Tablespoon Better than Bouillon ( or sub 3 cups chicken stock)
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup sliced pea-pods
• 1 green onion , thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 egg , whisked
• Optional: 1 teaspoon sriracha chile sauce

Instructions

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat sesame oil over medium heat. Add carrots and pea-pods. Saute for 1 minute, until softened. Add Better Than Bouillon paste and stir.
2. Slowly add water. Bring to a bubble. Add ramen noodles WITHOUT the packet.
3. Allow to boil for 3 minutes to cook noodles.
4. Lower heat to simmer (or LOW) and slowly pour egg into soup once it's no longer boiling. Whisk quickly to create egg-drop consistency.
5. Sprinkle with green onions and sriracha.
6. Serve immediately.

Do you have any early job horror stories? How do you like your ramen?