Be gracious people, this is my first adventure with video. I couldn’t remember which way was up!
We all know Ramen Noodles are cheap. Why else do we buy them? Cooked solo they aren’t very tasty, so I like to spice it up a little and add some fat and protein while I’m at it. In this video I added some pork based meatballs that can be found in the frozen section of any grocery store (I used Homestyle here, but I think I’m going to try Italian next time). I also pre-boil a few eggs to throw in, along with about a teaspoon of oil and soy sauce to help bring out the flavor of the spices. I’m a big fan of serving Ramen with a garnish of a few small squares of Nori, but I didn’t have any with me for this video. For those of you who don’t know, Nori is dried, flattened seaweed. Most know of it as the green stuff that wraps up sushi. In Japan, Ramen is customarily served with Nori fanned out on the side of the bowl.
The price breakdown:
1 bag Maruchan Ramen Noodles – $0.17
1 bag frozen precooked meatballs ~$6.00, calculates to about $0.14 for three
1 dozen eggs – $1.69, $0.27 per egg
Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Soy Sauce add a minimal cost.
Total – $0.58 per bowl!
Other suggestions include Tabasco, Welsh Onions, Lime, Garlic, Ginger, Tuna, Honey, and Spinach. Do you have a favorite way to make good food on the cheap? I’d love to hear about it.
Thanks for the wonderful posts on Japan – the language, culture, food, etc. I’m trying to teach myself Japanese, as both my brother and daughter like watching anime (English dubbed, of course.) I also enjoy this pastime, preferring to watch mostly romantic shojo and fantasy, as well as some classics like Sailor Moon. I wish you had included the Romaji, and English translations of the word lists, though, because they are almost useless to a novice (such as myself) who doesn’t yet read Japanese.