Not all spicy food has to be hot; sometimes, it’s refreshing!
First it was instant fried rice, now it’s instant cold noodles. What can you not do with a packet or cup of Shin Ramen? Korean Chef and Youtuber Paik’s Cuisine uploaded a recipe video of how to make cold Korean spicy ramen, or Naeng Ramyun, and we decided to try it out to beat the Japanese summer heat.
▼ Here’s Paik’s Cuisine’s video
For this recipe, here are all the ingredients you’ll need.
Ingredients
● 1 packet of Shin Ramen
● Any vegetables you have around the house (Soon Pyon’s used bean sprouts and onion)
● Kanikama, or imitation crab meat (optional)
● 1 green chili pepper (optional if you don’t like spice)
● Any toppings you like, such as hardboiled eggs
● Soy sauce (2 tablespoons)
● Vinegar (2 tablespoons)
● Sugar (2 tablespoons)
Truth be told, you can make this recipe with any Korean instant noodles that aren’t heavily flavored or have a seafood base. Soon Pyon’s decided to use Shin Ramen because it’s the most popular brand of Korean noodles in Japan. So if you can only find other brands like Neoguri or Samyang, feel free to use those. You can use whatever veggies you want as add-ins as well.
And without further ado, here’s how Soon Pyon’s made his Naeng Ramyun!
Step 1: Slice all of your add-ins finely.
Step 2: In a small bowl, combine the Shin Ramen soup powder with 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, along with half of your finely chopped green chili. If you don’t want a super spicy soup, adjust the amount of soup powder accordingly.
Step 3: Add 1 cup cold water to the mixture from Step 2 and cool it in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Step 4: In a saucepan, boil your vegetables. You can add in vegetables that take longer to cook in before the water starts to boil. Since you’ll drain the water from your noodles and vegetables before adding the soup mixture, you don’t need to use the amount of water indicated on the Shin Ramen packet.
Step 5: When the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add in your Shin Ramen noodles and included dried vegetable packet. The instructions on the Shin Ramen packet say to boil for five minutes, but since we’ll be adding this to water and therefore slowing the process of noodles getting soggy, you can boil them for a bit longer than that.
Step 6: Remember the chopped onions? This is where they come in; vegetables that cook quickly can be added after the noodles are fully cooked.
Step 7: When everything is fully cooked, drain the boiling water and then soak your mixture in ice water. Once everything is cooled down, add in the soup base you made in Step 2 along with your toppings.
Ta da! Here’s Soon Pyon’s finished product. The green chili, imitation crab, and hardboiled egg toppings give it a bright variety colors. He didn’t add it this time, but pickled vegetables and cucumbers would also make for refreshing garnishes.
When Soon Pyon’s tasted the ramen, he thought it was super refreshing! It’s the perfect dish for summer, and the spice factor gave it just enough punch for him to want more and more.
Soon Pyon’s thought the best part was the soup. It tasted like something he’d get in a restaurant, and when paired with all of those veggies, it made instant ramen, ordinarily a guilty pleasure, into a dish that tasted pretty healthy. He tried this dish again with mushrooms, cabbage, and more, and he can confidently say any add-ins work great in the soup.
So if you’re looking for something spicy this summer that won’t make you sweat, pick up a packet of Shin Ramen and experiment! Heck, you can even try adding ice cream to it. Let us know about your creation if you try this out!
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[ Read in Japanese ]