Ramen
A favorite food from dorm rooms to death row 
By WALTRINA STOVALL / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Sorry, Martha, we beat you to it: Here's a primer for anyone about to head off to college or, gulp, prison.
Yes, ramen noodles, long the mainstay of starving students, are also a hit in the cellblock.
If you go to an Internet search engine and key in "prison and ramen noodle," you'll get more than 200 hits attesting to the noodles' popularity as an alternative to regular prison fare. "The noodles are bought by the canteen packaged in cardboard crates and consumed by the prisoners by the ton," reports Richard Keech, a California inmate who gives a "birthday casserole" recipe on
www.richard-keech.org .
Evans Caglage / DMN
You may not be able to judge ramen by its package, but price is a pretty good indicator. If you're paying $1 for a dozen, it's not the gourmet stuff.
D.P. O'Keefe, a Connecticut maximum-security prison inmate and humor writer, has called ramen noodles the "liquid currency" of the modern prison, replacing cigarettes, which have been banned from most penal institutions.
"Two soups will get you a haircut. One soup to the laundry man might get your clothes extra dry. Five soups are what it costs when you lose a game of spades," he wrote in a 2001 article published in the now-defunct Voice News of Winsted, Conn.
In her 1992 book Crossed Over, about Houston pickax murderess Karla Faye Tucker, who died by lethal injection, author Beverly Lowry detailed the preparation of a special meal in the Texas death row for women. Ramen noodles was a key ingredient.
Larry Todd, public information officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, says that Texas prison commissaries sell more than 2.3 million packages of ramen noodles each month. That's about 16 packages a month for each of the 148,807 inmates who were incarcerated in early August.
But they're not the only ones eating ramen.
Emily Johnson, president of the Residence Hall Association at Southern Methodist University, says most dorm students probably eat ramen noodles twice a week.
"It depends on the student," says Ms. Johnson, a senior vocal performance major from Houston. "Some may eat them a little less often – and some people eat them religiously."
The noodles appeal to convicts and coeds for the same reasons. They're cheap, filling, tasty and require minimum cooking skills. Some ramen dishes aren't cooked at all – a real boon to the chef in stripes.
These attributes ought to be attractive to a lot of other people – the newly unemployed or divorced, investors in Enron stock, retirees stretching their Social Security, struggling artists – anyone whose money or time is tight.
Ramen noodles first came to the United States from Japan, where they are hugely popular. But like all pasta, their origins are Chinese. Ramen is the Japanese word for lo-mein, or boiled, noodles.
Also Online
Ramen recipes
Pass the salt, please
They are available in instant cup-of-soup containers, to which you only need add hot water, but far more economical and versatile are those colorful little packages that contain a brick of curly, intertwined noodles and a small seasoning packet.
Supermarkets often put the big American-made brands such as Top Ramen and Maruchan on special for as little as 10 cents each, or even a dozen packets for $1. Ramen mavens stock up. (In prison, these brands are usually five for $1, which shows that crime doesn't pay.)
Imported ramen noodles generally cost more (and are often worth it). Recently, the Mama brand from Thailand was four for $1 at Siam Grocery on Fitzhugh. At Hong Kong Marketplace in North Dallas, Indo Mie noodles from Indonesia were three for $1. Maggi noodles from India were 59 cents each at India Grocers in Richardson.
Some of the imports contain two or three flavoring packets, although you will have to experiment to figure out what each one is.
You'll find a good variety of ramen at such Japanese grocery stores as Kazy's in North Dallas and Edo-Ya in Farmers Branch. One especially flavorful one, with toothsome, springy noodles, is the Shirakiku Karem Ramen from Japan, 85 cents at Edo-Ya.
Natural-food versions with less fat and sodium and noodles made from brown rice, buckwheat or seaweed sell around $2 a package.
Basic preparation is as simple as bringing 2 cups of water to a boil, adding the noodle block and cooking for 3 minutes. Stir in the flavor packet, and you're done.
You can microwave them, too. Place the block in a fairly close-fitting bowl, cover with water, and zap on high (100 percent power) for 3 minutes.
Vary the cooking times and the amount of water to customize your ramen.
Add-ins are as unlimited as your imagination. Toss in cut-up vegetables to cook while the noodles boil. Cooked meats and seafood, tofu and such vegetables as diced tomato and bean sprouts need only time to heat through.
Boost flavor with garlic, fresh ginger, chopped cilantro, hot peppers or whatever suits your fancy. If you're aiming for an Asian flavor, add fish sauce at the end and squeeze in fresh lime or lemon juice.
Once you've created a soup to your liking, you'll want to keep a few ramen packets in your cupboard.
But don't stop with soup. Cookbooks and Internet sites offer scores of ramen recipes, in everything from salads, stir-fries, casseroles, omelets, trail mix-type snacks and, yes, even dessert.
Probably the most prolific Internet site is
http://matt fischer.com, which held 233 recipes last time we checked. Contributors mostly identify themselves by their colleges, but Big Mocha, who gives several recipes, describes herself as a former Texas inmate, and Keiffdog's "Slam Ramen" submission came from an unnamed jail.
Waltrina Stovall is a Dallas freelance writer.
Ramen Custard Pudding
1 package ramen noodles in any flavor, seasoning packet removed
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup seedless raisins
Preheat oven to 350 F. Break up noodles into buttered 1-quart casserole dish. Beat egg until light in color.
Add sugar, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and raisins to egg. Mix well and pour over noodles. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes 2 servings.
SOURCE: 101 Ways to Make Ramen Noodles
Easy Ramen Supper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chopped vegetables, fresh or frozen (see note)
2 (3-ounce) packages ramen noodles, any flavor
1 2/3 cups water
Heat olive oil in large skillet or wok. Add vegetables. Cook, stirring over high heat, 1 minute. Carefully crumble dry noodles. Stir in noodles, seasoning packets and water. Cover and steam 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, stirring twice during cooking time. Makes 4 servings.
Note: Tofu or cut-up cooked meat, such as chicken or smoked sausage, can be substituted for some of the vegetables. Recipe can be halved. You can also add extra seasoning such as garlic or herbs to taste. Frozen vegetables will need to be thawed before using.
SOURCE: Pasta and Noodles, Food Writers' Favorites
Chilled Sesame Ramen
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, plus extra if desired
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 package ramen noodles, seasoning packet removed
Chopped green onions
Stir together the peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, sesame seeds and vegetable oil. Cook and drain noodles. Mix in sauce and chill. Serve topped with chopped green onions. Makes 1 to 2 servings.
SOURCE:
www.mattfischer.com
Carrot-Ramen Pancakes
1 package ramen noodles, seasoning packet removed
1 carrot, grated
1 cup grated cheese
3 tablespoons butter
Cracked pepper
Cook and drain noodles. Toss with the carrot and cheese. Melt butter in a frying pan. Shape noodle mixture into small patties and brown lightly on each side. Sprinkle with pepper and serve. Makes 2 servings.
SOURCE: Everybody Loves Ramen
Noodle Gazpacho
1 package ramen noodles, seasoning packet removed
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Crush ramen in the package until it is very small. Add all the ingredients in a large bowl with 21/2 cups water. Chill for half an hour.
For a more interesting texture, just before serving, take out 1 cup of the mixture and blend it in a blender, and stir back into soup. Serve with an ice cube floating in each bowl. Makes 2 to 4 servings.
SOURCE: The Book of Ramen
Maca-Ramen and Cheese
1 package ramen noodles
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3/4 cup milk (divided use)
1 ¼ cups grated cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook and drain noodles.
Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons milk. Then gradually add the cornstarch mixture to the rest of the milk in a saucepan. Add cheese, seasoning packet, salt and pepper and heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in the drained noodles. Makes 1 to 2 servings.
SOURCE: The Book of Ramen
Ramen Haystacks
2 cups butterscotch chips
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon milk
1 package ramen noodles in any flavor, seasoning packet removed
Heat butterscotch chips, butter and milk over low heat until chips are completely melted. Crumble in uncooked ramen; mix. Place spoon-sized balls on wax paper. Refrigerate until butterscotch is cool. Makes 24 cookies.
SOURCE: 101 Ways to Make Ramen Noodles
No analyses?
Because of the varying portion sizes and nutritional counts of ramen brands, these recipes have not been analyzed by the Cooper Clinic.
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Y'all KNOW I hate Ramen
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