Delicious Things You Can Make With Ramen

Ramen burgers are not a new thing. However the versions we've usually seen are sloppy, drunken 3 a.m. carb fests and almost al dente noodles slapped onto some weak hambuger buns with a sad little ground beef patty. Keizo Shimoto's smash-hit shoyu ramen burger from last weekend's Smorgasburg in Williamsburg was definitely not that. Pan-fried to order instant noodle buns encase a beef patty dripping with a secret shoyu sauce and scallions. The burgers are so amazingly messy that they are served in a PleatPak wrapper which keeps the juices at bay from your chin. All in all, the perfect marriage of Eastern foodstuffs, Western comfort food, and stoner-like ingenuity.

Screw whatever fancy new food item comes out next. We're sticking by the Kimchi Ramen Grilled Cheese, a gorgeous amalgamation of pungent kimichi, delciously stinky cheese (or American for the light weights), fried bread, and ramen noodles. You could add meat, but why would you want to mess with salty, oily perfection like that. Although, bacon is acceptable in anything. Cook up Tastespotting's recipe here.

Some people like to eat ramen out of the packet, just plain. Since it's pre-cooked, it's totally safe to do that and hikers swear by their ramen trail mix which is the perfect amount of salt that they need to upgrade their electrolytes, protein from nuts, and berries for, well, taste. But, if you're not a hiker, you can make something on the cheap for you to nibble on while you study. Add or subtract your favorite ingredients to make it savory or sweet. This recipe has wasabi peas and cayenne powder for a kick.

Although the cupcake trend is coming to a close thanks to the mighty Cronut, ramen cupcakes might be the new wave of deliciousness. These ramen cupcakes created accidentally by blogger My Name Is Yeh are like savory little quiche cupcake-ettes. She says not to try it at home, but they are amazing to look at and probably taste amazing. With the right blend of spices, you can make them into any flavor profile you want. Add sugar, butter, and chocolate chips in the middle and top with frosting and you have some bomb cake with a trashy but tasty vibe.

Doritos and ramen salad sounds simultaneously disgusting, delicious, and nutritionally worthwhile. Well, at least two out of three isn't bad. If you're wondering how Doritos and ramen can make a salad for reals, it can't. But what it can make is a weird kind of nachos complete with ground beef and shredded cheese. There's no vegetables in this "salad," so its toddler and stoner college student approved.

Really, you can stick anything in a taco shell, so if you're into Chexican fusion food, you might have already tried this. If not, grab your ramen, fry it up in some oil with tacos seasonings and your favorite Mexican meat, sprinkle some shredded cheese on top, and stuff it all into a hard shell with the crispy noodles. Wash down with a beer or three and we guarantee you that any hangover you may have had lingering from 1985 will be gone and replaced with delicious heart burn.

Sometimes all you want is one of grandmother's luscious banana cream pies. Falling way short of having her ship you a crate of yumminess, is the Banana coconut ramen pudding. With coconut milk, cardamom, almond extract, anise seed, coconut meat, and crystallized ginger, it's like a breakfast kugel with tropical flair and tastes nothing like ramen. It's also totally expensive to make, but if you feel like whipping up something weird, get the recipe here.

The Tongon Sandwich is not an urban myth, but it's also not a food staple with the Polynesian people of Tonga. The history surrounding this sandwich is murky, but there's a whole subculture of people that worship this starch-on-starch creation. The Tongon sandwhich is basically like a breakfast sandwich on super salty steroids. Scramble some eggs, melt some cheese, slap some mushy ramen noodles in the middle, add mayo, and thick toasted bread (preferably King's Hawaiian) and you have your calories set for the whole day. Efficient.

Everything is better fried. Especially if it's already been fried. Most instant ramen noodles are basically just fried starch so they keep their texture. But, if you really want to up the nutrition factor, just deep fry the noodles and make what some people call "Fried Ramen Soup." There is no soup factor to this recipe, though. Their more like squiggly french fries or a weird sort of cracker. Whatever you decide to top them with changes the whole vibe. Want something sweet? Top it with sugar and cinnamon. The world is your ramen packet.

When the moon hits your eye, like a big ramen pie, that's...just weird and messy. But, if the idea of a savory ramen pie appeals to your anglophile food cravings, satisfy them in style. This recipe is actually super easy. All you have to do cook ground beef (or whatever meat you prefer) in a skillet, top with chopped onions, some of the seasoning packet, whatever other spices and veggies you want, top with cooked ramen noodles, and crisp under a broiler. If you don't have a broiler, a couple of friends with lighters might work.

Just like your mother's delicious homemade breads. Only, really, not. If you're looking to stress bake with all the random things in your pantry, this Ramen Noodle Peanut Bread is a winner. Combined with the salty peanuts, the ramen lends a fun, crunchy texture. It's also semi-healthy. Low-fat milk, low-fat cottage cheese, and margarine is what makes up this budget-friendly breakfast treat that is so well-done, it looks nothing like ramen. Sink your teeth into the recipe here.

So, we can't really vouch for the tastiness of this one ourselves, but we do know some people that came out of their a stint in prison craving what they call a "jailhouse burrito." The name is misleading because this concotion apparently only resembles a burrito from its rolled up shape, which is accomplished with a plastic bag. Recipes vary but the basic gist of the cell-block inspired culinary creation is ramen noodles, crushed up chips, and crushed up Cheeto powder for taste and consistency. If you're looking for a cheap way to feed your criminal roommates, go to this forum for inspiration.

Does your sweet tooth have you hankering for gourmet ice cream sandwiches in the middle of finals? If you don't have time to hunt down some fancy artisinal creation on the streets of your city, make it at home with your instant ramen. All you need is your ice cream of choice, a few packets of ramen (minus the flavor packets), and chocolate to melt down to cover the noodles. While this recipe is for chocolate-topped ramen noodles, we imagine you could also cover ramen with caramel, white chocolate, or anything melty, really. Learn how to make Chocolate Top Ice Cream Sandwiches at Full-Thyme Student.

College students seem to basically live off instant ramen, pizza, and energy drinks. While we've not yet found a ramen recipe that you can pour your carbonated caffeine beverage into (maybe a weird fruity broth?), a genius named Karol Lu created a pepperoni pizza made out of ramen. Four packets of instant noodles are offset by ricotta, cream, fontina, and parm, an earthy pinch of nutmeg, and a whole lot of tomato-y goodness. With all the cheese, this isn't a budget item necessarily, but for very litle dough, you don't have to roll out fresh dough. Get the recipe over at Serious Eats.