Instant noodles - the college kid's staple food. Packed noodles are easy and convenient to cook pretty cheap. For anyone living away from home and missing mom's home cooking, ramen and other instant noodles can hold off hunger, eating them regularly can get pretty boring.
But, a few hacks may turn instant noodles tastier. Below are five ways to fancy-up your noodles!
1. Craving Pad Thai? Add peanut butter to your instant noodles, according to Martha Stewart. Cook the noodles as usual. Then you'll need to add at least two tablespoons of peanut butter (the chunky variety), some soy sauce and Sriracha chili sauce. Add scallions for garnish.
2. Cheese and eggs go pretty well with instant noodles, according to New York Times. Immediately after cooking, turn off the heat and then carefully break one egg on your noodle bowl. Let the cook in the heat of the broth without any stirring. After a minute, add slices of cheese and half a teaspoon of butter. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions or basil.
3. Prepare Pho noodles. Cook the noodles as instructed, but only use half the seasoning first. Add lime, some sugar, fish sauce and pepper flakes. Then turn the heat off while you add sliced meat, like beef flank, and some beans. Mix the remaining seasoning then let it sit for one or two more minutes. Top with cilantro or basil if desired.
4. Stir fry your noodles with leftover meat and vegetables like carrots, spinach or baby bok choy from the Asian market. To do this, cook the noodles as usual and drain the liquid before frying. For more flavor, add soy sauce or your sauce of choice.
5. Create a trail mix for snacks. You don't have to cook the noodles for this hack. You just need to break and separate them, add cereal, dried peas and nuts, or M&Ms if you like. Store in a tight container for a study time munch.
A word of caution, however, as there are health risks associated with eating too much instant noodle-type foods, according to Washington Post. They have a high sodium content, lots of calories and saturated fats.
"That doesn't mean that every single person is going to respond the same way, but the piece to keep in mind is that it's not a healthy product, and it is a processed food," said Lisa Young from New York University.
