I have high blood pressure, so I can't have lots of salt. I like ramen noodles plus they're cheap, but I can't have all that sodium. Is there any way to make ramen noodles taste great with out using the salty seasoning? Thanks.
By Mary
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Yes, buy all natural chicken or beef cubes that contain no salt. Prepare and pour over noodles.
I love ramen but it's pretty unhealthy. Unlike pasta, which is basically water and flour, ramen has lots of additives, including unhealthy saturated oils as binders. Until recently, most also had transfats (hydrogenated oils). It's all needed to make ramen instant cooking. If you want quick cooking, a healthy alternative is couscous, which cooks as quickly but you won't get the wonderful noodley strands. And couscous is expensive.
Here's my trick to using less powder. After cooking, pour out all the water. Then simply sprinkle a bit of the powder on the wet noodles and mix immediately. Because there is no water, much less seasoning is necessary. I often use 1/3 as much seasoning to reach the same level of saltiness. Because there is no soup, it'll taste more like chow mein (fried noodles) or lo mein. You can also use the entire packet with water, and then pour out the soup. Your noodles should still have flavor but most of the sodium has gone down the drain.
Other hints:
1) Simply use real canned broth, preferably low sodium, instead of the powder. Healthy broth won't have MSG (monoSODIUM glutamate), which also contributes to you sodium intake. Most seasoning packets are full of MSG.
2) Use less of the seasoning or salt, and substitute with lemon juice or vinegar. Some flavored Chinese or Japanese vinegars are great alone. They have a little salt and sugar.
3) Use low sodium/low fat Chinese/Japanese salad dressings, i.e. Soy ginger, Shitake vinegrette, Miso, etc. Because of the vinegar and other herbs, less salt is needed.
4) Use tomato powder. I love this for instant spaghetti. Simply slice firm tomatoes (the less juicy, the better) and dehydrate in your oven over low heat until crumbly. Put into a bag and pound with a heavy spoon until the tomatoes have turn to powder. Or you can put the dried slices into a blender or food processor and pulverize. That's it. You can add spices if you want, i.e. Italian seasoning. If the spices are large, also pulverize in the blender. You want the powder to be as fine as possible because you're sprinkling it on already cooked food, and won't necessarily cook it. Sprinkle the powder onto drained ramen for instant spaghetti. You can also add a pinch of salt and Parmesan cheese. Make sure you do this while the ramen is still soggy and hot.
5) Stir fry the drained ramen using a little bit of healthy oil. By stir frying, you add a "charred" flavor so fewer spices are necessary. I like adding garlic/onion powder (or actual garlic) and a bit of soy sauce. You can even use the ramen's seasoning powder but use much less.
Sometimes I use a little bit of the packet and/or add garlic powder, onion powder, dried onion flakes, dried or fresh parsley, dried oregano, basil, celery, a little bit of Parmesan or Romano cheese. Choose whichever herbs you like. You can add a tomato also. While boiling I sometimes drop in an egg and stir which gives more flavor and body to the ramen noodles.
You could try some of the many varieties of Mrs. Dash seasonings. However, if you aren't going to use the seasoning packets, wouldn't you be just as far ahead buying something like plain spaghetti and cooking just a small amount and using whatever ingredients you want to it.
I have seen the ramen noodles in a 25% lower sodium version. It's one of the big brands (can't remember the name) and the packaging is blue. Look for it in a large supermarket.
Edited to add: Found a package in my pantry. Maruchan is the brand and it's 35% less sodium. They taste much less salty.
This is the brand that is known to have had maggots found in them, I suggest staying way from all instant noodle packages, as much as that sucks
I like to brown hamburger or ground turkey using Mrs Dash or perfect pinch for seasonings, and of course onion. (I can't seem to cook without onion and garlic. Then I Stir it into the cooked ramen noodles without using the seasoning packet.
I occasionally use Ramen Noodles for a quick lunch, but never use the seasoning packet, for the same reason stated here. I cook them as directed, then drain off the cooking water, and add a little canola oil and parmesan cheese, or mix in about 1/2 cup of Salsa, especially good with fresh salsa. Veggies also add a lot of flavor.
Harlean from Arkansas
Saute onion and garlic, add your cooked chicken or any meat, then put chicken broth, seasoned with pepper then add your vegetables.
I usually drain the noodles then i Throw a jar or cheap can of tomato, cheese or alfredo sauce over it..and it comes out super delicious
Throw a pound of beef or chicken with it andbits instant speggetti or chicken alfredo
How to use Roman noodles and still have a healthy heart
Try this .think they called them fried..lol. but not. Open your pack .. doesn't matter if you bust them or not . Put them on plate sprinkle half the pack of season on it and I believe you microwave for two minutes and there's your snack. More pop corn to me then fried but watever. Lol
I don't use the packet. I use garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Sometimes, I add cayenne or pepper flakes. Sometimes, instead if the salt I add a bit of knorrs chicken, chicken tomato or beef bouillon.
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