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Summer'll come a broilin', and a poor vandweller asks hisself: “Must I cook these instant ramens?” No, actually. Soak ‘em and make cool salads like these! (See more great ideas in my&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWyUwzGrL41ZkOopVVRnWUeiq14xVKgmS" target="_blank">YouTube Ramen! playlist</a>.)<br />
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Soak Your Noodles 'Bout an Hour</h2>
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Turns out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_noodle#Production">instant noodles</a>, like your cheap-ass Maruchan and Nissin ramen packets, are already cooked. They’re dried by frying. Ya just need to hydrate them. <br />
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I just break mine up and soak ‘em in my <a href="http://amzn.to/1WEWuKz">Big Bubba Mug</a> for about an hour, more or less. Mostly, I just set ‘em aside and come back awhile later. <br />
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They set up just fine, good texture. Of your cheap noodles, I think Maruchan has better mouthfeel than Nissin when just soaked. (BTW, Vanholio tried the same thing with regular pasta. Turns to mush). <br />
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<h2>
Three Ramen Salad 'Recipes'</h2>
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Not going to give ya a bunch a proper recipes. Vanholia don’t do that shit. But here’s three ramen noodle salads I made, just for inspirationals. <br />
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1. Ramen With Vinaigrette Slaw and Chicken </h3>
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This was my first evil experiment. I had confetti slaw on hand – that’s bagged slaw mix, made with broccoli stems, cabbage, carrots, etc., but sans dressing. And Walmart had canned chicken breast on sale. My rusty old brain wheels turned. <br />
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Soaked the noodles with the juice from the canned chicken and more water, plus canola oil, garlic salt, <a href="http://amzn.to/1TVV7BA">Tapatio hot sauce</a>, and apple cider vinegar to make a vinaigrette. I don’t know exactly how much of anything – winged it. <br />
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<div class="pull-right"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2CVhhBS" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cover of &quot;Prison Ramen&quot; book" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="429" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fTz9WKrF5n8/WpmO7lAQVDI/AAAAAAAAEmI/ALQyFpNs5dwLdHybpyeoBWxCZHziSNrLQCLcBGAs/s320/prison-ramen-cover.jpg" title="" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2CVhhBS" target="_blank">Badas ramen book!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>
After the noodles were soft, mixed 'em in two quart-size, Ziplock-type bags with chopped onion, the slaw veggies, and the canned chicken. Two delicious meals! <br />
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2. Ramen With Three Bean Salad </h3>
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I soaked the ramen with the juice from a can a three bean salad, garlic salt, dried fried onions, and vegetarian bacon bits. <br />
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After the noodles got soft, I just mixed in the beans. Awesome! And you’ll notice it’s all from dry goods. <br />
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3. Ramen With Mayo and Egg </h3>
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This was basically macaroni salad with added egg. <br />
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After hydrating the instant noodles for an hour or so in my <a href="http://amzn.to/1WEWuKz">Big Bubba Mug</a>, I drained off the extra water. Then I added garlic salt, lotsa mayo, and two <a href="http://www.vanholio.com/2016/04/roadpro-stove-secrets-hard-boiled-eggs.html">hard-boiled eggs</a>.<br />
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Just kinda crumbled the eggs in there with my hands, then broke it up more with a fork. Mixed everythin' all around. <br />
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Good shit. Stuffed me like a Christmas goose!<br />
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<h2>
What Ramen Salads Are in Your Brain?</h2>
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Those are just three ideas Vanholio had and liked. You could do just about anythin'. What would you make? Comment below. And see more great ideas in my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWyUwzGrL41ZkOopVVRnWUeiq14xVKgmS" target="_blank">YouTube Ramen! playlist</a>.</div>
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<h2>
Also See ...</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.vanholio.com/2016/04/roadpro-stove-secrets-hard-boiled-eggs.html">RoadPro Stove Secrets – Hard Boiled Eggs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.vanholio.com/2017/10/eating-roadkill-rabbit-vanlife.html">Eating Roadkill Rabbit Down by the River</a></li>
<li><a href="http://amzn.to/2oCu9Zf" target="_blank">Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars</a>&nbsp;(Amazon.com)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.westword.com/restaurants/the-top-five-reasons-why-ramen-noodles-are-tasty-little-death-traps-5768068">The Top Five Reasons Why Ramen Noodles Are Tasty Little Death Traps</a>&nbsp;(Westword)</li>
</ul>
<hr>This <a href="http://www.vanholio.com/2018/03/dont-cook-ramen-noodles-soak-em-cold.html" rel="canonical">#vanlife #manifesto</a> was originally posted at <a href="http://www.vanholio.com">Vanholio.com</a>. Also follow me here on Steemit @vanholio.