Green Onions

Green onions are the one ingredient I always have in my fridge. If I’m out of every other topping, I still have green onions. The reason they earned that spot: they make a five-minute bowl look like I cared.

The flavor is mild and clean. It cuts through fat, balances heat, and doesn’t fight the broth. The texture is the other half of the job. A bowl of soft noodles in soft broth gets boring fast, and a sprinkle of crisp green onion gives the bowl somewhere to go. Visually, the green is the only color most instant ramens are missing.

Why Green Onions are Great for Instant Ramen

Most instant ramens skew salty, fatty, or both. Green onions push back. The fresh onion bite cuts the salt and fat without taking over the bowl. They keep for over a week in the fridge, which means I always have them on hand for a last-minute bowl.

The other thing that matters: they take ten seconds to prep. Wash, slice, sprinkle. No marinating, no resting, no special tools. If you’ve ever wondered why your bowl looks flat next to a ramen shop bowl, this is the cheapest, fastest fix.

How to Wash Green Onions

1. Rinse the green onions under cold water to remove any dirt or debris.
2. If the roots are still attached, trim them off.
3. You can also peel off the outermost layer if it seems tough or wilted.

Three Ways I Like to Cut Green Onions

Chopped

1. Stack a few green onions together on a cutting board.
2. Using a sharp knife, slice them thinly into rounds. You can control the thickness of the rounds depending on your preference. This is my preferred way since it’s the quickest and easiest.
3. If the white part of the green onion is thick, you can slice it in half lengthwise first. This helps it cook more evenly and have a similar texture to the green parts.
4. Using a sharp knife, slice the green onions (both white and green parts) thinly into rounds. You can control the thickness of the rounds depending on your preference. This is my preferred way since it’s the quickest and easiest.

Angled Cut

1. Hold the green onions at a 45-degree angle to the cutting board.
2. Slice them thinly, creating longer, oval-shaped pieces. This cut adds a more elegant look and slightly different texture.

Scissors (The Controversial Method):

1. Bundle the green onions together.
2. Using kitchen scissors, snip the green onions directly into your bowl or onto your cutting board. Trust me, I know some of you on the internet have STRONG feelings about cutting green onions with scissors, but hey, it gets the job done! How I Used Scissors to Cut Green Onion Video

Ways to Add Green Onions to Instant Ramen

Once your ramen is cooked according to the package directions, you have a few options for adding the prepared green onions:

Raw Topping: Sprinkle them generously over the top for a fresh, crisp bite.

Stir-Fried In: For the last minute of cooking, you can toss the green onions into the pan with the drained noodles and a little oil or the ramen broth to lightly stir-fry them.

Cooked in Broth: Alternatively, you can add the green onions to the broth during the last minute of cooking. This will soften them and allow their flavor to meld with the soup. I often throw this in at the same time I add garlic to my broth.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Instant Ramen Suggestions

• Maruchan Beef Flavor
• Nongshim Shin Ramyun
• Ichiran Ramen
• Indomie Mi Goreng Barbeque Chicken
• Nongshim Chapagetti

Are you a knife or a scissors person? I want to know who’s still mad about the scissors.