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Challenge Notes
👋 Welcome to the 30-Day Instant Ramen Challenge! This series chronicles my journey to transform instant noodles into unique dishes. A crucial part of this challenge is that I am trying most of these dishes for the very first time. At the end of each post, I’ll give you my honest verdict on whether I would recreate it to try at home and any changes I would make.
The Story
So I got my hands on the Nongshim and K-Pop Demon Hunters collaboration instant ramen. Honestly, I’m surprised that it made it here to Kansas City so fast. Usually we have to wait months before we get any new instant ramen releases.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen all the K-Pop Demon Hunters craze going on. My nieces and nephews love the movie, I love the movie, and the world seems to love it as well. There are three characters, and they each have their own ramen flavor. Rumi’s is called the Superstar flavor, and on the packaging, I can make out a bowl of noodles with an egg yolk, green onions, and white mushrooms. I started off with that base, and here’s my riff on Rumi’s ramen.
I was originally going to use tofu, but when I saw Bánh Tét (the log-shaped Vietnamese sticky rice filled with mung bean and pork belly) in the checkout line, I knew I had to swap it out. (Note: I accidentally called this Banh Chung in the video. I always mix up the square vs. log shapes!) These are easy to pan-fry and get crispy!
For the soup, I replaced water with homemade veggie broth, smashed garlic, and mushroom. I also fried a circular egg.
And then got ambitious by trying to cut the Bánh Tét slices into stars which you’ll see if you watch the video. It didn’t work out on the first slice and I know when not to push my luck, especially with this challenge.
Next up, I grated some parmesan into the bowl for a little extra richness from my Ramen Chicken Parm day leftovers. The one thing I was hesitant about was the lemon zest, but I felt like the “superstar effect” needed that brightness. I am so happy I did! The citrus really added that extra oomph to the spicy, rich broth. I’m definitely going to be adding lemon zest to more of my future noodles.
The Bánh Tét was crispy in the beginning, and when it wasn’t, it was fine because it soaked up the broth and added another layer of deliciousness.
To manage my sodium intake, I’m splitting this challenge day into two portions, and I’ll be tackling Zoey’s hamburger and Mira’s spicy ramen flavors on additional days in the challenge.
Watch the full process and result in the video below!
The Ramen
This recipe used the following for the noodles and spicy base:
- Nongshim Shin Ramyun and K-Pop Demon Hunters Collaboration Ramen
Rumi’s Superstar Ramen
Ingredients
Broth
- 1 packet Nongshim Shin Ramyun
- 550 ml homemade veggie broth, replacing water
- 2 cloves smashed garlic
- 1 whole baby portabella mushroom
- 2 g parmesan cheese, grated
Crispy Bánh Tét
- 45 g 3 thin slices Bánh Tét
- 2 tbsp oil, for pan-frying banh tet
Fried Egg
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp oil
Garnishes
- green onions, sliced
- lemon zest, grated
Instructions
- Slice the Bánh Tét into thin slices. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a skillet and pan-fry the slices until they are golden brown and crispy on both sides. Remove Bánh Tét and set aside.
- Add 1 tbsp of oil to the same skillet. Fry the egg until the edges are crispy and the yolk is cooked to your liking. Set aside.
- In a cold saucepan, combine the veggie broth, smashed garlic, mushroom, ramen seasoning packet, and dried veggie packet. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the ramen noodles and cook until al dente.
- While the noodles cook, remove the mushroom from the pot and slice it. Set aside.
- Grate parmesan cheese into your serving bowl. Remove a half cup of the hot broth and add it to the bowl. Stir vigorously until the cheese is completely melted and dissolved.
- Pour the noodles and remaining broth into your serving bowl. Top with the crispy, pan-fried banh tet slices, the fried egg, the sliced mushroom, and a sprinkle of sliced green onions. Finish with a generous grating of fresh lemon zest.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Verdict and Re-creation Notes
- Recreate? Yes! I loved the addition of parmesan cheese and lemon zest. They were simple additions that leveled up the bowl significantly!
- Changes? None.
Share Your Take!
If you try this at home, I’d love to hear your adjustments! Let me know what tweaks made it even better.
Are we going up up up?