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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 Process
It’s Day 1 of my 6th annual instant ramen challenge, and we started off with a doozy! My nephews asked for this one and it was hard for me to say no. The goal was to create Steve’s Lava Chicken (from the popular game and movie, Minecraft), but with ramen.
Watch the full process and result in the video below!
The Ramen
This recipe used the following for the noodles and spicy base:
- Noodles: Samyang Buldak (Noodles were blitzed and incorporated into the meat mixture).
- The Noodle Bones: The noodles were sculpted into the structure of the bones (drumstick and wing), around which the chicken meat was formed.
- Sauce/Seasoning: Buldak Sauce (Sauce was used in the chicken mixture and the lava glaze).
I started off with a ton of ground chicken, seasoned it generously, and added a package of blitzed, fried noodles to the mix to help keep the meat moist. I also added a couple of eggs and Buldak sauce I received as an award last year. With all that meat, it needed a lot of spice!
Then it was time for the art…making the bones, legs, and wings. The last time I used this specific knife set was when I carved a pumpkin, so that gives you the extent of my art skills.
For the Lava Sauce, I combined melted butter, more Buldak sauce, some of the rendered chicken juices, and a touch of sweet honey. After maneuvering the main meat block and the “bones” around (and fixing my mistake on the wings), I got it all sauced up and back into the oven. It came out just a little burnt on the edges. Could it be better? Yeah. Could it be worse? Also yes. But I was happy with the final, dramatic result!
Conceptual Summary: Lava Chicken Ramen
The structure of this dish required several key components:
- Ramen-Infused Chicken Meat: Ground chicken mixed with egg and pulverized instant noodles (for moisture) and Buldak sauce (for heat).
- The Bones: Meat was sculpted and baked in the shape of a chicken to act as a dramatic presentation centerpiece.
- Lava Glaze: A butter-based sauce combining melted butter, Buldak sauce, chicken pan drippings, and honey for a glossy, sweet-and-spicy finish.
Verdict and Re-creation Notes
- Recreate? No. While the flavor was great, this creation is far too time-consuming and impractical for an at-home meal. It’s definitely a one-time challenge piece.
- Changes? If I were to refine the concept, I would skip the meat sculpture and use the ramen-infused meat mixture as a meatloaf or a giant meatball and still use the lava glaze. The technique of adding blitzed ramen for moisture worked well!
