One of my all time favorite foods is ramen. I have my very own recipe I have perfected after months and years of experimenting. The fantastic balance of spicy and cheesy creates a blissful experience in every bite. There are infinite combinations of toppings and flavors for the ramen noodles, which essentially serve as a canvas for your heart’s desire. But if ramen is so good, why are people always saying it’s bad for you?
Usually, when the question of ramen’s health arises, parents or other ramen haters will say it is because of the high sodium level it contains. In instant ramen, the seasoning packets are a significant source of sodium, which can contribute to high blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular diseases. Now, this may all be true, and you should never put your body in that kind of harm for a food… however. I love ramen, and I will continue to eat it. There will be risks in everything you do. You take a risk when you drive your car every day or knock back a celsius the night before a test (I do not recommend this by the way). There are ways to make your consumption of ramen better, though, and lower the risk of you getting a stroke or other cardiovascular issue.
The first suggestion I have is to make your own sauce. Instant ramen sauce packets are the main sources of sodium, and if you eliminate that, the amount of sodium you actually eat will significantly decrease. Making your own sauce also gives you a certain amount of creative freedom the packets don’t. I like to make my own sauce, and I have made a recipe that I really enjoy and doesn’t take too many ingredients. If one day, you want a scaldingly spicy bowl of noodles, you can pile on the pepper flakes. If you want a cheesy, creamy stew of noodles the next day, you can tweak your sauce accordingly. This strategy also allows you to buy your noodles more efficiently and reduce your waste. Instead of getting five individually wrapped Buldak Ramen noodle packages, you can pick up the 12 pack of regular dried noodles and add your own sauce.
The other argument against ramen is that it doesn’t have enough nutritional value to be considered a full meal. Again, this is only if you use the simple instant ramen and don’t add anything to them. There are plenty of ways to add nutritional value to your noodles. I like to add rice cakes, grilled chicken, and an egg to my noodles. It gives the noodles more protein, and breaks up the otherwise monotonous texture. There are dozens of things you can top your noodles with: green onion, chicken, egg, rice, sausage, dumplings, and many more.
All in all, the problem people have with ramen isn’t the actual meal, it’s the instant packages they fill with huge amounts of sodium and lack of toppings they provide in their packages. Instead of succumbing to the pressure from others to stop eating your favorite meal, make your own sauce, add some chicken, and enjoy your noodles!