Are ramen noodles egg noodles? Delicious with eggs, but no
No, ramen noodles are not egg noodles, but adding an egg on top of your ramen can be very tasty.
What are ramen noodles made of?
Ramen noodles are traditionally not made with eggs and only contain three ingredients: wheat flour, salt, and kansui. Kansui is a mineral water that contains soda ash or sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate. This mineral water is what gives the ramen noodles their yellow color, not eggs.
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How are ramen noodles made?
Traditionally ramen noodles are made by hand by mixing a wheat dough and pulling the dough until it is long and thin.
It may sound like a simple recipe and process but making ramen noodles is harder than you may think. It takes chefs many hours of practice to earn the technique and even longer to master the ramen pulling method.
What is in ramen?
The most basic ramen is just the ramen noodles and broth, this makes up the base of your ramen for you to add different vegetables, meats, proteins, toppings, and more.
A boiled or fermented egg is a popular ramen addition and can really elevate the broth and add a creamy and rich flavor. Ramen additions can be limitless and chefs are always trying out new combinations to elevate their ramen dishes.
Also read: these are the best toppings for your ramen
What type of noodles are ramen noodles?
So, ramen noodles are wheat noodles. The instant noodles are typically made from wheat flour, which goes through the process of cooking, frying, and dehydrating.
Fresh ramen is usually made from wheat and alkalized water, and sometimes eggs will be included in the recipe.
When ramen dough has been made, it must rise before it gets rolled out. The noodles will be a pale color with a firm texture.
They will be of various different lengths, widths, and shapes. However, the ones people are most familiar with are the noodles that resemble long curly hair.
The noodles are usually served in a broth, and commonly used in dishes like:
- Curry ramen
- Miso ramen
- Ramen noodle soup
- Tonkotsu ramen
- Shio Ramen
Also find out if you are supposed to drink ramen broth?
What about instant ramen noodles?
Instant ramen noodles contain a lot more preservatives, oils, and other hard-to-say ingredients but they do not contain eggs.
Most instant noodles are made from refined wheat flour. Instant ramen is notoriously known for being high in sodium and generally unhealthy if consumed frequently.
There are ways to make your instant ramen healthier by making your own broth instead of using the provided flavor packet, and adding your own vegetables and proteins to the dish.
Eating ramen from time to time won’t harm you but it is best to eat in moderation to avoid health concerns related to high sodium intake.
What are egg noodles?
Egg noodles are easier to make at home and contain simple ingredients but a few more eggs than your typical pasta noodle. Egg noodles are made from flour, salt, cold water, and of course eggs.
A higher concentration of eggs in the recipe is what gives these noodles their bright yellow color and rich flavors.
Next time you are craving egg noodles try your hand at making them at home with what you have in the pantry, you just might find a new favorite recipe.
Why do people think ramen is an egg noodle?
Japanese culture is known for its various different noodle dishes, and it’s easy to get them mixed up.
People get egg noodles and ramen noodles mixed up because the process of making these noodles are very similar to each other.
The only real difference between their recipes is that ramen noodles use alkalized water (or kansui) to form the dough. Their color and texture are almost identical.
Actually, a lot of Japanese cooks will recommend using egg noodles as a replacement if you have a craving for ramen soup, but don’t have the right noodles.
They have a similar taste and texture, so a lot of people don’t even notice the difference when they swap one for the other in their dishes, especially if they use fresh ramen instead of instant noodles.
Ramen noodles vs egg noodles: which is better?
While they may taste alike, from a nutritional point of view egg noodles are slightly healthier than ramen noodles.
While neither type of noodle offers very much nutritional value, egg noodle is a bit better of a choice because the egg adds protein and essential amino acids. Ramen noodles usually don’t have those nutrients.
Egg noodles also have a higher source of vitamin B than ramen noodles. Eating them will give a person more energy and keep them full for longer.
While both noodles may be high sources of carbohydrates and calories, egg noodles do offer more nutrients.
Conclusion
If you want to improve your Japanese cooking skills, it’s important to know your noodles. Ramen noodles are not egg noodles, despite popular belief.
While both egg noodles and ramen noodles are very similar to one another, they are made up differently. If you have mixed these two noodles up in the past, you can be forgiven. After all, the noodles do look and taste alike.
Actually, they are so similar that you can replace ramen noodles with egg noodles (and vice versa) in your recipes and not notice a difference.
Are you also wondering what those Thick Japanese Noodles are Called?
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Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
