Want to upgrade instant ramen into a hearty meal? It’s as easy as adding a poached egg and some creamy toppings like cheese and butter.
The whole prep and cooking process only takes about 12 minutes, and the result is a delicious bowl of ramen comfort-food.
One of the great advantages of using instant ramen noodle packs is that you don’t have to boil the noodles for a long time nor make the seasoning from scratch.
In this post we'll cover:
Korean egg & cheese ramen
While it may sound like adding processed cheese slices to ramen is such an American thing to do, this tradition is actually a popular Korean way of upgrading instant ramen.
Famous Los Angeles chef Roy Choi popularized this egg, butter, and melty cheese recipe.
People instantly adapted the recipe because the combination of hot broth and cheesy noodles has a similar flavor to mac n’ cheese, a classic North American comfort food.
But, since we’re adding the egg and ramen noodles, the recipe keeps its Korean roots.
Instant ramen with egg recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups of water
- 1 pack instant ramen noodles
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon butter
- 2 slices mild Cheddar cheese
- ¼ teaspoon black toasted sesame seeds white will do fine as well
- 1 scallion sliced
Instructions
- Grab a small saucepan or pot, fill with 2.5 cups of water and bring to a boil.
- Add the ramen noodles and let them boil for about 2 minutes.
- Add the seasoning mix packet and let it boil for 2 more minutes.
- Now crack the raw egg into the boiling ramen. Don’t mix the egg at all.
- With a fork, pull some of the noodles on top of the egg until it’s covered.
- Let the egg poach for 2-3 minutes, depending on how soft you want it.
- Take the pot or saucepan off the heat and pour your ramen into a bowl.
- Add the cheese, butter, and sesame seeds and mix gently.
- Garnish the ramen with the scallion. Now your ramen is ready to serve!
Nutrition
If you want to enhance your ramen’s flavor, you can always add half a teaspoon of miso paste, dashi, mirin, or soy sauce.
But, if you like to keep things simple, use the seasoning packet included with the noodles and add the egg, butter, and cheese.
Tip: If you have trouble covering the egg and you always end up breaking its form, after putting the egg into the pot, cover the pot with a lid and let it cook for about 2 minutes.
The key to a soft, creamy egg is to baste it with the noodle broth.
However, you have to be careful not to mix it or take on a scrambled egg texture. The goal is for the egg to remain intact yet be cooked through.
Which ramen to use
You can use any type of instant noodle packs/ramen. There are many popular Korean and Japanese instant noodles on Amazon.
For this egg and cheese dish, it’s best to use a mild noodle pack so that the spiciness doesn’t overpower the flavors.
My top 3 picks are:
- Nissin Demae Black Garlic Oil Instant Ramen Noodles because the garlic adds additional umami flavor.
- Nongshim Soon Noodle Soup Veggie because it is a vegetarian noodle, so you can really taste the egg and cheese.
- Nongshim Bowl Noodle Soup Chicken because it has a mild flavor.
However, if you enjoy spicy foods, you can use spicy chicken-flavored noodles such as Samyang Instant Ramen Noodles.
Also read: Different types of Japanese Ramen explained like Shoyu & Shio
How to eat the egg
When you have ramen with egg at a restaurant, the polite way to eat it is:
- to pick it up with your spoon, fork, or chopsticks, take a small bite
- cut it into smaller pieces with your utensils
It’s never polite to stab and poke the egg.
However, when you eat it at home, you can cut up the egg to make it easier to eat.
It tastes best when you take a spoonful of noodles, egg, and cheese at the same time because you can feel the umami flavors come together.
Egg-drop
An alternative to my “poached egg” is to add it in as “egg drop.”
In this cooking method, you add in the raw egg as the noodles are boiling and mix them in, or scramble them, as I mentioned above.
Some people prefer egg drop over the poached style. Alternatively, you can beat an egg in a cup with your fork and then add it into the broth that way.
I am mentioning these methods for those who want more egg bits in the broth.
Nutritional information of ramen with egg
You’re probably wondering if instant noodles with egg is a healthy dish?
Well, yes and no.
The egg is a healthy form of protein. Adding the poached egg to your ramen gives you lots of B vitamins, contributing to a healthy nervous system.
Eggs are nutritious and contribute to a balanced meal, so you’re sure to feel full after eating this ramen.
This ramen and egg recipe has a higher calorie count than simple instant noodles because of the egg, butter, and cheese, which pack on more fats and protein.
Typically, a pack of instant noodles with seasoning has about 350-400 calories, 15 g of fat, and approximately 10 g of protein.
Sliced cheddar cheese has about 100-120 calories per slice, and a poached egg has about 140-145 calories.
The butter, scallion, and sesame seeds add about another 50 calories. So, expect your ramen bowl to have about 650-700 calories.
Considering it’s a pretty filling meal, it’s a good lunch or dinner food.
In general, instant noodles are not very healthy because they have high fat, carb, and sodium content. But, if you add some healthy protein like egg and some veggies, you can improve it.
Additional ingredients & how to spice it up
You’ve seen how simple this recipe is, but you can take it to the next level if you want by adding some additional ingredients.
How about spiking it up?
Here’s what else you can add to your egg ramen bowl:
- Sriracha hot sauce
- Dashi
- Boiled Chicken
- Grilled Pork
- Boiled Beef
- Cooked Shrimp
- Miso paste
- Soy sauce
- Mirin
- Fish Sauce
- Broccoli
- Mung Bean
- Garlic Chips
- Bean Sprouts
- Carrots
You can experiment with all kinds of veggies and toppings. So, don’t be afraid to look around the fridge and use what you have.
For more inspiration, read 9 best ramen toppings to order or use when making ramen at home.
Conclusion
When you’re not in the mood to make a bowl of hot ramen soup from scratch, you can always boil instant noodles and add in a poached egg and some yummy cheese slices to make it a full meal.
It’s such an easy meal to make, there’s not much prep work required, and you won’t have a ton of dishes to wash up afterward.
If you want to make your ramen healthier, add in some extra vegetables, and it’s sure to fill you up.
Rather go for a vegan ramen recipe but not miss out on flavor? Check out this delicious vegan ramen noodle soup!
