Do you ever wish you could elevate your instant ramen noodles and make something a little different that’s filled with so much flavour? Well in this carbonara ramen recipe, we use bouncy instant ramen noodles to replace traditional pasta for a mouth-watering twist on an Italian classic.
Additionally, in just around 15 minutes you can enjoy this delicious carbonara ramen and can easily make more. Buon appetito-itadakimasu!
ingredients
directions
Use 2 packs of regular-sized ramen (115g brick) or 3 packs of small-sized ramen (75g brick). Use traditional deep-fried or air-fried instant ramen.
Bring a medium pot of (unsalted) water to a boil. We want this ready to quickly cook the ramen.
Set a heavy-bottom pan on the stove and place pancetta (or guanciale or bacon) pieces into the cold pan without any oil. Turn heat to medium to medium-high and allow the meat to slowly render its fat and start to crisp and brown on the edges, stirring occasionally. Scoop out and set aside, leaving rendered fat in the pot. Leave pot on the burner on lowest heat to keep warm.
While meat is rendering in step 2, place whole egg, egg yolks, grated cheese and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper into a mixing bowl and whisk well. Set aside.
As soon as pancetta is scooped out, plunge ramen noodles into pot of boiling water. Use tongs or chopsticks to encourage untangling as soon as softened enough to do so. Cook ramen briefly, until strands are fully cooked through but still on the firmer side (I find this typically takes less time than package directions). Taste test a strand to make sure. Instant ramen can go from perfectly cooked to soggy pretty quickly.
One tablespoon at a time, scoop 4 tablespoons (for a total equivalent of ¼ cup) of noodle cooking water into the egg mixture, whisking after each addition to temper the mixture — i.e. slowly bring up the temperature such that it doesn’t scramble in the next step.
Use tongs to transfer noodles directly from boiling water into the pot of rendered fat. We don’t mind some of the cooking water clinging to the noodles. Pour egg mixture over top. Use tongs to toss and move the noodles and sauce around vigorously to emulsify the fat and melt the cheese.
