Bacon and egg ramen noodles
Instant ramen stir-fried with crispy bacon, green onions and a soft scrambled egg in a salty-sweet sauce, a dinner for two that costs about a dollar a bowl.
- 20 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $1.98 a serving
- 750 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 2 packages ramen noodles, seasoning packets set aside
- 4 slices bacon
- 3 stalks green onions
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
Each serving has about 750 calories, 22 g protein, 58 g carbs and 46 g fat, and costs about $1.98 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a pot of water and cook the ramen noodles 2 minutes, until just loose. them and with cold water.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
High heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Pull them early. They cook a bit more in the pan, and soft ramen turns to mush.Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces, the green onions, and the garlic. Stir the soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a cup.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Cook the bacon in a large over medium for 7 to 8 minutes, until . Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Food safety: Cook bacon until it’s crisp and no longer translucent.
Push the bacon aside, crack the eggs into the pan, and scramble them 1 minute, until just set.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Add the noodles, garlic and most of the green onions, pour in the sauce, and 2 minutes, until the noodles are glossy and hot.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Serve topped with the rest of the green onions and a little chili garlic sauce.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
