Better instant ramen with a soft egg
Instant noodles in a quick garlicky broth with vegetables and an egg poached right in the pot, the upgrade that turns a cheap packet into dinner.
- 15 min total
- 12 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $2.48 a serving
- 600 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 packages ramen noodles, seasoning packets set aside
- 2 large eggs
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
Each serving has about 600 calories, 21 g protein, 67 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $2.48 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No frozen mixed vegetables? Frozen peas or frozen corn or frozen green beans work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No sriracha? Hot sauce works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute, and pale .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heat
Pour in the broth, soy sauce and sugar and over high heat.
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.
High heat
Add the frozen vegetables and the noodles and cook 1 minute, loosening the noodles with a fork.
High heatTimer: 1 min
Turn the heat to medium, crack the eggs into two open spots in the pot, and cover. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the whites are completely set.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Don’t stir once the eggs are in. They poach in the broth and hold their shape.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.
Taste the broth and add more soy sauce, or from one of the seasoning packets, if it needs more salt.
Splash. A splash is a small, quick pour, about a teaspoon to a tablespoon. It’s there to loosen or brighten a dish, so the exact amount doesn’t matter.
How you’ll know: The dish looks a little looser or tastes a little brighter, not soupy.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Ladle into bowls, one egg each, and top with green onions, a few drops of sesame oil and sriracha.
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.
