It's Time To Up Your Instant Ramen Game

By Sheela Prakash

Earlier today, my colleague Gabi noted that most people kick off their ramen addictions in college with the instant stuff. Not me. I never gorged on instant ramen, because even at 20 years old I found those little seasoning packets to be missing something: flavor. That's right, I'm calling our instant ramen as tasting like nothing but MSG and salt.

But I'd like to believe that instant ramen can do better; I'd like to have faith that something so cheap can also be delicious. So I called chef Bill Kim of UrbanBelly (a noodle spot), BellyQ, and Belly Shack in Chicago. I asked him: Can anything be done to punch up instant ramen? He answered in the affirmative with five flavor-packed tips.

Check out the slideshow above to learn how to up your instant ramen game.

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