Like most college students, I have eaten my fair share of instant ramen. Usually, it's ready in a minute or two, is virtually flavorless, and has soggy noodles. However, our friends at Mike's Mighty Good Craft Ramen want to change the stereotype behind instant ramen and make it a high-quality meal rather than a cheap and boring one.
Natural and Organic Ingredients
Mike's uses organic noodles as well as non-GMO sourced ingredients to create rich broths. They even use portable paper containers from "certified sustainably-managed forests". This instant ramen makes for a natural and nutritious meal rather than one loaded with sodium.
Customizable
Mike's also encourages their customers to add their own ingredients and customize their ramen noodle soup. After taking your dinner out of the microwave, you can add anything from soft boiled eggs, roasted seaweed, stir fry veggies, and even corn. Ramen truly doesn't have to be boring anymore.
Variety of Flavors
Mike's has many flavors of ramen on the market, ranging from vegetarian to beef, pork, or chicken. Their broths range from pho to tonkotsu to miso. Each has a rich flavor and tastes closer to a restaurant-quality meal rather than something cooked in your microwave.
Ranking of Flavors
Spoon Wisco would like to thank Mike's for donating samples to one of our chapter meetings. They even sent us a wide variety of ingredients to customize our bowls. We were sent a total four flavors to sample, and we loved them all. For our friends at Mike's, here is a definitive ranking of the four flavors we sampled:
1. Savory Miso Ramen Soup
The Savory Miso Ramen Soup was my favorite flavor because its rich broth was extremely close to restaurant quality. I loved adding grilled chicken, corn, and roasted seaweed. The noodles soaked up the broth well. The soup was rich yet not overly creamy.
2. Chicken Ramen Soup
The Chicken Ramen Soup had a similar flavor to the Savory Miso Ramen Soup mentioned above, yet had a little less creamy texture. There was chicken flavor, but not actual chicken. However, I added some grilled chicken myself, along with edamame and a soft boiled egg.
3. Vegetarian Kimchi Ramen Soup
The Vegetarian Kimchi Ramen Soup was full of flavor, and I really didn't miss the meat. This soup had a little kick, but it wasn't overly spicy. It was great by itself or with some other ingredients like tofu to combat the spice.
4. Vegetarian Vegetable Ramen Soup
Mike's Vegetarian Vegetable Ramen Soup was great for everyone, vegetarian or not. It was light and flavorful, and I was highly influenced by Mike's Insta page for this one. The soup truly tasted best when topped with avocado and radish.
#SpoonTip: You can order Mike's Ramen off their website, or search and see if it's sold in a grocery store near you.
Have fun customizing your ramen, and enjoy the flavors. Thanks again to Mike's for providing us with such irresistible noodles. Affordable college cooking will truly never be the same.