A budgeted reincarnation of Cabonara: a classic Italian dish made using only egg, hard cheese, bacon/pancetta/guanciale, and black pepper. Ramen carbonara will have you thinking you're at an Italian restaurant in your tiny apartment on a Tuesday afternoon.
What you’ll need:
1 package of ramen (any kind works fine)2 strips of bacon
1 clove of garlic
Splash of heavy cream or milk (optional)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
½ cup - 1 cup of parmesan cheese, shredded (parmesan Reggiano if available)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish
How to make it
1. Start off by boiling water for the ramen. 2 cups of water in a medium sized saucepan.
2. Then, start on the bacon. Add bacon to a small skillet and fry for about 4 minutes per side, time varies (depending on how crispy you like it. I like mine super crispy). Add garlic towards the end of cooking so it doesn’t burn, but still cooks with bacon. Take off the heat and remove bacon from the pan.
3. Boil the ramen for 3-4 minutes until tender.
4. While ramen is boiling, whisk eggs in a bowl and then add cheese and mix. Add the heavy cream until it looks like a pretty thick paste, add more cheese to preference! Season with some salt and fresh cracked pepper. Cut bacon into bite sized pieces.
5. Once the ramen is done, take the ramen right out of the pot and transfer to the skillet with the bacon fat and garlic. It’s okay if some of the water gets in the skillet, it’ll help with the sauce.
6. Now, while pasta is still hot, add the parmesan and egg mixture and stir constantly until it become a creamy, velvety sauce. Add more pepper, bacon and parsley. If the sauce is too thick, add heavy cream to preference.
7. Enjoy!
I really like this recipe because it's super versatile and you can add almost anything to it. All of the ingredients don’t really have to be super precise and is very lenient to your preferences!