GF Shin Ramyun
Nongshim Shin Ramyun is to me, the standard bearer for instant ramen. As a kid, I remember my grandmother and mother fixing Sapporo Ichiban for me (ramen training wheels, really). By the time I got to college, Shin Ramyun had hit the scene and one of the staples of heading to a Korean market was a 12 pack box of Shin Ramyun. Turns out that both my wife and I ate a LOT of this spicy, soupy goodness. For those who don’t have a gluten allergy or celiac and have never had this, stop reading now, get you some, and then get back to me.
Fast forward to life post-gluten intolerance for my wife and the cravings she’d have with no way to fulfill it. One day, strolling through the Kennesaw Costco, I spied GF Ramen noodles. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but didn’t hesitate to grab a bag to take home just on principle but no recipe yet for the soup base. While I’d love to tell you that the ramen noodles look exactly like what you see in this picture, I can’t do that. But I’ve learned that for those living with GF intolerance/celiac, it’s a common sacrifice that has to be made often. The bag shown here is a 4-pack, but Costco sells it as a 10-pack.
So half of the equation was suddenly solved. Next came a bit of Googling to see if Nongshim sold just the soup base packets and then whether they’d polluted the soup base with anything wheat-based. Not so lucky there. No soup packets, no clear ruling on the ingredients, but a few other posts (this very intense one, and this one on Chowhoud) laying about. The post on Chowhound had generated a few comments that gave me a starting place for the first 2 ingredients.
Ingredient 1: Beef Dashida (beef boullion)
This just happened to be an ingredient that we already had at home. Truly, a ‘Great Taste of Korea’ (LOL).
Ingredient 2: Gochu-galu (red pepper powder)
Another Korean kitchen staple, but readily available via Amazon.
Ingredients 3, 4, 5 and 6:
Garlic powder
Onion powder
GF soy sauce (San-J Tamari or Kikkoman are fine)
1 Egg
So here are the ingredient measurements for a single serving that I tried and according to my wife, is pretty good. Definitely open to suggestions on ways to dial this up another notch.
GF Shin Ramyun Soup Base
1 tsp Beef Dashida
1 tsp gochu-galu
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1-2 TBSP of GF Soy Sauce
The whole production:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil
Add in soup base ingredients
Add 1 ‘brick’/serving of Lotus Foods GF Rice & Millet ramen
Let the noodles cook for 10 minutes or until it has reached the level of chewiness that you like
When the noodles are almost how you like them, add in the egg and break it up in the noodles and soup. It will change the color complexion of the soup (courtesy of the yolk) and you get a bit of an egg drop soup effect courtesy of the egg whites cooking.
Pour it all into a bowl
Optional ingredients:
Leftover steamed rice - this is a technique (not sure what else to call it) I grew up with in case I was really hungry but didn’t want 2 packets of ramen. Take a small serving of leftover steamed rice (can use cold rice if you want it to help cool it all down quickly) and put it in a bowl first. Then pour your completed GF Shin Ramyun over it.
I realize that other bloggers who post recipes post pictures of the work in progress or the completed dish. I’ll come back around to that next time I make it. But for now, that’s my recipe for GF Shin Ramyun.
Enjoy!
