Ramen Burgers

What’s that you say? Ramen burger? Well technically it’s not a burger made out of ramen (only the ramen seasoning) but it’s the bun that’s made out of ramen noodles.

I found the recipe for this burger courtesy of the website thought i might suggest … Um. Burger buns made out of ramen noodles? Strange, yes? An East Coast fad that either hasn’t reached the West Coast or I’m just plain out of it. But seriously I’ll try almost anything once and God knows I like burgers almost anyway they come so to me this burger was a great suggestion. The below recipe makes one double cheeseburger on a ramen noodle bun.

ingredients.

1 packet of instant Ramen noodles
2 eggs
7 oz ground beef
2 scallions
Splash of soy sauce
Drizzle of sesame oil
Dollop of hot sauce
mayo
cheese
oil
spinach or other lettuce

directions.

Boil the noodles in salted water according to instructions, but do not add the seasoning packet. Drain and leave to cool slightly for a minute.
Crack an egg into a bowl and beat together. Toss the noodles into the beaten egg, divide in two, and press each half into a plastic-wrap-lined mold the same size as you want your burgers to be (4-5” across). Fold the plastic wrap back over the noodles and place a weight on top to compress as they cool.
Slice the scallions and mix into the beef with the noodle seasoning, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Form two burger patties, a similar size to your buns, keeping them pretty thin.
Remove the chilled ramen burger buns from the plastic wrap and fry in oil for a few minutes on each side until they get golden and crispy. Fry the burgers in another pan in a bit of oil for a minute or so on each side.
Crack the egg into a third pan and fry. Mix together the mayo and hot sauce and adjust to suit your taste. Drain all the frying greasy items on kitchen paper and construct your Ramen burger. Slather some mayo on the bottom “bun” then top with one of the hamburger patties, a slice of cheese, the other burger patty, another slice of cheese and then top with the fried egg and lettuce, if using.

When I approached Jennifer and Kyna with the idea of making Ramen burgers they at first gave puzzled looks. After a bit more explaining they were not only in but also very excited to try the burgers. We decided to all do a different type of patty with varying flavors and divvy up the burgers. Kyna made a very Asian flavored open-faced burger (two of them, actually) with garlic, scallions and a soy-brown sugar reduction. Jen’s burger had garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds amongst other things. Mine was the whole kitchen sink. I mixed in garlic, ginger, the “veggie” packet from the Ramen as well as some of the spices. Then I topped mine with cheese.

We all agreed the buns turned out a bit too thick for our liking and that we could try them again with a thinner “bun.” All-in-all, it actually wasn’t that weird to eat a burger on a noodle-based bun. The bun held together nicely. I’m big on textures so the potential to not like the bun based on texture alone was there. But I wasn’t bothered by the texture at all. All of the flavors we tested turned out delicious – even my kitchen sink burger, which I’m pretty sure was making both of the other girls nervous. (Every time they asked me if I wanted to add an ingredient either one of them was adding to their burger, I said yes.) Sadly our friend Christine couldn’t join us for the big burger event. But we’ve already decided we could do these again – slider style. Hopefully, Christine will be able to join us on that night!

Recipe rating: 