[osamaru]

I've been experimenting with Ramen recently, and one of the things I've tried was to make the soup itself really cheesy, and give it a nice flavor. However, it didn't really work well.
I've tried everything from adding another starch like potatos to thicken it (makes it to thick and not really Ramen after that) to just straight up melting the cheese in it and hoping for the best (was Meh)

I've never really worked with cheese past "melt it over stuff", personally, so I'm kinda lost. I've tried just making a normal cheese sauce, but its waaaaay to thick to use in something like Ramen.

Does anyone know how to make a really thin Cheese Sauce/Emulsion that might be useful in this?

Not Watery or weak, mind you. just Thin.

 

[osamaru]

First off, what sort of ramen are you making? Is it the instant stuff with the flavor packets or are you actually making ramen broth from scratch and using half way decent noodles?

If you want the cheesy thing, but, not so thick that its no longer ramen, prepare your broth in whatever way you would otherwise make it. If you are using 1-2 cups of ramen broth, add about 1 teaspoon of rice and boil until the rice is very soft. Add your cheese. Make sure its a good cheese that melts well like Butterkaise or perhaps, Muenster. Use an immersion blender (or a food processor if you don't have an immersion blender) to blend the rice into your broth like you would in a bisque. The rice should help emulsify the cheese into the broth without making the broth too thick.

Prepare your noodles in a separate pot of boiling water. Strain and add to your emulsified broth.

You'll have to use a bit of trial and error with the rice amount to get the consistency you want.

Good luck.

Thanks!

I normally make my broth from scratch, but I use the instant noodles themselves, mostly because you can't get good Ramen around here. Its not perfect, but it works.

 

[osamaru]

Make a cheese sauce using cheddar, cornstarch, and evaporated milk, then stir some into your ramen broth.

I tried that, but it turns out way to thick.

 

[osamaru]

Two approaches leap out at me.

1. If you want flavor and not texture, make an infusion. Hold the stock at a very gentle simmer, or even under that, and drop in a big rind of Parmesan. Cook 5 minutes or so, then shut off the heat and let cool. Strain well.

2. If you want actual cheese in the broth, melt the cheese with a little sodium citrate dissolved in water or clear broth. Then puree this into the stock. The cheese will have the melting properties of Velveeta but whatever flavor the cheese started with.

Personally I am boggled at the idea of cheese ramen, but whatever floats your boat.

Hehehe, half the fun of cooking is trying new things. For the cheese ramen, I'm trying to aim for something both creamy and savory, without just being Ramen in a Sauce. Mostly what I'm working with is a Veggie broth with a nice cheesy undertaste that doesn't overpower the Veggies.

 

[osamaru]

If you want a strong hint of cheese without the texture, do the infusion. Works very well.

Ya, I ended up trying a mix of both; made a rice slurry and then, in some Cheese and Veggies into a mulch, then let that cook for a little bit and strained it out.
worked out pretty well.

now I just need to think about what to do with the leftover Veggies from the Stock, BWHAHAHA!

 

[osamaru]

Finished it. It actually turned out better than I thought it would. Nice and creamy and Savory.
The only regret was, I could not figure out what to do with the rest of the Veggie pulp once I was done making the broth....orz...

 

[osamaru]

I put that leftover flavorless veggie pulp into the garden mulch bin. Those veggies did their job for you. Other than a source of fiber that's the best destiny those vegetables could hope for.

orz... That's actually a pretty good Idea. Growing some Mint and Strawberries atm.