Creamy Garlic Chicken Ramen
Ramen cooked in milk powder instead of broth, with a pouch of chicken stirred in at the end.
- calories
- 760
- weight
- 6.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 117
- protein
- 36 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 6 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- 350 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ramen noodles | 1 block (3 oz) | discard the flavor packet, the bouillon does that job |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk powder | 3 tbsp | stands in for the heavy cream |
| Chicken bouillon | 1 tsp or 1 cube | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | granulated, not fresh |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle; replaces the butter |
| Foil-pouch chicken | 2.5 oz | |
| Soy sauce | 1 packet | the takeout kind |
| Everything bagel seasoning | 1 tsp |
Method
- Bring 350 ml of water to a boil. Stir in the bouillon and garlic powder.
- Drop in the noodle block. Simmer three minutes, turning it once so both sides get under water.
- Cut the heat. Sprinkle the milk powder over the surface and stir it in fast, before it clumps.
- Add the chicken, the oil, and the soy sauce. Stir until the liquid goes opaque and clings to the noodles.
- Top with the bagel seasoning and eat straight from the pot.
The home version of this leans on butter, heavy cream, and leftover chicken, which is three refrigerated things too many. Whole milk powder does the cream’s work: enough fat and milk solids to turn the cooking water cloudy and thick, with none of the weight of liquid. Olive oil replaces the butter and adds back the calories the swap costs.
Add the milk powder off the heat. Dairy powder scorches on a hot pot bottom and will scald into the finish before you notice. Keep the water low too. Ramen wants to swim, but a swimming noodle leaves you with thin broth instead of sauce, and there is no colander out here.
Packing
Milk powder, bouillon, garlic powder, and bagel seasoning go in one small bag. Noodles in another. Oil and soy sauce ride upright in a side pocket.
Variations
- Swap the chicken pouch for a foil packet of tuna or a sliced stick of summer sausage.
- Half a packet of instant potato flakes will thicken it further if the milk powder does not go far enough.
- A pinch of chili flakes cuts the richness.
https://morefood.org/cooking-for-one