Ramen Carbonara
East meets west. I love making recipes with ingredients you wouldn’t think would work together. Carbonara is one of my favourite Italian pasta dishes. I love the creaminess that comes from emulsifying the eggs with the cheese and the fat without needing to add cream.Did you know that you don’t have to follow the suggested serving instructions on an instant ramen packet? I can’t tell you how long it took me to learn that and how many instant ramens I’ve eaten over my lifetime in just that same way. Using instant ramen and Sichuan peppercorn for the “east” and eggs, parmesan and bacon for the “west”. You’re gonna love this!I chose a package of instant ramen that comes with a seasoning oil. If the one you are using does not come with one, simply add a teaspoon of sesame oil. But only a handful of ingredients and about 15 minutes gives you a deliciously simple meal that also helps to save you money.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish
- 8 slices bacon chopped
- 4 packages instant ramen
Instructions
- In a medium frying pan on medium heat, toast the peppercorns together just until you start hearing them pop. Remove the peppercorns from the pan and set aside to cool. Once cooled, coarsely grind them with a mortar and pestle or in a pepper mill. (Optional - you can totally skip this step and just use freshly ground pepper.)
- In a large bowl, add eggs and cheese. Whisk together until creamy. Add ½ teaspoon ground peppercorn and two packages of soup base from the instant ramen and whisk thoroughly.
- In the same frying pan on medium heat, immediately add bacon to the cold pan. Saute the bacon until slightly crispy and cooked through. Take it off the heat.
- While the bacon is cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the ramen noodles for 2½ minutes until al dente.
- Add the noodles directly from the water to the egg mixture (doesn’t need to be completely drained). Add the bacon along with any fat. Immediately toss well until the noodles are nicely coated with the sauce.
- Evenly distribute and serve on individual plates. Garnish with remaining ground peppercorn and extra parmesan. Drizzle with the oil pack from the instant ramen. If it didn’t come with one, drizzle with a teaspoon of sesame oil.