Ramen Noodle Tacos - Weird Recipe Review
Narrator: Feast your eyes on these homemadedishes and chocolatey desserts all made with
ramen noodles!
Woman: Really?
Ramen noodles?
[Horrific crunching noises]
Cathy Mitchell: Yes!
RAMEN!
Hi, Cathy Mitchell here with my new RamenJoy cookbook.
Ian: Hello everyone and welcome back to anotherepisode of BrutalFoods.
As you can tell by the title and thumbnailof this video, today
we're gonna be making something pretty interesting.
Cathy: This entire basket cost under $10,
and wait 'til you see what you can make with it!
Ian: If you're like me, you probably know CathyMitchell as the "Dump Dinner" lady.
Maybe the "Dump Cake" lady?
She's given us some dumps
and that's kind of what she's known for.
Now that I mention it, actually, this panthat I use, this is a Cathy Mitchell pan.
So I also know her from her very square pans.
Cathy: [Distorted] And wait 'til you see whatyou can make with it!
Ian: What I didn't know was that at one pointshe also sold a ramen recipe book called Ramen Joy.
I say that she used to sell this cookbookbecause if you try and find a copy now, it's
next to impossible.
It's gonna be hard to track down a copy ofCathy Mitchell's Ramen Joy, but!
You might find a copy of Ramen Noodle Recipes,which looks suspiciously similar to the Cathy
Mitchell book.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that this is the exact same
collection of recipes, and I havesome evidence to back that up.
Cathy: Form cooked ramen and egg into a fastpizza crust, then add your favorite toppings
for a mouth-watering pizza in minutes.
It's right here on page 84!
Ian: I've got the exact same picture righthere, Cathy Mitchell!
I'm on to you!
It may not be on the same page that shesays it's on, but that is the same picture
and they also use the same type of numbering design.
So I'm pretty sure that this is the exactsame cookbook.
Cathy: Watch this!
Brown some beef, or any other meat, with a ramenseasoning pack.
Dump in a package of ramen, a good-sized squirtof ketchup, and a can of cola.
Yes, cola!
[Cola pouring sounds]
[kinda like pee]
[Squirting ketchup sounds]
...for a fantastic barbecue beef pasta, betterthan what they serve at the rib joint -
at a fraction of the cost!
Yes, Cola!
This book was actually sent to me by Allyand Nathan.
Thank you guys so much.
They also included some awesome artwork of me.
This is pretty much what I'm gonna
look like here in a few minutes because weare gonna get started making some ramen tacos.
We're also gonna be making a special ramendessert, so be sure to stick around for that
'cause...
it's...
interesting.
Cathy: And here's my favorite: just dump someramen on top of some leftover chicken and
veggies.
Ian: Okay, so these are actually calledRamen "Spaghetti" Tacos.
I've never heard of a Spaghetti Taco before.
The recipe calls for two packages of any flavor of ramen.
I'm going to be using one package becauseI'm only cooking for me, and I'm gonna be
using the Chicken Flavor
because that's what I've got on hand.
Pasta sauce.
I've got my favorite sauce here, Prego.
Though, I've never tried the
"flavored with meat" flavor and I figured,since there's no actual meat going in these
tacos, that maybe if the saucewas flavored with meat, that might help?
I'm a little scared as to what "flavored withmeat" means.
Does it mean there's meat in here?
Did it just... did they put meat in it andthen take it out?
How do you flavor something with meat?
[glass breaking]
Taco shells.
I'm more of a soft taco kind of guy,
but the recipe calls for hard tacos, so I got these.
I chose these because
eight shells was the fewest I could find andI figured I was not going to eat that many
ramen tacos.
Mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and choppedtomatoes, which is great because it means
I get to use a knife today.
[Evil music and maniacal laughter]
Step one: Cook noodles according to packagedirections.
Okay, well that's easy enough.
I got to get a couple cups of water and heatit up.
I know how to make ramen.
It's important to note that it does say todiscard your seasoning packet.
I guess we're not gonna be using this.
[Fwoop]
Boil two cups of water.
Add noodles, breaking up if desired.
Now, let's make some ramen!
Make some ramen!
Make some ramen!
Cathy: How about these decadent truffles,
or Grandma's ramen apple pie? Mmm mmm!
[Distorted] Yes!
[Sleepy jazz]
I'm gonna do my best to waste as little asI can on this one.
With my last video - the jar cakes -I knew I was gonna be munching on those for a while,
so I went ahead and made all of 'em.
For the ramen tacos, I feel like I'm probablyonly going to be eating one.
So I'm actually going to halve this ramenin half.
Half-wise.
[Jazz and tearing noises]
That actually worked out pretty well.
What do you guys think about raw ramen?
Do you just ever just eat plain ramen?
I haven't done it for a while, but I usedto snack on it.
[Crunching]
Mmm, that crunch!
Cathy: Ooh, love that crunch!
[Jazz to make the water boil]
All right, while that's going let's chorpsome tomatoes.
You guys have been getting on me for my dullknives, so I'm gonna sharpen this baby up
a little bit.
[Violin stroke noises]
[applause]
How much tomato do you think I need for one taco? Maybe like...
[sawing noises]
That much?
I know there's probably a difference...
a difference between, like, slicing and chopping.
When they say chopped I assume they just meaninto like, little... you know, little tiny
cubes.
There we go, that's...that's probably enough for one taco, right?
Okay, another bit of prep I think we can dois get a taco shell ready to
receive the noodles.
[Plate noises]
Those look pretty good!
I sure wish I was putting real taco stuffin here.
[sniff]
Mmm!
[sniff]
Those smell really good.
I'm gonna have to make some real tacos after this to put these shells to good use.
How do you guys feel about taco shells?
Do you like hard taco shells or do you likecrispy...
wait...
I'm just sitting here waiting for water toboil, man.
We're getting there.
The back of this book is...
a pepper stuffed with ramen.
[Groovin' jams]
Right, so we're gonna add the noodles to the hot boiling hot water.
And then I'm also gonna need to get the - the cheese ready for cheesin'.
[Sploosh!]
This is the only kind of block mozzarellacheese I could find.
I tried to find a nice mozzarella,
but all I found was this Kroger brand?
Is there a reason for that?
Oh my god!
This piece of cheese just smells amazing.
[crunch]
[splooshing]
Okay, we're supposed to drain the noodleswhich I'm going to do using this... thing.
We gotta return it to the pot.
Like that.
Sure does look like - uh -
some ramen noodles.
That's for sure.
Now we have the pasta sauce and I guess sinceI'm using like 1/4 of the appropriate amount
of noodles, I guess I'm just gonna use1/4 of a cup instead of a full cup.
A full cup would be way too much.
Uh... how do I get it from here to here?
[Fun jazz]
You know...
I think that kind of smells likeit was flavored with meat.
[SNIFF]
[Sexier jazz]
Okay, pasta sauce is in there.
I'm supposed to cook on medium until it'sheated up.
Maybe I should stir it?
I don't know how long I'm gonna cook it.
I'm not using that much...
I'm not using that much sauce.
Doesn't that look like a taco to you?
I'll put it back on heat for just a littlebit, but not very long.
Okay, it's hot enough.
Hot enough, I say!
Here comes the fun part.
[Sexy AND grooving jams]
Oh yeah!
Oh yeah, that's exactly - definitely wantthis right in the taco she-
Oh no, that might be too much.
Uh...
[stretching rubber noises]
Maybe not - maybe not that much ramen?
Okay.
Well, doesn't that just look delicious.
I don't even know what to say about this.
It sure does look like
you put ramen in a taco.
Top each taco with mozzarella and cheddarcheeses.
Well, the good news is that cheese does makeeverything better, so...
maybe I'll just load it up with cheese a littlebit?
I sure wish this taco shell would stand up.
[Trumpet and guitar song]
[Sounds of sprinkling glass]
Some cheddar on there...
Okay, went a little bit crazy with the cheesethere, but - that's fine.
Now...
wai- microwave?
Microwave on High at 10 to 15 second intervalsuntil cheese is melted, if desired.
Uh... do I desire that?
I guess I desire that?
I don't - I don't really know.
[Ding!]
Okay, one - one go around is fine.
It's - it's a little melted.
I don't - I don't think I want to do thatanymore.
[laughs]
Uh... top with tomatoes.
[applause]
Now, doesn't that just look...
Good.
I don't know about you guys, but this kindof looks like a huge mistake to me.
I don't know why you would do this insteadof just making the regular ramen.
I like Top Ramen.
This, however, just looks like a mess.
Okay, well, uh...
I guess I have to eat this now.
[Energetic coffee shop jazz]
Why?
Cathy: Yes! Ramen!
This tastes like nothing!
I can taste the tomatoes and the cheese, Iguess?
[Jazz continues despite Ian's upset]
No!
No!
No!
I didn't say this before I started, but Ireally wanted to eat all of this since I'm
only making one.
Ugh, I put too much noodle in it, too many noodle!
[crunch]
Mmm!
Mmm, mmm-mmm.
That is a mistake!
That is weird and a mistake,
and I cannot believe you sold this, Cat-Cathy Mitchell.
Cathy: Love that-
[Meow]
Who's puttingnoodles in taco shells?
Who is doing that?
The textures, man, the textures!
You got that crunchy shell and then you gotthe mushy,
noodley, mushy noodles and pasta sauce.
It ruins tacos.
It ruins ramen.
It ruins tomatoes.
It ruins cheese.
Everything that could be wrong with this dish
is wrong.
I feel like there's no way to fix it.
I really wanted to come up with a creativeway to say, "Hey, maybe if you did this,
maybe if you did that, it would be better."
The only thing that's gonna fix
this is if Cathy Mitchell goes back in timeand never thinks about it in the first place.
It hasn't been sitting here but for a fewminutes, and it already just looks
gross!
[Vomiting noises]
Looks like someone just threw up on my plate.
[Bleuurggh!]
I mean, the only way you could explain thisto me and it'd make rational sense is that
maybe I made a mistake.
Like, maybe...
I'm pretty sure I did everything right though,right?
There are some tips here.
The cookbook recommends that the tacos beflavored with salsa or sour cream, guacamole,
shredded lettuce, or to mix the noodles withteriyaki sauce and topped with
cabbage, chestnuts, and chicken or pork?
Everything about this recipe is insane.
Even the tips!
The tips make it worse!
But now it's time for dessert.
I promised dessert, and maybe this will bea little bit better.
And believe it or not, you have actually beenlooking at the dessert this entire time because
it shares a space on the cover
with the ramen tacos.
We are gonna be making Open-Faced S'mores!
To make Open-Faced S'mores, you're gonna needsome ramen, some chocolate - we're gonna use
more of that Scharffen Berger chocolate fromthe last episode - and
wollamhsraM - which don't come in a smallersize than this bag,
apparently.
I'm gonna guess you guys can probably alreadytell where this is headed.
First, you're gonna have to cut up your ramen.
We already have a half of a ramen square here.
They want us to cut it again.
I'm not gonna dirty up a knife for that.
I'm just gonna break it down the middle.
There we go.
Now, we gotta put the chocolate on top ofthe ramen.
If you remember from the last time,this is some pretty thick chocolate, so I'm
gonna have to cut it up a little bit.
I don't know how much chocolate I'm gonnawant on here, exactly.
I'm assuming not - not too terribly much.
[Sawing noises]
Well...
[Squeaking and sawing]
Gonna get a serrated knife instead of a non-serenaded- serra - serenaded knife?
Maybe this knife will work better.
[Jackhammering]
Ehh...
Just put some chocolate chunks.
It's not gonna be perfect, but you know.
The recipe just says chocolate bars,so I'm guessing they expected me to use, like,
a Hershey bar or something.
This is a fancy occasion.
I wanted to break out my fancy chocolate forthese - uh, these fancy ramen noodles.
So it says, "Heat in microwave in 10 secondintervals until chocolate begins to melt."
[Game show music; cheering]
Nope.
Nope.
Nnnnope.
Y-Yeah?
Y...
Yeah!
Okay, so that chocolate's melting a littlebit.
It sure smells like
microwaved ramen.
Top each noodle rectangle with two halvesof marshmallows.
Okay.
[ripping]
I like marshmallows, actually.
I actually - I like s'mores.
The last dish kind of disappointed me, butmaybe this will be good.
Looks right, right?
Turn and microwave for 15 seconds.
Okay?
Order up.
That's, uh... that's what you want to eat,right?
So that was... this is the entire recipe.
This is what they want you to eat.
See, it looks a little weird.
At the base of the marshmallow there, it justlooks...
I don't know, it all looks strange.
This whole thing is strange.
Let's give it a tryyyy.
[Sniff]
Oh my god, it smells so baaaad!
All you can smell are those noodles!
You don't even smell chocolate, man, you justsmell... microwaved dry ramen noodle.
Still a little hot.
I need to let it cool a little bit.
The recipe does say that you can toast yourmarshmallows on a skewer, but I feel like
if you're gonna go through that much trouble,
you're gonna buy Graham crackers for your s'more.
If you're gonna go in for the marshmallowand chocolate, just get the Graham cracker,
dude.
Okay, let's get it over with.
[Crunching]
[Laughs]
[Still crunching]
Cathy: Love that crunch!
Ian: This is one of the most bizarre thingsI've ever eaten.
Have you ever thought to yourself,
"Man, this s'more is good, but I sure wish I was crunching
on some ramen noodles instead."
[Sped up music and noises]
It takes forever to chew!
You got all this ramen shit in your mouth.
[Crunch]
I like two thirds of this equation.
I'd rather just have, like, chocolate andmarshmallow melted in a bowl with a spoon.
I don't know - the ramen doesn't... it doesn'tadd anything.
[Crunch]
Is it bad that it's growing on me a littlebit?
I mean, I'm not gonna say that it's good,but I'll at least finish this square.
[crunch]
So, this was better than the taco for a numberof reasons.
First, obviously,it's got chocolate and marshmallow,
and the ramen doesn't really have a strongflavor.
So mostly you're getting chocolate and marshmallow,which I'm a fan of both of those things.
The texture also
isn't as weird as the tacos.
The hard crunch of the
ramen is actually pretty nice, except
you just got to keep chewing it and chewingit until all those little pieces are broken
up enough for you to swallow.
But at least it's not just a mushy disaster like the taco was.
The taco was just so...
[Crunching]
This just made me appreciate Graham crackers.
I never thought of it back in the day, makings'mores.
But man, Graham crackers really are the unsunghero of the s'more.
This is helping no one.
This is just making something that's easyto make in your microwave, anyway, worse.
So that's all I got for you guys today.
This was a pretty easy day - a couple foodexperiments.
I don't even know if - if these are worthcalling recipes.
It's a food experiment.
This is a used copy of the Ramen Cookbook,and there are, like, page markers in here.
People bookmark some of this stuff.
Unsurprisingly, it seems to all be noodlerecipes that look pretty normal.
The Beefy Noodle Skillet is apparently verygood.
They also bookmarked Teriyaki Meatloaf, which...
I don't know how I feel about that one.
So I can't personally recommend any of theserecipes.
I don't know that I would say, "Go out andbuy the Ramen Noodle Cookbook."
Unless one of these looked good to you.
Maybe - maybe you're out there, man.
If one of these looks great to you,let me know!
Go buy the cookbook!
Tell me about all your great ramen noodleexperiences.
I would love to hear, though I do doubt yourexistence.
Overall, though,this was a disaster, but I hope you enjoyed
watching the video anyway.
It kind of feels like it's gonna be a shortone, but I hope you liked it regardless.
Let me know what you liked about this video,what you didn't like.
What could I do better?
I would love to hear.
You guys have been giving me some really greatfeedback and helping me improve the show.
And I really appreciate it.
So let me know what you think in the comments,and I'll see you guys next time.
[Classy, raindrop jazz ending music]
Today I'm cooking a Cathy Mitchell classic recipe - ramen noodle tacos. I also prepare a super special ramen dessert! ♥ You should subscribe! » http://tinyurl.com/itsmoosetime ♥ Become a Patron » http://www.patreon.com/brutalmoose SOCIAL NETWORKS http://www.twitter.com/brutalmoose http://brutalmoose.tumblr.com/ http://www.facebook.com/brutalmoose Background music provided by Epidemic Sound.