The thing about carbonara is.... you have to eat it immediately. Like everything that knows its own worth, it waits for no man (or woman). You let it sit for too long and the creamy sauce you've just worked so hard to emulsify becomes a drier, paler version of its former glorious self. Okay, so this is just my way of proclaiming that the best way to eat carbonara is straight from the pan you made it in.
This is exactly like making a regular carbonara except you replace the pasta with dried cakes of instant ramen, which definitely amps up its junk-y factor, which definitely makes it more naughty and by default, more fun to consume... :b Inspired by a recipe I saw on New York Times Cooking.
Now, allow me to talk you through making this pan of carbonara that serves 2 pax. First, get two packets of your favourite brand of instant ramen noodles. Any brand's fine as long as you like it.
For the rest of the ingredients:
Olive oil
5 rashes of bacon, sliced
2 eggs (whisked together)
tons of parmigiano-reggiano cheese
black pepper & salt, to taste
2 eggs (optional, but good) that we will fry up to top the noodles with
1) Heat your saucepan over medium-high heat, add in about 3 Tablespoons of your olive oil. When it's sufficiently heated up, crack in your eggs. Let them fry up until their edges are lightly golden and the yolk done to your liking. Using a large spatula, set the eggs aside until they're needed later on.
2) Whisk your 2 eggs along with the cheese and tons of freshly cracked black pepper. Add in a pinch of salt Set this mixture aside until needed.e
3) Bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil and salt the water generously. Cook your ramen noodles until it's al dente and just cooked through. Drain and set aside, reserving about a cup or so of the noodle cooking liquid. We'll be using this to form our sauce later on.
4) Meanwhile, In the same pan you fried your eggs in, set your heat to low and add in your sliced bacon. Fry them up until they're golden-brown and slightly crisped. Turn the heat off.
5) Tip your drained ramen into the bacon mixture and stir continuously with a pair of tongs as you drizzle your egg and cheese mixture over. Make sure to keep stirring and mixing, never allowing your eggs to set or scramble - which honestly wouldn't be bad thing. Drizzle in some of your reserved noodle cooking liquid. This will help things to emulsify and turn creamy, adding more as you go along, until you get your creamy, desired consistency.
6) Do a final taste test for seasoning, adjusting for the salt content. Give it a final grating of black pepper and parmigiano. Top with the eggs we fried up earlier and dig . right . in.
As usual, the step by step cooking tutorial guide is up on my ig stories highlights!