Souped-Up Review: MAMA Pad Thai, Five-Alarm Peanut version

Ingredients:
MAMA Instant Pad Thai Noodles (originally reviewed here)
Planters Five-Alarm Chili dry roasted peanuts
Oscar Meyer Cutting Board turkey breast

Rating:  Major Upgrade

Sometimes I just get the sense that certain products were made for each other.  You know, like bagels and cream cheese.  These new Planters Five-Alarm Chili peanuts caught my eye in the store, and since they were on sale they came home with me.  I opened the jar and tasted them as soon as I got home, and my first thought was that they would be excellent on top of some Pad Thai noodles.  (My second thought was that they are probably more like three- to four-alarm peanuts, but then again I can be a connoisseur of spicy things.)  So for lunch today, I am going to do another Souped-Up Review to try it out!

I prepared the noodles just as directed on the package, and in the meantime I carefully crushed up a handful of the peanuts with a kitchen mallet.  While stirring in the seasonings, I also tossed in about an ounce of some turkey deli meat that I had warmed in the microwave, just to add some protein, and then I garnished the top with my crushed peanuts.  The noodles are looking good!

I enjoyed these noodles a lot!  The added spice from the peanuts was welcome, and while the turkey meat didn't seem to add that much flavor-wise, the extra substance seemed to fill in a little of what was missing the first time I had these noodles.  It even seemed like the texture was better this time than I described in the original review, I didn't notice the noodles clumping excessively.  It could just be a difference in perception, though, since I was enjoying the flavor this time. 

The meat choice could probably be improved upon, especially if I had some leftover breaded chicken or something like that, but for me, these peanuts are practically a must-add from now on whenever I have these Pad Thai noodles.  I say it is a Major Upgrade!  Who knows, maybe someday it will be as classic a combination as chocolate and peanut butter.

(Okay, probably not.)

Souped-Up Review: Nissin Chow Noodles Cheddar Cheese, Taco version

Ingredients:
Nissin Chow Noodles Cheddar Cheese flavor (originally reviewed here)
leftover taco filling
chopped bell pepper

Rating:  Worthy Option

Here we go with another Souped-Up Review!  My sweetie and I had tacos last night, and there was some of this seasoned ground beef left over.  I also had some chopped bell peppers in the fridge, and a package of Cheddar Cheese Chow Noodles, which I said in my original review seemed "like the kind of thing that could become even better with a few added ingredients."  It sounds like a match!

I considered a few different ways of assembling this meal, but the method I settled on was to just dump the taco meat and a handful of bell pepper into the container before microwaving; my thought was that this way the flavors from the taco seasoning and peppers would have a chance to blend with the noodles better.  I microwaved for the normal five minute cooking time, and by the end of the cooking cycle the kitchen smelled strongly of bell pepper.  The noodles seem to be cooked properly, so I stir in the cheese flavor and get ready to taste!

The flavor is not exactly what I was expecting, but I like it.  The taco seasoning and pepper flavors are subdued--they seem to have blended with the cheese flavor and changed it from plain cheddar to more of a nacho cheese.  The result is (in my opinion) a pretty good rendition of a cheeseburger macaroni!  It probably isn't something that I would do to these every time, but I think it is a Worthy Option for a change of pace, as well as being a pretty good way to use up leftover taco filling.  Another successful experiment!

Souped-Up Ramen Review: Nong Shim Savory Chicken Bowl Noodle

Ingredients:
Nong Shim Savory Chicken Bowl Noodle
an egg
a green onion
Sriracha sauce

Meal Size (~500 calories)
Rating:  Major Upgrade!

Okay, I had sort of been planning to do some "Souped-Up" reviews like this from the beginning--I'm actually sort of surprised it took me this long to get to one.  I think I mentioned in the original review that I ended up getting 36 of these in a buy-one-case-get-one-free deal from Costco, right?  Well, I've had nine of them so far.  I think I also mentioned that they were a bit bland and unexciting.  With 27 bowls left to go, I think it's high time I tried to make them more interesting!

So, while the water for the noodles (and tea) was heating on the stove, I chopped the green onion and added it to the bowl along with the seasoning packet, and got a small skillet ready by melting about 1/2 tbsp. butter over low heat.  While the noodles were standing in the hot water, I fried the egg sunny-side up (covered skillet method) and slid it onto the top when the noodles were done, then topped everything with a drizzle of Sriracha hot sauce.

Before eating, I like to cut the egg up with my chopsticks and stir it in a bit, so that the yolk (and hot sauce) blends in with the broth.  The finished result is a broth that is very rich and creamy, nicely savory, and not nearly as spicy as one would imagine by looking at the hot sauce in the picture.  Eggs have an interesting property of countering a lot of spice heat, so the Sriracha just ends up keeping things from being too bland, especially since I didn't season the egg with anything else.

This has got to be the best bowl of noodles I have had in months.  And the add-in ingredients are very economical, too!  This will make it a lot easier to finish the case-and-a-half of these bowls that I have left.  I call this a Major Upgrade!  Om nom nom. :D