How to Make Gigantic Curly Ramen Crunch Onion Rings Without a Deep Fryer

If you're looking for the ultimate crunch experience, these are for you. You get to 'mainline' your ramen noodles, and work in a vegetable at the same time! They're fun, delicious, and totally addictive.

You want to use the inexpensive, cellophane wrapped 'block'-type ramen. Choose a flavor you like; I used Roast Beef but most would work equally well, I think. The batter has to be quite thick to hold the crushed ramen in place, so test one and whisk in a tablespoon or so of additional flour if necessary.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• FOR THE BASIC BATTER:
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of beer
• FOR THE CURLY RAMEN NOODLE ONION RINGS
• 2 blocks ramen noodles (with 1 flavoring packet reserved)
• 2 cups Basic Batter (made with beer)
• Oil for frying
• 1 very large yellow onion, cut and separated into 3/4 inch rings

1. 

   Break off half of one block and pulse it in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Stir these into the batter and set aside. Break up the remaining noodles into small chunks and either processes them carefully in small batches until they're chopped into small bits (but not ground) or put them in a heavy duty plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or soup can. Spread the crushed noodles in a shallow bowl and shake the contents of the flavor packet over them; mix thoroughly.

2. Heat 1/2 to 3/4 inches oil in a heavy skillet to 375 degrees. Dip an onion ring into the batter, coating thickly, and dredge in the crushed noodles. Lay it gently into the oil and cook until golden, turning once. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining rings. You can do 2-3 at a time depending on the size of your skillet, but take care not to crowd the pan or let the temperature drop too much, or the rings will turn out greasy.

3. Variations & Serving Suggestions:
   
   Got a bunch of leftover Duck Sauce packets choking out the butter & cheese from their rightful compartment in the refrigerator? Now you know what you were saving them for!
   
   If you've already evicted all your Chinese takeout packets, some mango chutney would be quite nice, too.
   
   A sweet Thai chili sauce (like Sriracha) might just be the killer app for these crunchy delights.

Tips & Warnings

• I used yellow onions and Vidalias in these recipes and they both produced fine results. Use the biggest onions you can find (there's no such thing as too big!) and cut them 3/4 of an inch thick. Don't worry about the onion being 'raw' or too strong: by the time the coating cooks, the onion will be mellow and tender (while still holding its shape.)
• If you want to fit more in your skillet or fryer, you can break the onion slices into large chunks and make jumbo-sized Onion Chips (a favorite in Eastern PA); batter, dredge, and fry them the same as rings.
• Some of the proportions will be approximate depending on the size of the onions you use, how much you choose to coat them, how spicy or sweet, etc. Let your own tastes be your guide and feel free to improvise and experiment.
• The Basic Batter Recipe creates a thinnish, crispy coating which is very nice on its own, but it's really just a jumping off point for imagination...feel free to come up with your own variations. :)

Resources

• See More eHow Articles From HuggingtheCoast
• Hugging the Coast: A Celebration of Coastal Life and Food
• Enjoy More of Doug DuCap's Original Recipes!

[GabriellaS]

on 7/4/2008 Yummieeeeee.. I am going to try this tonight. Thanks

[akchrist]

on 6/29/2008 Great recipe!

[Hapworth]

on 6/29/2008 Your recipes are always so delicious sounding!