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With all due apologies to our food editor, but some of us are totally not over junk food mash-ups and embrace the likes of cronuts, ramenburgers, churro ice cream sandwiches, et al. with open arms, open mouths, and loosened belts. Having said that, we're amazed it took this long for The Ramnut to come along, but we're very glad it did.
On his blog Culinary Bro-Down, UCLA student Josh Scherer posted the recipe to his ramen-donut hybrid along with an amusingly profane and quasi-shouty reason for creating the latest in cutting-edge food hybrids. "I want to do things that are unique, things that have never been done before, and whether they taste good or not is tertiary to the real goal of progress. I’m going to shotgun method the foodie frontier until I hit a fucking bullseye," writes Scherer. It's like the flipside of George Mallory: "Because it's not there."
Scherer told the LA Times an additional source of inspiration was the kugel he ate growing up. Not baked like kugel, but they're not that far apart in his eyes. "It's deep-fried starch and sugar, so I don't see any reason why they shouldn't taste good."
True to donut fashion, Scherer made a variety of Ramnuts in his first batch, utilizing different toppings and fillings to show the versatility of his creation. Give them a shot yourself!
(recipe courtesy of Josh Scherer)
Ingredients:
6 packs instant ramen
3 whole eggs
64 oz. prepared horchata
nonstick spray
oil for frying
various frostings, fillings, and toppings
Method:
1. Get that horchata boiling in a large sauce pot. Toss in all your ramen noodles and cook 3-4 minutes or until tender.
2) Strain ramen noodles in colander and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Whisk 3 eggs in a large mixing bowl then add in your cooled ramen noodles and mix thoroughly.
3) Spray down a 7"×11" baking pan with nonstick spray then dump in the ramen-egg mixture and spread evenly across surface. Add a layer of plastic wrap on top, press the ramen down hard with your hands, then throw it in the freezer for 3-4 hours. You want it to be relatively frozen but still workable.
4) Flip the semi-frozen ramen sheet onto your cutting board, and use something circular and a chef’s knife to shape them into donuts.
5) Heat your oil to 325 degrees and fry the ramen donuts for 4 or 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown on the outside and steamy on the inside.
6) Let the oil drain on a paper towel, then slather the donut in your favorite toppings.
If you're into the idea of insane ramen mash-ups, be sure to check out his recipe for ramen poutine! Check out photos of his culinary adventures (some less radical than Ramnuts, some more) on his Instagram feed.
