The Hot Water Source You're Overlooking For Better Ramen When At The Office

When you're trying to avoid sad desk salads and mix up your lunches at work, you might already be doing weekly meal prep using versatile ingredients and elevating your in-office sandwiches by heating up the deli meat and toasting the bread. Another option for lunch you may want to consider when you don't have time to go out and grab something to eat or prep at home? Keeping instant ramen packets in your desk or office kitchen for an easy meal to grab anytime hunger strikes. 

One issue with ramen at work, however, is that it can become soggy or very messy when cooked in the office microwave. Not to mention, heating boiling water in the microwave can be risky. You don't want to get burned or risk spilling boiling water on yourself when removing it from the microwave. Ouch! One way to avoid all that is to take advantage of your office's coffee and hot tea setup, as recommended by users in an r/InstantRamen thread on Reddit. They suggest using the hot water dispenser (if your office has one) to put water directly over your noodles, letting the noodles get soft and delicious, and then adding in your seasoning and topping mix. 

Even though using a solid hot water dispenser instead of the microwave is going to elevate your ramen cooking experience, noodle slurpers, beware. The same thread on Reddit warns that if your office has a Keurig or other instant coffee machine that uses K-cups or cups of any kind, don't try to make your ramen using only water from that device. The water is sure to taste like coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, warns one Reddit user. That's not the experience you're going for when it comes to enjoying ramen on what's likely an already stressful work day. 

Fear not, ramen lovers, though, the experts in the r/InstantRamen thread wouldn't leave you hanging without offering other ideas and ingredients to upgrade your favorite ramen at work so you can have the most tasty bowl possible, even when you're stuck at the office. One user recommended packing your toppings separately, including soft-boiled eggs, tofu skin, and thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms. 

And another Reddit user in the same thread takes it miles further by recommending that you keep a bag of frozen vegetables in the office freezer to mix in your ramen as needed. (Dehydrated vegetables will work if you don't have access to a freezer!) And what's even more above and beyond, they say to use flavored broth cubes and freeze them, too — think flavors like ginger, bone broth, or spicy chilis. Then you can add the flavor bomb in after the noodles are done cooking for a truly elevated desk lunch that's anything but sad.