Rhiannon Baldock's Bacon and Egg Ramen

This fantastic recipe comes from Rhi's new book, More than Toast: This quick bacon and egg ramen is the tastiest solution for the nights where you simply cannot be bothered to cook, but want to enjoy something homemade within a matter of minutes. I keep a packet or two of instant noodles in the cupboard purely for this purpose; all the flavour is already included, and they’re a great vessel for any fresh or frozen vegetables, or proteins, you may have lying around. This recipe is slightly breakfast- inspired, with crispy bacon and a fried egg, some corn for freshness and some added toppings to finish it off.
Serves: 1 Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 rashers of streaky bacon, thinly
sliced
1 egg
1 packet of your favourite mee-
goreng style instant noodles
(see note)
¼ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
Small knob of butter
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
Chilli oil or chilli crisp (optional)

METHOD

Place the streaky bacon in a cold frying pan then place over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy. Transfer the crispy bacon onto a plate lined with paper towels, leaving as much of the bacon fat in the pan as possible.

In the same pan, fry the egg, adding some additional oil to the pan beforehand if needed. Once cooked, set aside. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, then add both the noodles and corn kernels and cook for 2 minutes or as per packet instructions.
Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid, then drain the corn and noodles and return to the saucepan. Add half the bacon, the reserved cooking water, the butter plus the
seasoning packets. Stir well to combine.

Transfer the noodles to a bowl, sprinkle over the remaining bacon, top with the fried egg and garnish with the spring onion and chilli crisp (if using).

Notes: I always add the seasoning packet after the water has been drained to retain more flavour in the final dish, rather than flavouring the water you’re then going to discard.
If you prefer a soupy ramen, leave the cooking liquid in the saucepan, but add an additional splash of soy sauce to taste and serve with a soft- boiled egg instead of fried.

If you don’t have any spring onions, leave them out, and if you have frozen peas
and no corn, swap them out! This is an extremely versatile dish.