We all have those nights. You know what Im talking aboutthe nights when you come home from work, exhausted and hungry and totally clueless about what to make for supper. When you live in the West, its easy to grab some takeout or pull out a freezer meal when you dont know what else to eat, but when you live overseas? The options are more limited.
Enter my lazy-night ramen tuna salad!
Partly because I dislike fish and all the strong smells that come with it, and partly because Ive never liked pickles and my family always put pickle relish in tuna salad, tuna was never a favorite of mine growing up. I could eat it, but it wasnt something I would usually choose to eat of my own accord. However, last year I decided to try to incorporate it into my menu at least once a week on the recommendation of my doctor (omega-3s and all that good stuff). Shortly thereafter, I ate it at a friends house and loved it! I couldnt believe it. So I asked her what she did, and this is what she said:
- Tuna
- Cream cheese
- Fresh lemon juice
- Salt
I couldnt believe it! It was so simple, but so good. Maybe it was the lack of pickles, or maybe it was the fresh lemon+cream cheese mixture, or maybe its just that my palate has grown up, but I liked this tuna salad a lot more than any tuna salad I remembered eating as a kid. I started to make it on a regular basis, substituting store-bought lemon juice when lemons werent in season (or when I didnt have any on hand, which is more normal!). Sometimes I ate it with naan (local flatbread), sometimes with crackers, and sometimes even on sliced cucumbers for a healthier option.
Then, when I was on a work trip out in the village this past March, another colleague introduced me to her way of making ramen. She doesnt just eat the ramen noodle soup. After cooking and draining the noodles, she mixes them with tuna and mayonnaise for a quick-and-easy salad. That sounded good, but we didnt have any mayonnaise in the village! We did have cream cheese and lemon juicemy standard tuna salad ingredientsso we used those instead. Voila, my own version of lazy ramen tuna salad was born!
For those who may be challenged in the kitchen, or who learn better from steps and/or visuals, the recipe is written out below. Keep a few things in mind:
- Adapt, adapt, adapt! Experiment with whatever you have available in your context to see what you can come up with. This is a meal that lends itself to variety.
- I always include the seasoning packet when cooking the ramen for a little extra flavor. I have yet to find a flavor of ramen that doesnt work! Seriouslychicken, beef, curry, onion, veggiethey all taste good. But you can also omit the seasoning altogether and just cook the ramen noodles on their own, plain-jane style.
- If you want to, you could easily mix in some chopped veggies (eg. tomato, cucumber, carrot, or whatever else you have handy) to dress up your salad and make it a bit healthier.
Lazy Ramen Tuna Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 can tuna
- 1 package ramen noodles, any flavor
- Cream cheese
- Fresh lemon, or purchased lemon juice
- Salt
Instructions:
- Put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. In the meantime:
- Open the package of ramen and put it into a bowl.
I prefer to break up the ramen because I dont like trying to eat eternally long noodles, but do whatever you want! - Open the ramen seasoning packet(s) and add them to the noodles.
Note: If you dont want to use the seasoning, omit this step. - Open the can of tuna and drain it.
- When the water boils, pour enough into the bowl to cover all the noodles and stir. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the noodles are soft and cooked through.
Alternatively, you can cook the noodles in a pot on the stove, but I find the kettle method very easy!
- When the noodles are done to your liking, drain off the cooking water.
I find it easiest to do this by pouring the noodles into a wire mesh strainer over the sink. (Just make sure the strainer is fine enough that the noodles wont go through the holes!)
- When all the water has drained off, pour the noodles back into the bowl.
- Add the cream cheese and tuna.
I get cream cheese in little square packages (see picture below), and Ive found that about half a package is just right for my tuna salad. If you want yours to be richer and creamier, use more cream cheese.
Tip: If youre like me and want to minimize on dishes, add the cream cheese before the tuna! Then you can use the same spoon for the tuna (and the mixing, and the eating!) without contaminating the rest of the tuna with tuna.
- Squeeze half a fresh lemon over the noodles. If you dont have fresh lemons, add a splash of bottled lemon juice.
- Season with salt according to your liking and mix everything together.
Note: If you used the seasoning packet to flavor the noodles, you may want to taste the tuna salad before adding any additional salt.
Enjoy your tasty, lazy ramen tuna salad!