Insanely Good Ramen Meals has a bunch of fresh takes on doing more with Instant Ramen than just using as directed. I wasn’t overly excited about most of the dishes as I enjoy cooking and most of the “recipes” were just throwing other pre-made ingredients in with the ramen. I do love marinated eggs with my ramen so I was happy to see a recipe for a Korean Style Marinated Eggs that is different from others I have. The only other recipes I’m really interested in trying are the Beef Ramen (using TJ’s Beef Birria) and the Chicken Meatballs and Grape Ramen. I do think this is something I would have enjoyed while in college and looking for cheap, convenient meals but I am past that stage of my life now.

I come to this book as someone who has tried several dozen kinds of instant ramen. My social media isn't engulfed with it, but I am a kind of expert. And boy, is this book questionable. It also further confirms my suspicion that there's a strong difference between an entertainer, a cookbook writer, and a great chef. McCombs is only one of these.

Don't get me wrong, some of these meals do look "insanely good". But so much of this book is inexplicable. Despite being the "ramen king", the front section is dedicated to cookware. I would've expected a section on different kinds of ramen, how instant ramen is made, and how to use it to your advantage. Since many of these recipes would appeal to younger readers (see: Ramen Chicken Nuggets), this would be a worthy inclusion that would also inform other audiences reading the book about what actually comes in the packet when you buy instant ramen. For example, most Americans don't know that most ramen is dehydrated by deep frying fresh wheat noodles.

That's not the worst crime this book commits, however. McCombs seems worried about selling you on McRamen, but not worried enough on how to make Chicken Meatballs and Grape Ramen-- which involves the inclusion of a grape pixie stick-- seem good. Maybe there's something I'm missing, since grape jelly is commonly served with meatballs, but neither the photo, recipe, or description make it seem very appetizing. Similar goes for a watermelon ramen recipe that includes chicken dumplings. McCombs (and the editor) also show their lack of cooking chemistry (and cost!) expertise, and direct the reader to deep fry in olive oil several times. Olive oil is expensive, it has a low smoke point, deep frying food in it renders the health qualities negligible, and it often adds a weird tang to fried foods.

I feel that I understand the target audience may be people just beginning to cook. However, with the misleading directions and lack of expertise, there are far better books by cooking influencers that are more comprehensive and include more actual knowledge about cooking with packaged ingredients.

A nice selection of recipes and some very imaginative ones as well.
All recipes come with clear instructions and photos.
If you're new to Ramen or you've had loads of it before I think you will find at least a couple of recipes you might like

I was a little skeptical, but also intrigued, so I had to have a look through this book. I was pleasantly surprised to find it entirely usable in the sense that the reader will either find a few recipes that interest them or be inspired by McCombs to create their own recipes. The format is logical and the photos and explanations are very reader friendly.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Excuse me while I now wander off to cook up a pot of ramen!

Insanely Good Ramen Meals is certainly an interesting and unique cookbook and if you're a very adventurous eater who likes to eat some really bizarre foods then this is the cookbook for you. While there were a few tasty-looking recipes that I'd try - like Zesty Ramen and Ramen Turkey Chili - for the most part, the recipes were weird and not too appealing. I just can't imagine ramen and watermelon being all that great of a combination....or using a pixy stick as seasoning either. It was a fun read though.

Insanely Good Ramen Meals lives up to its promise of ramen recipes with relatively short ingredient lists. It starts off with the most basic ramen recipe--the one on the Ramen package--to recipes with more, but not elaborate or obscure, ingredients. I'd easily and happily make several of these recipes based on the photos and pantry basics called for in the ingredient list, however, some recipes, such as the Chicken Dumpling and Watermelon Ramen and Blood on the Floor, were. a bit of a stretch for a creative and harmonious use of ramen. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 stars.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of Insanely Good Ramen Meals in exchange for my honest review.

I don't usually review cookbooks and wasn't familiar with the author before I grabbed this, but I do love to cook, and ramen is a favorite, so I had to give this a try. The pictures in this book are fantastic; they are bright, colorful, and fit the theme of the book perfectly. I think this book overall is very approachable for new and inexperienced chefs, but also interesting and unique for those more experienced. Many of the recipes are out there and broach the definition of ramen, but since this happens in the author's content normally, I think it makes sense to include it. I wouldn't go into this thinking it is a traditional ramen cookbook, but ramen lovers will still love this. 

I will for sure be giving a few of these recipes a try.

This is such a helpful, fantastic book that will assist you in making the best ramen everrrr! There are so many recipes I'm ridiculously excited to try. Insanely Good Ramen Meals is precisely what it advertises. I’d pick this book up and will be handselling it like crazy.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.