The
sad thing about
Ramen noodles is that many
vegetarians chow down on varieties like
Chile and
Oriental, thinking they're free of meat. You'd think people with such restrictions would read the
ingredients, but a surprising number of my friends have not. Most of the
Maruchan and
Top Ramen varieties, including the ones that don't have meat pictured on the cover, state quite clearly that they contain
chicken or
beef powder. So be careful. The only "safe" varieties I know of are
mushroom,
tomato,
cheddar (hard to find), and
shrimp (if, like many vegetarians, you eat
seafood).
Of course, you can find strictly vegetarian gourmet ramen at certain health food and specialty stores, but it costs a dollar or so a pop. Kind of defeats the purpose of ramen noodles, don't you think? You might as well buy yourself an actual meal at those prices.