Ramen Crunch Chocolate Bars

One of the offices in the building threw away lots of chocolate kisses when they changed their mind about trying to make people happy.
Here Peter Luka and Bayard Wenzel compete to unwrap chocolate kisses during the first attempt to create a Ramen Crunch Bar. We learned a lot and the product showed enough promise for another attempt. A few days went by.

Step 1: Hot Tanker on Terror Alert

Spring never seems to get to Boston until June and it was still May. I went out to walk in some rare sunshine. A heated tanker truck was pumping a thousand gallons of melted chocolate into the Tootsie Roll factory next door. I got two stainless mixing bowls and went back. I asked the truck guy if I could catch some when he unhooked the hose. He said "that's up to them" and pointed at the back door of the factory. I opened the street level door and went in onto a catwalk 40 feet above a maze of steam pipes, tanks, and big clanging machines. A man in white coveralls carrying a big wrench walked by on a lower level. I said "excuse me" but he didn't look or hear. He walked behind some machinery and disappeared. Another man in white appeared at the other end of the level and I shouted louder, but he didn't hear either and continued on his way.

I was at a junction of pipe fittings where the hot hoses came in from the truck. There were some tubs and buckets full of melted chocolate right there, probably from changing hoses from one pipe to another. One tub had light and dark chocolate swirled together. It thought "I bet that stuff won't get thrown in with the rest." I made sure of it by scooping out a quart or so of it with one bowl and setting it in the other so it wouldn't drip on everything.

When I went out the driver was up on top of the tank reaching into a porthole with a long handled squeegee. He was pushing melted chocolate toward the hose fitting at the back of the tank. I asked if I could get a picture of him up on the truck. He said "I'm really not comfortable with that.
We've been having a lot of terrorist problems lately."
me: "chocolate terrorists?"
he: "I'm not saying you're a terrorist, but um....".

I bid him a day without terror and strode off with my bucket of melted goodness.

Comments

[Crash2108]

Does this actually taste good considering last time I ate raw ramen I almost vomited and had a headache for 3 hours?

[elxia]

what ramen were you eating?still i had my batch of real ramen and real sushi.i couldnt even eat the sushi .i felt nad as anime fan and sushi lover

[cowscankill]

wow. I eat raw ramen all the time...But i'm korean so...

[Fantastic]

Considering that ramen is cooked at the factory and that I eat it out of the package, nicely crunched mind you, a couple times a week, this does sound delicious. When I next get my hands on some chocolate I am definitely going to try this.

[Vertigo666]

American rames is really not that good compared to korean ramen... i would know. I'm Koren.

[elxia]

lucky you get the good stuff

[knex_mepalm]

I concur.  

[mutaku817]

but were american, so respect that and dont think you're the coolest cuz ur korean

[Vertigo666]

Did I say that?

[mutaku817]

Uhm im sorry i haven't been on Instructables in years, and apparently someone knew my password... and was pestering people with it... Changed now, hopefully won't happen again
Apologies, promise i wouldn't say anything like that =P

[mutaku817]

no, i just felt like sayin something that didnt make much sense sorry you were the victim

[abnor]

YEA! damn americans

[Vertigo666]

oh ok then

[cowscankill]

lol! i'm korean too. I can't spell them right, so tell me if you know what these foods are... odang gimchi gimbab

[Vertigo666]

Who doesn't? bulgogi?

[cowscankill]

oh yes! my dad will grill large pieces, and my mom stir fries small peices :P

[Vertigo666]

Large pieces?

[cowscankill]

yeah, they are thin like bulgogi, but about 6in. long and 4in. wide. We ussually buy that size and determin whether to cut it up or grill it. My dad is american, and my mom is korean. They met cause my dad was in the army. let's see...I was born in germany, my sister was born in colorado, and my brother was born in korea. I'm the youungest, so after leaving germany, we lived in the mojave(sp?) desert, then moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, then where i live now (confidential).

[mutaku817]

i think what you said is gimchi is Kim Chi its like pickled cabbage

[cowscankill]

SPICY, pickled cabbage :P

[surroundsound5000]

I'm concerned about the lack of security and proper procedures that should be in place to combat the very real threat of chocolate terrorism. Where is the police escort for that truck? It's a terrorising waiting to happen.

[ClayOgre]

...and people think I am weird for putting peanut butter in my ramen...or refried beans (haven't done that one in a while...)

[sires6]

Can you defrost the freezer and get more in there?

[abnor]

i was thinking the same thing.

[HamatoKameko]

I had to live off Maruchan Chicken Flavor Ramen for a week straight with literally nothing else to eat, when I was about 18 and had just moved out on my own. It took me three or four years before I could ever stand to touch the stuff again, and even then I still can't stand Maruchan. I buy the .60-cent Sapporo Ichiban instead. Better quality and flavor and worth the extra expense. Just seeing this picture of the packet makes me nauseous, but the promise of a chocolaty treat (which would make the ten-cent maruchan acceptable ;) ) make up for it. Great instructable!

[ItsTheHobbs]

mmmmmmmmmmmm........ that looks amazing. Hmmm...... I need to find alot of chocolate and try this. Or, the next fondue party I go to, bring a gigantic box of broken up ramen...... Or, crush the ramen, and pour the little bits of it in a mold with chocolate, Or.... have chocolate bits and crushed ramen, in a baggie, and make it a snack for little ones..... The possibilities are limitless, I have like, 5 more ideas, but don't want to type them now.... I have dibs on chocolate and ramen instructable.

[JimDorp]

I would love to see some pictures of the inside of the factory.

[Full Frontal Graphic]

chocolate and smiles... you see them together a lot, don't you?

[sconniebabe]

you know, this is the same as mini haystacks. (maybe it's just a northern cultural thing, idk) a haystack is a handfull of raw chow mein noodles, you pour melted chocolate over it, and let it harden. This means the fridge, or freezer... well, we can just stick 'em outside or in the garage. But whatever, they're delish!

[spinach_dip]

wow, you need to thaw out that freezer oh and you need a few more shots of Marion A small squeeze of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce on the non-chocolate ramen will prevent scurvy. I would hope the MIT crowd could figure that out

[Tobita]

lol, no need for me cuz i make my own chili sauce with tomatoes, chilies(duh), and lemon juice.

[johnnythewonderfly]

Is this chicken flavored crunchy chocolate?!?!?!

[cowscankill]

no, you addd the chicken flavor(it's a packet) as the noodles cook. Since they aren't cooking them, they don't need the chicken powder packets.

[chatterbox14730]

no offense, but it looks nasty

[mgayoub]

Genius.

[porkdemon]

oh my rainbow suspenders, naruto would love this.

[Wonderland42]

Yknow, Ideally tempered chocolate hardens really quickly, and doesnt need any sort refrigeration to harden it. Thassa good thing about tempering. Gives the chocolate a nice *snap*. Untempered chocolate is always mooshy. When you buy chocolate it is tempered. A way to melt dark chocolate without 'breaking' it is to melt it in the microwave. If you melt it in short bursts, like 15 seconds at a time, then stir, all the while checking to make sure it doesnt go above 90(Try and stay between 86 and 89 if you want nice nice chocolate), your chocolate will stay tempered. Once the chocolate is mostly melty just keep stirring it, dont microwave it more. It will keep melting. The same will work with Milk and White chocolate, but they shouldn't go higher than 89. Never let your chocolate, of any kind, go above 110, because then you really would have to pour it onto a marble slab and temper it that way..

[naught101]

you for got the ingredients:

• two minute noodles - CHECK
• large bowl - CHECK
• freezer - CHECK
• thousands of litres of melted chocolate in a heated truck - damn, now where did I put that? I know it's around here somewhere. perhaps it fell down the back of the couch again...

[SizzleBacon_12341]

YUM

[manimawesome]

you are my GOD.