With Spicy Ramen Breakfast Grilled Cheese, You Truly Can Have It All

I will not bother to pretend that the inspiration for this sandwich came from anything other than marijuana. Ironically, this idea came to me on a night where, in an attempt to conquer my chronic insomnia, I went a little crazy with Cherry Pie (both the strain and actual pie). Instead of falling asleep, though, I stayed up all night brainstorming new recipes, because I had hardcore munchies and my body was covered in pie crumbs. This is what we in the industry call "the creative process."

This recipe happened because I began thinking about how I wanted to eat an Indian omelet sandwich—which you are likely familiar with thanks to YouTube or TikTok—but I also wanted to eat instant ramen, and a grilled cheese sandwich, and a few tablespoons of Holy Tshili chili crisp straight out of the jar. And, seeing as I am a stupendous, ingenious, and (rumored) Nobel Prize-nominated recipe developer, I decided I could have all four of these things at the exact same time. And so I did, and now you can, too. It's a cheesy, eggy sandwich with ramen noodles as the bread. Just don't eat this sandwich in bed, because chili crisp doesn't come out of sheets as easily as cherry pie stains do. I learned this the hard way, but as a creative, I know that I must suffer for my work.

• 1 package instant ramen noodles, any flavor
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 2 Tbsp. dried chives or chopped scallion greens (optional)
• 2 slices American cheese
• Jar of chili crisp (Holy Tshili, Me's Way, and Lao Gan Ma are all amazing in this sandwich)

Remove the ramen from the packaging; you'll notice that there are two solid squares of noodles stacked together with a bit of a gap between them. Soak the entire thing in hot water for 60-90 seconds, until you can unfold and break the mass of ramen into two separate squares, then set each on paper towels to dry.

Begin preheating a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, add the eggs, milk, chives/scallions, and half the ramen seasoning packet and beat vigorously with a fork until smooth and silky, about 30 seconds.

Coat the bottom of the skillet with oil from the jar of chili crisp, then pour the egg mixture into the pan. Swirl the pan around so the egg spreads out into a thin layer, then place the ramen noodle squares in the skillet side by side on top of the egg mixture; this will cause the bottoms of the noodle squares to get eggy. After a few seconds, flip the noodle squares over so that there's an eggy coating on top, and the bottoms are sitting atop the egg layer. Here's a visual aid; just treat the ramen squares like the bread in this video:

Once you've got the ramen squares placed on the egg layer, cook for 1-2 minutes until the eggs are mostly set, then brush the tops of the ramen squares with a bit more chili oil and flip the whole thing over (see it at 1:23 in the video above). Use a slotted spoon to scoop up as much chili crisp from the jar as you think you can handle, smear it on top of the eggs, then cover each side of the egg surface with a slice of American cheese. Using a spatula, fold in the draping edges of cooked egg so they're sitting on top of the ramen halves, then fold the ramen over onto itself, closing it up like a book to form a sandwich. Remove from heat and let it sit for about two minutes to set, then eat immediately.