I have soaked the ramen for 30-40 minutes. I have made a pasta salad by putting the noodles in a quart zip lock freezer bag with some freeze dried vegetables. While hiking a added water to the bag about 30 or 40 minutes before a lunch break. When I stopped for lunch I poured off the water and added salad dressing from a packet. Worked well. Experiment at home. You could also add tuna. This idea came from a Boy Scout Leader training I attended years ago.