Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars

Clifton Collins Jr. · Gustavo “Goose” Alvarez

Nov 2015 · Sold by Workman Publishing Company

About this ebook

“These recipes make me smile and laugh out loud with joy, memory, and awe at their total culinary genius. All born from a bond of pure hunger?”—Samuel L. Jackson, from the Foreword
 
When you’re in prison, a little money in the commissary can mean the difference between a life of flavorless misery and the pleasure of re-creating a taste of childhood. And it starts with Ramen. Filled with contributions from anonymous inmates as well as names you’ll recognize, such as guitarist Slash and actors Danny Trejo, Taryn Manning, and Shia LaBeouf, Prison Ramen is an original collection of inspired Ramen hacks: Hit Man Burritos. Sloppy Ramen Joe. Onion Tortilla Ramen Soup. Shawshank Spread. And Orange Porkies: Chile ramen + white rice + 1 bag pork skins + orange-flavored punch.
 
Firsthand stories of life in prison, told by each of the contributors, go a long way to explaining the joy of doctoring a bag of Ramen. A joy you can now re-create in the freedom of your own kitchen.



 

Ratings and reviews

I have had Ramen prison food. I was once an Officer and counselor in a prison. I broke the rules one day by tasting a Ramen Recipe that was made of behind bars. This guy literally begged me to try the food after I work so hard to get his restrictions lifted. I have to say it was one of the most wonderful things that I have actually eaten. For all I know he could have pissed in it or put some special sauce in it but it was good. We've got to remember as humans, the people that are behind bars are human too and they need our love if they and you will accept it. One of the best culinary cooks I know spent time in a prison.There is another one who I know who's just a good Christian that is better than most others. Currently, they're some of the best friends that I have in my life. With that being said I haven't read the book so there could be some pretty nasty recipes in there but there may be one good one or two good ones. I think it all depends on your taste and how you were raised.

I bought the book for the recipes, but I was surprised to find that I ended up enjoying the stories about prison life more than I did the recipes. It usually takes me a while to read through a book, but this was one of those "page turners" and within three days I flipped the page to find I had finished it. I would highly recommend this book, even if it is to just see the creative ways to prepare ramen when you don't have a lot of ingredients to work with!

Most of the recipes are pretty gross, so as a cookbook I give this 2 stars. BUT if you approach this as a collection of short stories about prison life I give it 5 stars.

About the author

Clifton Collins Jr. is an actor who’s appeared in Pacific Rim, Transcendence, Traffic, and other films, including the upcoming Triple Nine.
Gustavo “Goose” Alvarez is a former California inmate who now resides in Mexico.
Samuel L. Jackson, who wrote the Foreword, is the award-winning actor who has appeared in more than 100 films, including Pulp Fiction and The Avengers.