Ramen noodles come in all shapes and sizes. You have the squiggly bricks similar to what you find in the very Americanized packaged bricks you find at the grocery store. Japanese ramen noodles can also be found flat and straight. Whatever shape noodles you use, for it be ramen, they do need to be wheat noodles. It is best to cook the boodles separately from the broth. A pot of boiling salted water is all you need to do that. You can add the noodles to the strained ramen broth to cook, but they will soak up more of that delicious broth.