15 Minute Spicy Ramen

This spicy ramen is made in just about 15 minutes with a soy-ginger broth that’s perfectly spicy and savory. Perfect topped with soft boiled eggs, green onions, nori, or chicken, pork or tofu, it’s an excellent and budget friendly lunch. Use basic ramen noodles or gluten free – talk about a ramen hack or upgrade!

Why This Recipe Is So Good

• This spicy ramen hack has everything we love about restaurant-style ramen, but at home! Rich broth, jammy soft-boiled eggs, and spicy and umami seasonings make this the perfect Japanese comfort food. Even better, the noodles are just from packs of 25¢ ramen, so this recipe is cheap and easy to make again and again!
• This recipe uses traditional Asian ingredients, like miso paste, nori, sambal oelek, and togarashi for an authentic taste. Though they sound fancy, most of these ingredients are easy to find at your local grocery or online, or even make at home.
• Take your spicy ramen to the next level by adding shredded chicken, pork, or even tofu, or use gluten free noodles instead of traditional ramen. It’s easy to customize this hack even further to fit your tastes and dietary needs.

How To Make Spicy Ramen in 15 Minutes

1. Cook your eggs now, or make them ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use. (See notes on some tips on how to make the perfect soft-boiled eggs.)
2. Combine the broth, ginger, garlic, miso, sambal oelek, soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring everything to a boil and the reduce heat to let simmer. Keep at a simmer for 10 minutes, then spoon out the ginger and garlic slices.
3. Add the dried noodles and cook until they are soft. Use tongs to divide the noodles evenly between two bowls. Cover with broth and top with halved eggs, scallions, black sesame seeds or togarashi, and nori.

Top Tips For Making This Recipe

• To make perfect soft-boiled eggs, cook for 6-7 minutes in boiling water. If you have an Instant Pot, cook 1 minute at low pressure, then immediately do a quick release. With an air fryer, cook for 7-9 minutes at 300º. With all three methods, make sure you place the eggs in a bowl of ice water immediately after cooking.
• For vegan ramen, use vegetable broth, leave out eggs, and add tofu, if desired.

So What Are All These Ingredients?

Miso paste is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It’s made from fermented soybeans, salt, and kōji, which is a mold used in making soy sauce, sake, and other foods. Its flavor is what’s often called “umami” in Japanese cuisine, which is savory.

Sambal oelek is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste that frequently contains other ingredients such as ginger, rice vinegar, garlic, and lime juice. It adds the perfect kick to your ramen, and is easy to find in stores or to make your own.

Nori means “sea vegetable” in Japanese and is edible seaweed. It’s usually sold in sheets. If you’re a fan of sushi, you’ve definitely tasted nori before.

Shichimi togarashi is a seasoning blend made from 7 spices, usually red chili peppers, Japanese peppers, orange peel, sesame seeds, ginger, nori, and other seeds. If you are unable to find any, you can use just black sesame seeds instead, although shichimi togarashi is easy to find for pretty cheap online.

More Asian-Inspired Recipes

• Hibachi Chicken with Fried Rice and Vegetables
• Teriyaki Chicken (Whole30)
• Hunan Beef
• Healthy Soy Sauce Substitute Recipe (Whole30, Paleo)
• Best Ever Tom Kha Gai Soup (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, Whole30, Paleo)
• Healthy Lettuce Wraps – PF Changs Recipe (Whole30, Paleo)
• Slow Cooker Tom Kha Soup (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)
• Asian Salad Dressing
• Beef Negimaki

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15 Minute Spicy Ramen

This easy hack for 25¢ ramen packages is the perfect Japanese comfort food.

5 from 13 votes

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Prep Time 2 mins

Cook Time 13 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 2 servings

Calories 194 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 cups broth like chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup water or additional cup broth
• 1 1" knob ginger cut into 4 slices
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• rice wine vinegar dash
• 2 blocks ramen or servings fresh ramen

Toppings

• 2 soft-boiled eggs sliced in half
• scallions thinly sliced
• black sesame seeds or togarashi
• 1/2 piece nori thinly sliced
• shredded or chopped chicken or pork or cubed tofu optional

Instructions

 

• Cook your eggs now, or make them ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use. (See notes.)
• Combine broth, ginger, garlic, miso, sambal oelek, soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring everything to a boil. Reduce heat to let simmer and cook 10 minutes. Spoon out the ginger and garlic slices.
• Add dried noodles and cook until soft. Divide noodles evenly between two bowls. Cover with broth and top with halved eggs, scallions, black sesame seeds or togarashi, and nori.

Notes

• To make perfect soft-boiled eggs: Cook for 6-7 minutes in boiling water. If you have an Instant Pot, cook 1 minute at low pressure, then immediately do a quick release. With an air fryer, cook for 7-9 minutes at 300º. With all three methods, make sure you place the eggs in a bowl of ice water immediately after cooking.
• Vegan: Use vegetable broth, leave out eggs, and add tofu, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 194kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 11gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 174mgSodium: 3302mgPotassium: 142mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1271IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 2mgNet Carbs: 11g

Keyword Asian noodles, cheap, under 30 minutes

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Cheryl Malik

Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.