15 Minute Spicy Ramen

This isn’t your cliché college-student ramen! Easy 15-minute spicy ramen topped with soft-boiled eggs, nori, and your choice of chicken, pork, or tofu is an incredible way to upgrade those cheap blocks of ramen noodles without breaking the bank. Super savory and loaded with umami, plus make it as mild or as spicy as you like.

How to Make This Recipe

See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.

Broth first.

Combine the broth and all the aromatics in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the broth mixture simmer for 10 minutes, stirring it every now and then. After 10 minutes, remove the large pieces of ginger and garlic from the broth and discard them.

Noodles Next.

Add 2 blocks of ramen noodles to the saucepan and boil them until they’re nice and soft. Stir everything occasionally to make sure the noodles boil evenly. You don’t want any crunchy sections!

Top It All Off.

Transfer the boiled noodles to your serving bowls. Ladle the broth into each bowl, then add your toppings. I like to use jammy soft-boiled eggs, green onions, sesame seeds, nori, and sliced or chopped chicken. You’re welcome to use whatever you like! You can also just enjoy the spicy ramen noodles in broth without adding anything extra.

What I Love About This Recipe

• This easy spicy ramen recipe takes those cheap store-bought packets of dried ramen and turns them into a total restaurant-style meal. Rich broth, jammy soft-boiled eggs, and umami seasonings make this the perfect Japanese comfort food.
• 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.
• Maybe best of all, this spicy ramen comes together in less than 20 minutes! Perfect for a lunch or dinner when you don’t have a ton of time and don’t want to do a lot of actual cooking, but want something tasty and satisfying.

Recipe Variations

• Pick Your Protein: I personally really love chicken with my ramen, but you’ve got options! Pork works well, you can do tofu if you’re vegetarian or vegan, or you can skip a protein entirely and stick with just noodles.
• Ramen Alternatives: No blocks of ramen on hand? Need a keto or low carb option? You can actually make this spicy ramen recipe without using any ramen noodles at all. Any thin noodle, even gluten-free noodles, will work. Shiritaki noodles and palmini are good options, too!
• Sambal Sub: If you can’t find or don’t have sambal oelek, you can use Gochujang, chili-garlic sauce, red chili flakes, or sriracha instead. Sriracha will be a little sweeter, though, and may throw off the overall flavor of the dish.
• Make it Vegan: Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Serve the spicy ramen with tofu instead of chicken if desired and omit the soft-boiled eggs entirely.

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

5 from 24 votes

15 Minute Spicy Ramen

Prep 10 minutes minutes

Cook 15 minutes minutes

Total 25 minutes minutes

This 15-minute hack for 25¢ ramen packages gives you a perfect Japanese comfort food with ease.

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2 servings

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Equipment

• Large saucepan
• Slotted spoon

Ingredients

For the Spicy Ramen

• ▢ 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• ▢ 1 cup water or 1 additional cup broth
• ▢ 1 1-inch-long piece fresh ginger cut into 4 slices
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic peeled, smashed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon miso paste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
• ▢ 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• ▢ 1 dash rice wine vinegar
• ▢ 2 blocks dried ramen noodles or 2 servings fresh ramen noodles

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

• ▢ 2 large soft-boiled eggs halved
• ▢ thinly sliced scallions
• ▢ black sesame seeds or shichimi togarashi
• ▢ ½ sheet nori thinly sliced
• ▢ chopped chicken or shredded chicken, optional

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Instructions

 

• Place large saucepan on stovetop over high heat. Add 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 cup water, 1 1-inch-long piece fresh ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon miso paste, 1 tablespoon sambal oelek, 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, and 1 dash rice wine vinegar. Stir well to incorporate ingredients, then bring mixture to boil.
• Once mixture reaches rolling boil, immediately reduce heat under saucepan to medium-low. Simmer mixture 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, use slotted spoon to remove ginger and garlic pieces.
• Add 2 blocks dried ramen noodles to saucepan and cook noodles in broth mixture until noodles are soft.
• Once all noodles have softened, use slotted spoon to transfer noodles from saucepan to serving bowls, dividing noodles evenly between bowls.
• Pour broth over noodles, dividing broth evenly between bowls.
• If desired, top ramen with halves of 2 large soft-boiled eggs. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions, black sesame seeds, ½ sheet nori, and chopped chicken. Serve ramen immediately.

• Sambal Oelek: If you can’t find or don’t have sambal oelek, you can use Gochujang, chili-garlic sauce, red chili flakes, or sriracha. Sriracha will be a little sweeter, though, and may throw off the overall flavor of the dish.
• Ramen: Use the dried noodle blocks only – don’t use the seasoning packets!
• Sodium Content: The sodium estimate in the nutrition information reflects using low-sodium chicken broth and low-sodium soy sauce, and omitting the ramen seasoning packets. 

 

Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs

• Stovetop Soft-Boiled Eggs: Boil eggs 6 to 7 minutes. Immediately transfer eggs to ice bath and let eggs soak until cool enough to handle.
• Instant Pot Soft-Boiled Eggs: Cook 1 minute on Manual Low Pressure, then immediately quick release steam and remove eggs. Immediately transfer eggs to ice bath and let eggs soak until cool enough to handle.
• Air Fryer Soft-Boiled Eggs: Air fry eggs at 300° Fahrenheit for 7-9 minutes. Immediately transfer eggs to ice bath and let eggs soak until cool enough to handle.

Click for Nutrition Info

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1 servingCalories: 562calProtein: 27gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 187mgSodium: 2480mgPotassium: 468mgTotal Carbs: 59gFiber: 3gSugar: 1gErythritol: 0gSugar Alcohols: 0gNet Carbs: 56gVitamin A: 293IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 4mg

Nutrition Disclaimers

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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