Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry. Chewy ramen noodles stir fried with kimchi and other aromatics, then covered in melted cheddar cheese. A delicious indulgent way to have noodles and kimchi. Ready in just 20 minutes! Great as a meal or side dish.
Easy to make!
If you love ramen, kimchi and cheese, then this is the dish for you! It’s so tasty, addictive and packed with flavour thanks to the pickled kimchi. This cheesy kimchi ramen only takes 20 minutes or less making it a great weeknight meal if you’re tight on time.
If you’re not a fan of kimchi, I also share other delicious ramen recipes here:
All you need
All you need for this kimchi cheese ramen recipe are instant ramen noodles, kimchi, juice from the kimchi jar, garlic, green onions, chicken powder, sugar, sesame oil and cheddar cheese! If you cook a lot of Korean food, you’ll most likely have all these ingredients in your pantry already.
When I was younger, I loved eating instant ramen and although it wasn’t the healthiest option, it was delicious, quick and easy for any teenager to make at home. I wouldn’t have it all the time but every now and then I would enjoy a bowl.
I just appreciate how versatile instant noodles can be. You can have them in warm soup or as a stir fry, heck you can ever stuff it into grilled cheese these days! It brings back a lot of warm childhood memories for me and it’s something I will never ever remove from my life. Life is about balance and indulgence every now and then is apart of that equation.
Tips for making kimchi noodle stir fry with cheese
- Use the thicker type of ramen noodles. The thin ones are find too but I find this recipe works best with thicker ramen noodles.
- Use well pickled fermented kimchi. I wouldn’t recommend using the “fresher” kind that hasn’t had time to ferment. You want that pickled flavour for this kimchi ramen stir fry.
- When cooking your noodles, only blanch them for 2 minutes at most in these kimchi cheese noodles. That’s it. Strain immediately and run it under cold water and add some oil to the noodles to keep them loosened. Remember we are stir-frying these noodles too.
- The chicken powder is not an ingredient to skip in this cheesy ramen with kimchi. It offers a deeper flavour to the noodles.
- Use a non-stick pan for these kimchi ramen noodles. Trust me on this, I tried using a carbon steel wok (because I had it out and I was too lazy to grab my non-stick pan) and what a sticky mess!
- Save that reserved noodle water for the stir-fry as it contains starch and it’ll help keep the noodles loose and give it more moisture.
- You can add the cheese at the end, melt in the microwave or add it while stir-frying the kimchi noodles at the very end.
FAQ
Is Kimchi good with ramen?
Yes, kimchi is very delicious with ramen and many Korean loves to eat the two together!
Does cheese go well with ramen?
Yes, cheese pairs deliciously with ramen giving it a rich creamy taste.
What is the best cheese for ramen?
I love using shredded cheddar cheese for this kimchi noodle recipe. It melts quickly and the sharp cheddar tastes amazing with the noodles.
Other recipes you may like!
SOY CHICKEN RAMEN BOWL
QUICK SPICY RAMEN STIR-FRY
RABBOKI KOREAN SWEET SPICY RAMEN
STIR FRIED RAMEN FOR ONE RECIPE
Homemade jjapaguri (Ram don)
kimchi potato pancakes
pork Kimchi stew
For this recipe
You will need the following ingredients for my kimchi cheese ramen stir fry recipe:
- ¾ cup kimchi, finely chopped
- 3 packs of instant noodles, only use noodles and save the seasoning packets for another recipe
- 6 tablespoon kimchi juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
- 5 tablespoon reserved noodle water
- ½ teaspoon chicken powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 teaspoon cooking oil
- 1 stalk green onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese, or as much as desired
Optional: soft boiled eggs, as many as desired
How to make stir fry kimchi with noodles and cheese
- In a large pot filled with water, bring it a boil. Add your instant noodles and boil for 2 minutes max. Do not overcook them. Reserve 5 tablespoon of the noodle water for later. Strain noodles immediately and add 1 teaspoon of oil to loosen the noodles. Set aside.
- Then in a non-stick pan over medium heat, add remaining cooking oil. Then add chopped kimchi and fry until juices from the kimchi have been released. Next throw in your minced garlic and stir fry the kimchi and garlic together.
- To the pan, add your loosened ramen noodles, followed by kimchi juice, chicken powder, sugar, sesame oil, and water. Mix everything together allowing the noodles to coat in the juice and kimchi.
- Next toss in sliced green onions and mix well. Then top off your noodles with shredded cheddar cheese allowing the cheese melt. You may want to lower the heat to avoid overcooking the noodles. Serve hot and enjoy!
- Optional: Soft boil you eggs for 8 minutes in hot boiling water, covered with a lid. After boiling, ice bath your eggs. Crack and peel them.
Give it a try!
Well, I hope you give my Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed my kimchi noodle recipe with cheese, please share it with your family and friends or on social media!
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Made this recipe and loved it?
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Take care,
Christie
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Easy Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry (20-min. Recipe)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup kimchi finely chopped
- 3 packs of instant ramen noodles only use the ramen noodles (do not use seasoning powder or dried veggie flakes if provided)
- 6 tablespoon kimchi juice
- 5 tablespoon reserved noodle water
- ½ teaspoon garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (aka chicken stock powder)
- ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese shredded, add as much as desired
Optional
- soft boiled eggs add as much as desired
Instructions
- In a large pot filled with water, bring it a boil. Add your instant noodles and boil for 2 minutes max. Do not overcook them. Reserve 5 tablespoon of the noodle water for later. Strain noodles immediately and add 1 teaspoon of oil to loosen the noodles. Set aside.
- Then in a non-stick pan over medium heat, add remaining cooking oil. Add chopped kimchi and fry until juices from the kimchi have been released. Next throw in your minced garlic and stir fry the kimchi and garlic together.
- To the pan, add your loosened ramen noodles, followed by kimchi juice, chicken powder, sugar, sesame oil, and water. Mix everything together allowing the noodles to coat in the juice and kimchi.
- Next toss in sliced green onions and mix well. Then top off your noodles with shredded cheddar cheese allowing the cheese melt. You may want to lower the heat to avoid overcooking the noodles. Serve hot and enjoy!
- Optional: Soft boil you eggs for 8 minutes in hot boiling water, covered with a lid. After boiling, ice bath your eggs. Crack and peel them.
Caleb - Never Ending Journeys
Such a fun collection of flavors and ingredients in this stir fry! I love the addition of cheese!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
It's hard to beat flavor packed noodles with an ooey gooey cheese topping. Talk about some serious yum!
Leo
Super delicious
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Leo!
Noura
Stellar recipe of ingredients I wouldn't have thought to pair together and it really hit the spot. I had to modify based on what I had on hand, so I swapped the kimchi for spinach, added a chopped jalapeno for heat, and used veggie broth to keep it vegetarian
christieathome
I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this! Thanks for making my recipe Noura!
Greg
Delicious. Thanks for sharing. I'm vegetarian so substituted one packet of the ramen seasoning in place of the chicken powder. Followed the recipe exactly for everything else. Super easy and good!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Greg! So happy it worked out well.