Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry. Chewy ramen noodles stir fried with kimchi and other aromatics and covered in melted cheddar cheese. A delicious indulgent way to have noodles and kimchi. Ready in 15 minutes! Great as a meal or side dish.
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What is Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry?
Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry is a savory, tangy and cheesy noodle dish! Featuring chewy ramen noodles stir-fried with kimchi, garlic, sesame oil with melting cheese on top.
This Korean dish is absolutely divine as the flavors pair perfectly with each other. Add a soft boiled jammy egg on top and it's tasty meal.
I love making this quick and easy dish whenever I'm craving kimchi and ramen noodles! The two are such a match made in heaven.
This is a Korean-inspired noodle dish as Koreans love to incorporate kimchi into many of their dishes. Often, Koreans actually eat their soupy instant ramen with kimchi and it's a must!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Well-fermented Kimchi
- Instant ramen noodles: use the thicker kind if possible. Or substitute with fresh ramen, frozen ramen or yaki soba are good suggestions but please prepare them according to package directions.
- Kimchi juice: from the kimchi jar
- Garlic
- Reserved noodle water
- Chicken bouillon powder: do not skip!
- Sugar
- Sesame oil
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
- Green onion
- Cheddar Cheese: shredded cheese works best. If you're not a fan of cheddar, feel free to substitute with any cheese that you enjoy like swiss or mozzarella cheese.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
How to make Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry
- 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 noodle 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.
Storage & Reheating
This dish is best consumed same day as instant ramen becomes soggy over time. Leftovers will last up to 2 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
Expert Tips
- Do not overcook the ramen. Just boil it for 2 minutes and no more than that. I would even boil it for 1.5 minutes as we will be stir frying it.
- When sautéing the kimchi, allow the kimchi juices to release. This is necessary to create our light seasoning for the noodles.
- Lower the heat when mixing in the cheese. This prevents the noodles from overcooking.
- Source well fermented kimchi for this dish. This results is more kimchi juice.
- Do not skip the chicken bouillon powder! It really elevates the dish.
FAQ
Some optional add-ins can include: soft-boiled eggs, pan-fried spam, extra firm tofu, mushrooms, napa cabbage, or carrots.
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📖 Recipe
Easy 15-min. Kimchi Cheese Ramen Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 3 packs instant ramen noodles only use the ramen noodles (do not use seasoning powder or dried veggie flakes if provided)
- ¾ cup kimchi finely chopped
- 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 or any neutral oil
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese shredded, add as much as desired
Optional Add-Ins:
- 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: Boil eggs in hot boiling water for 7 minutes for jammy eggs or 10 minutes for hard boiled. Boil uncovered. Make sure to set a timer. After boiling, ice bath your eggs. Crack and peel them.
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.
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!
Leo
Super delicious
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Leo!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
It's hard to beat flavor packed noodles with an ooey gooey cheese topping. Talk about some serious yum!
Caleb - Never Ending Journeys
Such a fun collection of flavors and ingredients in this stir fry! I love the addition of cheese!