Chewy ramen noodles stir fried in a light garlicky savory sauce. This quick and easy stir-fried ramen is easily made with simple pantry ingredients in 5 minutes! Great as a fast meal or side dish when time is of the essence!
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These stir fried ramen noodles are made of instant ramen noodles, soy sauce, honey, garlic, mirin, ginger powder, sesame oil, butter with a hint of sriracha for spice.
They're easily made with minimal simple ingredients with minimal effort and time in one pot! Yay for less dishes to wash.
This is a great ramen recipe for busy weeknight meals when you need something fast for dinner or lunch. You can make it a complete meal by adding cooked greens and protein.
I love making these kind of noodles when I'm not in a soupy mood and I don't want the soup splashing around as I eat it on my couch while I watch a good Korean drama, haha! That's actually why I created this recipe. It's the perfect TV companion.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Instant Ramen Noodles: any instant noodles will work as we won't be using the ramen soup base. Use a brand that you enjoy! I like using Jin ramen or Nongshim as the noodles are thick and chewy.
- Green onions
- Reserved hot noodle water: this helps make the sauce stick to the noodles and helps to thicken the sauce.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils.
Noodle Sauce
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Honey: or maple syrup or white granulated sugar.
- Fresh Garlic
- Mirin: a popular sweet rice cooking wine used in Japanese cuisine. It’s sweeter than cooking sake and has a very low alcoholic taste. You can find this at most Asian or Japanese grocers.
- Ginger powder: I prefer using this over grated ginger as it's less potent and it evenly distributes with the sauce
- Sesame oil: for that nutty flavor. If you're allergic, omit it.
- Melted butter: for extra flavor!
- Sriracha sauce: optional for a spicy kick!
Expert Tips
- Use an instant ramen brand that you enjoy. I find the ones with thicker chewy noodles work the best for this kind of recipe.
- Don't overcook the ramen noodles. This ensures al dente noodles in the finished dish as we'll be stir frying them later.
- Prepare the sauce in advance so the ingredients evenly distribute.
- Reserve some of that noodle water! It helps the sauce bind to the noodles and makes the sauce thicker due to the starch.
- Do not over stir-fry the noodles. Once a minute has past, immediately transfer to a serving bowl.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine noodle sauce ingredients as listed. Set aside.
- In a small pot filled with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil noodles for 1.5 minutes until they are loosened. Reserve 1 tablespoon of hot noodle water for later. Strain the noodles.
- Reduce to low-heat and add vegetable oil and chopped green onions. Stir-fry for 10 seconds so the green onions infuse the oil.
- Toss in cooked noodles with reserved noodle water and noodle sauce.
- Mix until noodles are coated in the sauce for 1 minute. Remove and transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 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 with a splash of hot water to loosen the noodles. Note: ramen noodles will lose their chewy texture over time.
- Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing these type of noodles as they will go soggy after reheating.
Topping Ideas
This stir-fried ramen can be topped up with:
- soft-boiled or hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, poached eggs or fried eggs
- cooked greens like bok choy, yu choy sum, baby gai-lan, or boiled peas or carrots
- cooked chicken, beef, pork, shrimp or extra-firm tofu
- shredded cheese
- chili oil
Pairing Suggestions
This stir-fried ramen serves well with:
- cooked dumplings
- bulgogi
- tteokbokki
- Korean cucumber salad
- beansprout salad
- Korean spinach
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. But a note of warning: the noodles will go soggy with time. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
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📖 Recipe
Easy 5-min. Stir Fried Ramen
Ingredients
- 1 serving instant ramen noodles about 4.23 oz/120 g
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Noodle Sauce
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ tsp butter melted
- ½ teaspoon mirin
- ⅛ teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ teaspoon sriracha sauce optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine noodle sauce ingredients as listed. Set aside.
- In a small pot filled with 2 cups/500 ml of water, bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil noodles for 1.5 minutes until they are loosened. Reserve 1 tablespoon of hot noodle water for later. Strain the noodles.
- Reduce to low-heat and add vegetable oil and chopped green onions. Stir-fry for 10 seconds so the green onions infuse the oil.
- Toss in cooked noodles with reserved noodle water and noodle sauce.
- Mix until noodles are coated in the sauce for 1 minute. Remove and transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
Heidi Miller
Bring on the flavor! You've created the perfect balance of both sweet and savory with this dish!!
Sharon
I made this today and your recipe is OUTSTANDING!!!!! Easy sub for mirin was rice wine vinegar, I used regular butter and arugula for greens since that's what I had. This recipe is killer! Thank you.
christieathome
Thank you so much Sharon! This is the kindest review I’ve ever received! I am so happy you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sharing your substitute!
Preethi
Perfect and easiest indulgence made at the convenience of home.! I modified a bit to my likings and I’m going to be making this many many times. Inspire more Christie!
Ivanka
This ramen stir fry method/sauce was AMAZING! I made a few tiny substitutions based on what I had - e.g. used rice vinegar instead of Mirin, olive oil instead of avocado oil & added some chili flakes. The vegan butter gave them the most perfect buttery flavour/texture. Such a delicious recipe - thank you Christie!
christieathome
Aww thank you so Ivanka! I am so happy you enjoyed it. Great substitutions as well!! Also happy to hear you enjoyed the butter trick. Have a great day Ivanka!!
Rebecca Dillon
Ramen is that perfect indulgence. This sounds especially amazing. I can't wait to give this recipe a try! Thanks so much, Christie!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
This ramen noodle recipe looks so darn delicious! I definitely need to make this one for my family and I need to get my hands on some of the Lotus Foods Ramen. Thanks for sharing Christie!