Simple Kimchi Ramen Recipe To Spice Up Your Instant Noodles

Kimchi ramen is a spicy and sour Korean noodle soup made from fermented spicy cabbage and ramen topped with tofu, mushrooms, nori seaweed and green onions. This will further enhance the flavour of the bowl.

In our easy kimchi ramen recipe, we’ll show you how to make this Korean noodle soup from scratch. We’ll also show you our favourite topping combinations, which you can try to elevate your instant noodles at home.

Jump to:

• Kimchi Ramen Ingredients
• Kimchi Ramen Recipe
• Kimchi Ramen Cooking Tips
• Vegan Alternatives
• Our favourite instant Kimchi ramen packs

Kimchi Ramen Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for our simple kimchi ramen recipe.

• Kimchi
• 1 pack ramen
• Onion, diced
• Garlic, minced
• Light soy sauce
• Korean red pepper flakes (Gochugaru) adjust amount according to taste
• Chicken or beef broth
• Vegetable oil

Topping

• Soft boiled egg
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Firm tofu
• Bok choy, blanched
• Meat (optional)

Garnish

• Spring onions, green part only, sliced for garnishing
• Nori seaweed, cut into small strips, for garnishing
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnishing

Kimchi

Kimchi is a salted, spicy fermented cabbage that fans rightfully consider the number one hallmark of Korean cuisine. This fermented cabbage has a spicy, sour taste, which is at the heart of our Kimchi ramen recipe.

For convenience, we recommend buying spicy fermented cabbage chopped into small chunks or strips. However, whole fermented cabbage typically has a lot more juice in the package, which can add more flavour to the noodle base.

You can usually buy kimchi online or from your closest Asian grocery store. We’ve also been spotting canned kimchi in our local supermarket.

Ramen

We recommend using noodles from instant Korean ramen packs as these are thicker and stay bouncy longer in soup bases. Alternatively, you can use dry ramen noodles from supermarkets.

Korean red pepper flakes

Depending on how spicy you like your kimchi ramen, you can adjust the amount of Korean red pepper flakes you add following our recipe.

By default, our recipe will give you a mildly spicy broth. However, if you want it spicier, we suggest adding the Korean red pepper flakes in ½ teaspoon increments until you find your perfect balance.

Soft boiled eggs

Adding soft-boiled eggs adds a lovely sweet and savoury taste to our noodle bowl. To make soft-boiled eggs, make sure to gently lower the eggs into the boiling water. This is to avoid cracks in the eggs, which may happen if you just drop them in the pot. For medium-sized eggs, cook for 6 minutes to get a soft-boiled egg with a jammy centre.

Once boiled, let the eggs cool down in an ice bath. for a few minutes before peeling them. If you like hard-boiled, you may cut the eggs in half and put aside. However, if they are soft-boiled eggs, we suggest that you cut them just before serving the bowl.

Instead of soft-boiled eggs, you can also add mayak eggs, which are Korean soy sauce eggs.

Shiitake Mushrooms

A common vegetable topping is shiitake mushrooms. The mild umami taste of the mushrooms goes well with kimchi ramen.

Before cooking, we recommend pre-soaking the mushrooms for 30 minutes in warm water. Then, gently squeeze the shiitake mushrooms from moisture and remove the rest of the legs. If the caps are large, they can be cut into pieces. If they are small or medium, leave them whole.

As another tip to enhance the flavour of the mushrooms, we recommend sauteing the mushrooms in butter. You can also use any oil with a high melting point e.g. olive oil.

We also like topping our kimchi ramen with bok choy, bean sprouts, cut lettuce, and spinach. As the basic noodles already have pickled cabbages, finding other vegetables that complement the taste of the cabbages is key. You can also experiment with other vegetables, such as avocado, green onions, and lime. These would transform the taste of the noodles in their own way. So, give it a go and find what works for you.

Tofu

We recommend using firm tofu so it doesn't break easily when you add it to your kimchi ramen bowl. 

You can cut the tofu into large cubes, cook it, and serve it with sesame dressing. Otherwise, you can also cut tofu cubes and put them in your vegetable broth. Alternatively, you can also try to make tofu katsu and add it as a topping. It’s also a good alternative for protein. 

Meat (optional)

Adding meat to instant noodles almost always increases the taste. You can use it in almost any shape and it's a fantastic way to use up leftovers or slices of meat. Attach the remainder of the steak or the last slice of chicken from the previous night's dinner to the kimchi ramen noodles. You can consider adding the following types of meat to add to your noodles.

Pork belly or chashu pork is a Japanese version of the char siu Chinese barbecue. The meat is stewed in a sauce made of soy sauce, Japanese thick sweet rice wine mirin, rice vodka, and sugar. As a result, the pork meat is tender and sweet-salty. 

Chashu pork slices are very often used as a topping (an additional ingredient) for Japanese ramen soups. Hence, connoisseurs of noodle dishes can also often add chashu pork slices as a meat addition to their kimchi ramen noodle bowls.

Fried chicken thighs go extremely well as a topping or side dish for our kimchi ramen recipe. You can add pre-seasoned chicken thighs, with or without skin. We recommended preparing the chicken with a teriyaki marinade and then fried in a wok. Alternatively transform this into a chicken katsu ramen with a piece of breaded chicken cutlet.

Wontons or gyoza dumplings, are another great side or topping. These are usually stuffed with juicy minced meat, mushrooms, and green onions.

Some people also like to add some seafood to their bowl of noodles. A popular one is to add some cooked prawns and serve the dish as prawn and kimchi ramen.

Garnish (optional)

While garnishes like spring onion and nori are optional, we highly recommend adding them. Nori seaweed adds a flaky and crunchy texture to the whole experience. Meanwhile, spring onion cuts through the broth and sourness of kimchi to make each bite more refreshing.

Kimchi Ramen Cooking Tips

A basic bowl of our noodle dish can consist of just the soup, instant noodles, and spicy pickles. However, the key to a great noodle soup is variety and balance in taste between meat, vegetables, and toppings.

Here are some cooking tips to help you elevate this dish.

Ramen substitute

Wheat noodles, like ramen, work very well with the Kimchi broth.

However, ramen isn't the only option for our soup noodles. You can replace the classic ramen with egg noodles or soba.

Change the broth

In our main recipe, we use chicken broth, but you can change this to for a different taste. Pork and beef stocks will give you a richer and more pungent flavour. At the same time, vegetable stock can be lighter and highlight the spicy and sour taste of the fermented cabbage further. We would recommend trying out different types of broths to see which works best for you.

Adding cheese

You can turn this kimchi ramen into a cheesy ramen by adding cheese. We also love adding a few slices on our kimchi ramen because of the gooey saltiness. Our favourite is to add cheddar or mozzarella cheese. 

Vegan Alternatives

With the vegan community growing bigger every year, more and more recipes have been creatively adapted for the community. Likewise, you can also take note of the following suggestions for preparing a vegan kimchi ramen noodle soup.

Vegetable Broth

For this, you need 1 litre ml of water and vegetables such as garlic, ginger, onions, carrots, broccoli, celery, potatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 1 hour The longer you can simmer it for, the more tasty the vegetable broth would be.

Miso Paste

Miso paste can also be added to your vegetable broth.

This is a popular vegan broth option which is full umami taste. You can easily mix it into any broth with any other vegetable ingredients to come up with a hearty brothy blend.

Our favourite instant Kimchi ramen packs

If you’re feeling lazy to cook but still want to eat a quick bowl, you can always opt for eating the instant noodles version.  

As Asian cuisine has grown in popularity globally, it is easier to find oriental products in large supermarkets these days. Look out for a cup or bowl of spicy noodles in the Asian section of your supermarket.

We recommend you to go for popular brands that offer instant kimchi ramen bowls and packs such as Samyang and Nongshim.

Are you looking for a different treat to try making at home? Why not try making the Korean corn dogs or pickled radish?