Spicy Pork Ramen
If you love ramen as much as I do, then you just can’t skip trying this spicy pork ramen recipe. With so much flavour in the broth, it is hard to believe that it takes just 20 minutes to make. You will need miso, ginger, garlic, and a few pantry-staple Asian sauces to make broth. Slurp!
Another amazing ramen recipe for you guys. While we love this Chicken Ramen Noodles, for days you are craving a bowl of warm soup, this Spicy Pork ramen hands down is the best. It is easy to make and takes less than 20 minutes from stove to table. What you will get in a bowl is, spicy broth, ramen noodles, ground pork topped with butterd corn, bok choy, shredded carrots, soft boiled eggs , chilli crisp and green onion.
Most ramen recipes use pork shoulder or pork belly, which usually need a longer slow cooking. I liked the idea of using spicy minced pork in the soup. it is super quick to make and adds texture to the soup.
For me, what qualifies as a great ramen soup is how flavourful the broth is. And trust me, it’s not difficult to create those layers of flavours at home without any fancy ingredients or hours at the stove. My ramen stands out because of the following steps I do. If you have this question ‘How can I make instant ramen taste more flavorful?‘
- Use fresh aromatics like ginger, garlic, and shallots/onions.
- Along with soy sauce, I also add miso, which is nothing but fermented soybean paste. This is a game-changing ingredient that adds tons of umami to the broth.
- Caramelizing the pork is another trick for a flavor-packed ramen.
- Most of the recipes ask to discard the packaged seasoning that comes with the ramen. But I prefer adding at least a packet of the seasoning to the broth. It makes the soup base better.
Ingredients
- Pork mince– Go for lean meat. Ground chicken is also another alternative.
- Instant Ramen – Any instant ramen that’s available in the market and you love it.
- Ramen Seasoning– We are using one packet of the seasoning.
- Chicken stock- Make sure it’s low sodium chicken stock, as other ingredients used in the broth already have salt in them.
- Ginger, garlic – Finely minced garlic and grated ginger, preferably fresh.
- Miso – Good quality white miso.
- Soy sauce– Low-sodium soy sauce.
- Mirin– If you don’t have mirin, use an equal amount of rice wine vinegar and add a teaspoon of sugar.
- Sambal – If you don’t have sambal, add a dash or two of sriracha.
- Toasted sesame oil– Seasoning the broth towards the end
Making Pork Ramen- Step by Step
If you want flavour, then you need to spend an extra 5 minutes building the base. Caramelizing the pork with aromatics ginger, garlic, miso, soy suace, sambal and green onion takes just few minutes. Save some spiced ground pork for the topping and we will use the rest for the broth.
The seasoning that comes with the ramen is not that bad to be honest and I don’t like wasting it. Its optional, but just add one packate of the seasoning for that extra boost. Use a low sodium stock, as rest of the sauces and seasoning has salt in it.
When the broth comes to a boil in goes the dry ramen blocks. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the noodles is al dente.
Wondering if you should cook noodles separately or in the broth ? – Cooking ramen right in the broth also helps thicken it with the starch from the noodles.
Ramen bowl is incomplete without toppings. Caramelized butter sweetcorn is my absolute favourite. I have also added stir fried baby bok choy, shredded carrots, soft boiled egg, chilli garlic crisp.
Other Classic Ramen Toppings You Can Choose From
When it comes to Ramen toppings, less is more. Go with 3-4 toppings that complements each other in taste and texture.
- Ajitsuke Tamago (Ramen egg) — Soft-boiled eggs marinated in soy sauce.
- Nori — Dried seaweed sheets cut into thin strips.
- Bean sprouts — For crunch and freshness.
- Spinach– Balnched or a quick stir fry.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Menma — Fermented bamboo shoots.
What kind of noodles to use in Ramen?
Instant ramen noodles are always the best because it gets cooked in almost no time.
You can also use fresh yakisoba noodles if available. If using fresh noodles, I would suggest cooking the noodles separately. Fresh noodles are tossed in lots of starch to prevent sticking. So if cooked with the broth, all the starch gets into it, making it starchy and thick.
Can we make it ahead?
If planing to make it ahead, here is how I will do it.
- Cook pork. Keep aside for topping. Then make the broth as per the recipe instruction.
- Skip adding the noodles to the broth.
- Keep the toppings ready.
- Just before serving, heat the broth, cook noodles and serve ramen with toppings.
Storing Leftover
You can store the leftovers for upto 3 days in an airtight container. However, please bear in mind that when the noodles rests in the broth for a long time, it tend to soak the broth and become soggy. So the taste and texture might change.
Love Ramen ? Here Are A Few More Recipes To Try From
Spicy Pork Ramen
Ingredients
For Broth
- 4-5 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
- 2 packages Instant Ramen Noodles
- 1 Packate Ramen Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Toasted sesame oil
For Spicy Pork
- 2 teaspoons Oil
- 8 ounce minced Pork
- 1 tablespoons Minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Grated ginger
- â…“ cup Chopped Green Onion (only the white part)
- 1.5 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 2 teaspoon Mirin
- 1 teaspoon Sambal Olek or Chilli garlic paste (ref note 2)
- 1 tablespoon White miso (heaping tablespoons)
For Toppings
- 1 tablespoons Butter
- ¾ cup Sweetcorn kernel
- 3-4 baby bok choy sliced lengthwise
- 3 Soft boiled eggs
- carrot cut into match sticks
- green onion chopped
- chilli crisp
Instructions
- To hot oil in a soup pot, add minced pork. Stir fry for two minutes on high heat. Keep breaking any large lumps of meat. Add in chopped white onion, ginger, and garlic. Saute for another one minute until raw smell of garlic is gone and pork doesn't look pink anymore.
- Add in white miso, soy sauce, sambal/chilli garlic paste, mirin to the skillet. Mix everything well and stir fry for another minute until the pork is nicely caramelized. Keep scraping the corner and bottom of the pot to avoid burning.
- Take half of the caramelized cooked pork out of the pot to use it as topping. Keep it covered to avoid drying out.
- To the remaining pork in the skillet, empty one packet of ramen seasoning. 5 cups of chicken stock. Stir and bring everything to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Season the broth with sesame oil.
- Add in the blocks of dry ramen noodles to the soup base and let it cook until the noodles are tender and cooked through.
Notes
- Miso paste gives a depth of flavour and umami to the soup broth. If you can’t get hold of miso paste, add 1/2 tablespoon more of each fish sauce and soy sauce.Â
- Chilli garlic sauce is a very common condiment in Asian cusine. It varies in spice level, so adjust the quantity as per taste. If you don’t have Chilli garlic paste, you can add any hot sauce like Sriracha and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder to the sauce mixture.Â
Loved this recipe, I cheated and used a ramen broth, our family absolutely loved this recipe.
The broths sounds great and appetising..miso adds a great flavour to it..