Ramen is comfort food at its finest — warm, filling noodles in a rich, savory broth that can warm you up on the coldest night. With its spicy, complex flavors, it takes things to the next level. Keep reading to discover what makes Korean ramen so addictive, and how easy it is to make.
I’m a true lifelong ramen lover—from the instant noodle packets that fueled my frequent late-night study sessions in college to the extensive research I did, including devouring many, many delicious bowls of ramen and other ramen-based concoctions, while writing Ramen for Beginners and Ramen Obsession.
I could never choose a favorite recipe, because, well, that wouldn’t be fair to the other recipes. But let’s just say, I love Korean food as much as I love ramen, so Korean ramen is always welcome at my table.
In this recipe, rich broth, chewy noodles, and flavorful toppings came together to form an incredible mouthful — a harmonious combination of spicy, sweet, and savory flavors. You’ll know from the first satisfying slurp that Korean ramen is something special.
Why you’ll love this dish
Korean ramen builds on everything that makes ramen so crave-able — noodles, broth, and creative toppings — while taking the flavors up a notch. The broth starts with pre-made or store-bought chicken broth and gets rich, complex flavor from added ingredients like miso paste and gochujang. The flavors cling to each toothsome noodle.
Thinly sliced beef makes it hardy, but it’s the gochujang, or spicy Korean chili paste, plus garlic, sesame paste, and miso paste that give it that distinctly Korean flavor. Kimchi, perfectly jammy eggs, and green onions sprinkled on top add flavor, color, and texture to each bite.
It’s a cozy, comforting meal that also delivers a kick of spice and excitement. The first spoonful may surprise you with its fiery hit of chili pepper heat, but it’s balanced out by the sweet and nutty notes. Before you know it, you’ll be slurping up every last drop of the addictive broth.
Ingredients you need
This easy Korean ramen is endlessly customizable, but here’s what you need for this recipe:
- Noodles: Fresh ramen noodles are ideal, but dried noodles work too. Ramen noodles are made from wheat flour and kansui, an alkalizing agent that gives them their distinctive springiness. If you are cooking for someone who can’t eat gluten, rice noodles are a good substitute.
- Broth: Chicken stock or beef broth flavored with garlic, onion, and ginger.
- Gochujang: Korean chili paste that lends a signature kick.
- Miso paste: Nutty, salty fermented soybean paste. I recommend using the relatively mild white miso paste here.
- Sesame paste: Use Japanese sesame paste if you can find it. Chinese sesame paste is a fine substitute. If you don’t have either, substitute creamy, no-sugar-added peanut butter.
- Sesame oil: Look for a good toasted sesame oil and check the label to make sure it is 100% sesame oil and not a mix of something like vegetable oil and sesame oil.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: Preferably gochugaru, or Korean chili flakes, adds some spice and heat to the ramen broth.
- Meat: Flank steak or brisket, thinly sliced.
- Toppings: kimchi, green onion or scallion, and medium-boiled eggs or Soy Sauce Eggs with a jammy yolk are optional.
- Garnishes: Sesame seeds or seaweed (optional).
How to Make It
Ready to get cooking? Here’s my recipe for easy, homemade, spicy Korean ramen that captures all the flavors you’ll love. The broth takes time to develop its deep, rich flavor, but the payoff is so worth it!
- Make the broth by combining chicken broth, garlic, onion, ginger, rice wine, gochujang and other seasonings in a pot. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours. The longer the broth simmers, the more complex the flavors become.
- About 30 minutes before serving, bring water to a boil, add the noodles and cook them according to package directions. Once the noodles are cooked, drain them and set aside.
- While the broth simmers, cook the sliced steak with salt and sesame oil just until browned but still a little pink inside. Set aside.
- Add the miso paste, gochujang, crushed red pepper, and sesame paste to the broth. Stir well.
- Add the noodles to the bowls and ladle hot broth over them.
- Top with steak, egg, green onions, kimchi and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
What to serve with it
Korean ramen with all the toppings is a satisfying a meal in itself. But, you know, a few sides never hurt anything, right? Traditional Korean cuisine is famous for its side dishes, called “banchan,” so it’s fitting to add a few. Quick Cucumber Kimchi is a refreshing and crunchy Korean salad that makes a great accompaniment. Stir-fried Lotus Root and Sunomono lean a little more towards the Japanese side of this fusion meal.
Ready to experiment more with classic Korean flavors? Try my favorite Korean noodles, Gochujang Noodles, or stir-fried japchae noodles, glass noodles made from sweet potato starch. You’ll also love spicy Korean Fried Chicken and Bulgogi Beef Bowls.
Korean Ramen
Ingredients
- 18 ounces fresh ramen noodles 12 ounces dried ramen noodles or 2 packages instant ramen noodles
- 8 cups chicken broth
- ½ pound flank steak or skirt steak sliced into strips about ¼-inch thick
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ¼ cup gochujang
- ½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes preferably gochugaru
- 1 tablespoon Japanese sesame paste
- ¼ cup water
- 2 soft-cooked eggs boiled for 6 minutes, halved
- 1 bunch green onions thinly sliced
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions.
- In a stockpot, heat the broth over medium-high heat until simmering.
- Make the seasoning paste by stirring together the miso paste, gochujang, water, and crushed red pepper.
- Toss the sliced steak in a bowl with ½ teaspoon of the salt and the sesame oil.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the steak and cook, stirring frequently, until it is just cooked but still a little pink in the center.
- Into each of 4 serving bowls, put ¼ of the seasoning paste. Divide the noodles between the bowls and ladle the hot broth over the noodles. Arrange steak, an egg half, and the green onions on top. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.
I love Korean Ramen, but I always eat the instant ones! I tried this but used the instant noodle packs and just saved the seasoning packets for future use lol! Making the broth from scratch was worth it because the flavors are deeper! I’m definitely making this again for my K-drama binge nights!
This was KILLER. So much flavor, we were practically drinking the broth! The egg totally makes it – don’t skip that part. Really tasty recipe!
This was SO good. I bought gochujang just for this and am so glad I did. Because I’ll be making this again and again and again. My picky husband loved it, too. I served it with your cucumber kimchi and they were perfect together. Thanks so much!
This is my idea of comfort food! I make a bunch of chicken broth at once and freeze it just for use in this recipe.