One of the things I miss most about living where there are more people than cows is access to spicy ramen noodles delivered to my door. Whether you’re needing to warm up from a cold Winter’s day or fight off the symptoms of consuming too many Kentucky Espresso Martinis, Asian noodles seem to be the cure.
When I caved to my cravings, I knew standard packaged with the packet ramen wouldn’t cut it. When I finally decided to make a homemade version of this take-out favorite, I knew it had to be three things. First, it had to be DELICOUS with the perfect amount of spice. Second, it needed be super quick to make while including a ramen egg. And finally, the ingredient list couldn’t be a mile long. It took me a little bit to land on this recipe, but man, am I glad I did.
This recipe falls somewhere between traditional Japanese ramen and grocery store packaged with the packet ramen we all ate in college. Ditch the mystery packet, the DoorDash fees and worrying if the delivery driver got lost and enjoy my 20 Minute Spicy Shrimp Ramen!
One, two, three noodles!
Here’s how I incorporated my three must-haves into my homemade version.
- Delicious + Spicy – I picked three flavor packed ingredients to build my spicy broth. Ginger, garlic chili paste, and garlic. When combined into the sesame oil and allowed to cook together, these three ingredients do the work of so many more! If I’m feeling extra spicy, I’ll add some crushed red pepper flakes or a healthy squeeze of sriracha sauce. If you’re not feeling spicy, replace the chili garlic paste with tomato paste.
- Quick – Most of us learned in college that ramen is probably best way to eat cheap and fast, but that’s not the kind of ramen we’re making here. The traditional marinated soft boiled egg served with ramen often takes 48 hours to create. I need that egg, but I’m not planning 2 days in advance to have ramen OR summoning the patience to peel a soft boiled egg. Oh, and DoorDash definitely doesn’t deliver to the farm. In this recipe, while the broth is building flavor on the stove, it’s also serving as the poaching liquid for both the egg and super quick cooking shrimp! The noodles, shrimp and the egg all get cooked in the spicy broth so not only does the recipe come together super quick, it gets done in one pot, and every ingredient is super flavorful.
- Minimal Ingredients – the rich deep flavor of really good traditional ramen can require quite a few ingredients and some can be tough to find. This recipe gets the job done with almost half the ingredients of many ramen recipes. I also found everything in my small town Wal-mart! Sometimes, I can’t find fresh ginger root. When I can’t, next to the fresh herbs, I found a ginger paste and it’s AMAZING! Not quite as zesty as fresh, but it does the trick. Three main ingredients flavor the spicy broth and the broad range of delicious garnish options could classify this recipe as a pantry pull! I change up my garnishes all the time. My favorites are definitely cilantro and serrano or jalapeno peppers. I even found these adorable BH&G noodle bowls at Wal-mart. They even come with reusable chopsticks! Did I need them, no. Did I buy them? You know I bought them….
20 Minute Spicy Shrimp Ramen
Equipment
- Medium sauce pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- slotted spoon or spatula
- 2 noodle bowls or bowls large enough to accommodate noodles, shrimp, and 2 cups of broth
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil vegetable oil will work in a pinch
- 2 teaspoon garlic chili paste
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
- 2 packages dry ramen noodles discard flavor packet if included
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or ginger paste
- 2 eggs
- 8-12 large shrimp cleaned, peeled, and deveined
Garnish options – I recommend choosing 2-4.
- fresh cilantro
- jalapeno peppers, sliced thin
- green onion
- corn kernels
- mushrooms, sliced thin
- spinach
- sesame seeds
- lime wedges
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat add the sesame oil and allow to heat for about 30 seconds. Add the ginger, garlic chili paste, garlic, and black pepper to the oil. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken broth or stock to the pan and bring to a boil. While the broth or stock is coming up to a boil, prepare your chosen garnishes.
- Add the ramen noodles, cook approximately 80% and then remove using the slotted spoon or spatula to the bowls you plan to enjoy your ramen from and set aside. Approximately, two minutes.
- Add the raw shrimp to the boiling broth or stock to poach. This will take about 2-3 minutes. Remove the shrimp with the slotted spoon and add to the bowls with the ramen.
- Crack two eggs into the boiling broth as far away from each other as possible and allow the eggs to poach, 3-4 minutes will produce a runny yolk, add more time if you prefer a harder yolk. Remove from the broth and add one egg to each bowl.
- Turn off the heat and pour half of the broth into each bowl. Allow the broth to finish cooking the ramen for 1-2 minutes, top with your chosen garnishes and enjoy!
Nutrition
But, I don’t like shrimp
If shrimp is not your favorite, no worries, I got you! Thin sliced chicken breast or thigh meat would also be delicious! You’ll need to increase the cooking time as chicken doesn’t cook as quickly as shrimp. I would plan for 6-8 minutes of poaching depending on the size of your slices. If you’re really looking for a super quick protein to add, shredded rotisserie chicken would be the perfect addition!
The perfect poached egg
Don’t be intimidated by the egg! The ramen egg is one of my favorite parts of take-out ramen. As I mentioned above, the eggs are time intensive, and someone has to peel a soft boiled egg. Peeling eggs is never going to make it to the top of a list of things I want to do. Poaching the egg in the broth is super quick, adds flavor, and saves you from the frustration of peeling a soft boiled egg.
The key is to gently crack the egg into the boiling water, let it sit for about 30 seconds and then use a wooden spoon to gently nudge the egg to ensure the egg is floating and not stuck to the bottom of the pan. Make sure egg one is floating before adding egg two on the other side of the pan. Depending on your pan, the amount of broth may not be enough to fully cover the top of the egg. If that’s the case you have two options. One, you could use the spoon to gently flip the egg 3/4 way through cooking time. Two, gently baste the top of the egg with the hot broth until cooked.
3 minutes 30 seconds is the perfect runny poach for my liking. If you like your yolk more firm add 30 seconds of cooking time for each additional level. 5 minutes should give you a hard center.
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