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Spicy Garlic Ramen is a quick and easy way to take instant ramen and turn it into a spicy, aromatic and super delicious meal! In just 10 minutes and with a handful of pantry staples, you’ll have the best instant noodles you’ve ever had!
Watch the Spicy Garlic Ramen Recipe Video Below!
Table of Contents
- Watch the Spicy Garlic Ramen Recipe Video Below!
- Ingredients for Spicy Garlic Ramen
- Ramen Noodles
- Spicy Garlic Ramen: Recipe Instructions
- Expert Tips for Making The BEST Spicy Garlic Ramen at Home!
- What Should I Serve with Spicy Garlic Ramen?
- Storage, Reheating, and Make Ahead Tips
- Spicy Garlic Ramen Recipe
Ingredients for Spicy Garlic Ramen
This recipe only calls for a few ingredients to make delicious these delicious Spicy Garlic Ramen noodles! Here is what you’ll need:
- Dried ramen noodles (2 portions) – see note below; if you have extra make my easy Chicken Ramen and top it with a Ramen Egg!
- Garlic
- Scallions
- Gochugaru (or dried red chili flake) – Gochugaru is Korean red chili pepper flakes (or powder, depending on which version you purchase). It’s vibrant in color and smoky in flavor; it definitely adds a lot of heat to a dish! It is sold in bags at Korean markets. I’ve also seen it at some of my local Ralph’s and on Amazon.
- If you are new to using this ingredient or if you are sensitive to spice, I would consider using 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.
- It’s used in recipes like Korean Braised Tofu, Spicy Garlic Ramen and Korean Cucumber Salad.
- neutral oil
- light soy sauce
- oyster sauce
- Sriracha – Adjust this to your own heat preference. I personally substitute with my homemade chili oil.
- brown sugar
- white pepper
- Water
- Reserved cooking water – this is to loosen the sauce if it is too thick for your liking.
- Optional garnishes: I always like to garnish my Spicy Garlic Ramen with freshly chopped scallion, crushed peanuts and extra chili oil!
Refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements!
Key Tip
Ramen Noodles
The photo of the ingredients (above) shows the exact ramen noodles I used for this recipe. I got them from the Korean “Shin Ramen” packs by the brand Nongshim, which I have seen sold in almost every grocery store in my area. I love this specific instant ramen because I think the noodles taste better and have more of a chew to them.
You can use these, if you have them on hand or can find them easily – but if you can’t, that’s okay! Any instant ramen will work for this dish.
Alternatively, you can also substitute with a different noodle of your choice – the star of the recipe is the spicy garlic sauce, so while the dish is called “Spicy Garlic Ramen“, you don’t necessarily need to use instant ramen.
Spicy Garlic Ramen: Recipe Instructions
1. Make the Spicy Garlic Sauce
To begin, take a bowl or jar and combine light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sriracha, brown sugar, white pepper, and water. Stir with a fork or whisk until the sauce is combined and smooth!
2. Sauté the Aromatics
Once the sauce is combined, the next step is to sauté the aromatics. Over medium high heat, add 2 tsp of neutral oil and sauté garlic, scallion, and gochugaru until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
3. Cook the Noodles
Next, boil the noodles according to package directions. Drain them, making sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of noodle cooking water, then immediately add the noodles into the aromatics.
4. Mix Noodles with Sauce
Finally, add the sauce and mix well until the ramen noodles are thoroughly combined with the sauce. If the noodles are too dry, add a bit of the reserved cooking water to loosen them up and get the sauce to a thinner consistency. Enjoy your fresh Spicy Garlic Ramen!
PRO TIPS
Expert Tips for Making The BEST Spicy Garlic Ramen at Home!
Gochugaru
- Gochugaru is Korean red chili pepper flakes (or powder, depending on which version you purchase). It’s vibrant in color and smoky in flavor; it definitely adds a lot of heat to a dish! It is sold in bags at Korean markets. I’ve also seen it at some of my local Ralph’s and on Amazon.
Ramen Noodles
- I used Korean “Shin Ramen” by the brand Nongshim, which I have seen sold in almost every grocery store in my area. I love this specific instant ramen because I think the noodles taste better and have more of a chew to them. Any instant ramen will work for this dish.
- Alternatively, you can also substitute with a different noodle of your choice – the star of the recipe is the spicy garlic sauce and you don’t necessarily need to use instant ramen.
Noodle Water
- Be sure to reserve at least a 1/2 cup of noodle cooking water – you can use it to help loosen up the spicy garlic sauce, if it is too thick for your liking.
Optional Garnishes
- Spicy Garlic Ramen tastes delicious as is! But if you would like, you can add optional garnishes like freshly chopped scallions, crushed peanuts and sliced cucumber.
What Should I Serve with Spicy Garlic Ramen?
I love eating Spicy Garlic Ramen with my favorite Korean side dishes (or “banchan”) – dishes like Korean Braised Potatoes, Korean Fish Cakes, Korean Egg Roll, Korean Bean Sprout Side Dish, Korean Marinated Eggs (Mayak Eggs), and Korean Spinach Side Dish are so good!! Korean Cheese Corn and Korean Braised Tofu are my wife’s favorite, so I always make these for her!
Storage, Reheating, and Make Ahead Tips
If you have leftover Spicy Garlic Ramen, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They’ll be stuck together when reheating but the flavor will still be delicious! I would microwave them quickly with a little bit of water to loose them up.
If you want to prepare this in advance, you could make just the sauce separately and keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. When ready, you just need to cook your noodles and toss in the sauce.
If you tried this Spicy Garlic Ramen or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Spicy Garlic Ramen
Ingredients
- 2 ramen noodle portions
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 tbsp gochugaru , can sub red chili flakes
- 2 tsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce, low sodium
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup reserved cooking water, if needed to loosen sauce
Instructions
- Add 2 tsp of oil in a pan over medium high heat. Saute garlic, scallion and gochugaru until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Cook ramen noodles in boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of noodle cooking water.
- In a small bowl, mix together light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sriracha, brown sugar, white pepper, and water.
- Add noodles to sautéed aromatics and gochugaru, then add the premixed sauce. Add noodle water as necessary to loosen the sauce and cook over high heat until the sauce has absorbed into the noodles.
- Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds and enjoy!
Notes
Storage, Reheating, and Make Ahead Tips
If you have leftover Spicy Garlic Ramen, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They’ll be stuck together when reheating but the flavor will still be delicious! I would microwave them quickly with a little bit of water to loose them up. If you want to prepare this in advance, you could make just the sauce separately and keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. When ready, you just need to cook your noodles and toss in the sauce.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I found and now have Gochugaru, but missed that the recipe called for oyster sauce. Can fish sauce be substituted? Apologies if that is an ignorant question! Look forward to making another of your great dishes.
Hi Denise – fish sauce and oyster sauce are quite different, so I wouldn’t recommend substituting them in this case.
Sooo DELICIOUS and Spicy! I LOVE this recipe. Glad I can use variety of noodles. Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Wait totally trying this tonight for a late night munchies!
so tasty and flavorful
ig: nadineenavarroo
email: nnava010@ucr.edu
This recipe turns ordinary ramen into outstanding ramen. Easy to prepare and delicuous. Perfect for a quick lunch!
Always perfect noodles with pantry staples! My go to noodle recipe when I need something quick and delicious
Made this the other night and unfortunately over cooked our ramen (that’s my bad) but the sauce was amazing! We are going to remake this and use the sauce in a broth to make a soupy ramen, which I’m sure will be just as incredible as the original recipe! Instagram is @samannewilliams