Spicy Garlic Ramen

4.96 from 22 votes

This spicy garlic ramen is a 10 minute ramen hack that elevates simple ramen noodles to the next level! It's perfect for a quick meal or snack

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings:

Author: Chris Joe

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

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.

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.

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