Description
A quick and flavorful recipe for easy saucy ramen noodles featuring a savory soy-based sauce, sautéed tofu or veggies, and garnished with scallions and sesame seeds. Perfect for a satisfying and customizable meal ready in just 25 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Noodles
- 2 servings dry instant ramen noodle cakes (around 140 g total)
Sautéing
- 10 oz extra-firm tofu, veggies, or mushrooms of choice, sliced
Sauce
- 1 cup water or vegetable broth
- 5-7 tbsp soy sauce (adjust to taste)
- 1.5 tsp dark soy sauce (optional, for color)
- 2-3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1-3 tbsp sugar, maple syrup, or other liquid sweetener (adjust for sweetness)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice (adjust for sourness)
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 tbsp chili garlic sauce or other hot sauce (optional for spice)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
For Serving
- Chopped scallions
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: In a bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients, including water or broth, soy sauce, dark soy sauce if using, cornstarch, sweetener, vinegar or lemon juice, pepper, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, and minced garlic until well combined. Adjust the balance of sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and spice to your liking. Set this mixture aside.
- Cook the Noodles: Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the dry ramen noodles. Cook them until they are slightly underdone, about 2-3 minutes less than the package instructions suggest. Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and remove excess starch. Set aside.
- Sauté the Veggies or Protein: Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add a small amount of oil. Add your choice of sliced extra-firm tofu, vegetables, or mushrooms and sauté until cooked to your preference and slightly browned.
- Cook the Sauce: Stir the sauce mixture again to ensure that the cornstarch is well suspended and hasn’t settled. Pour the sauce into the pan with the sautéed ingredients. Simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens and coats the ingredients nicely.
- Combine with Noodles: Add the cooked noodles to the pan with the thickened sauce and sautéed ingredients. Toss well to coat the noodles evenly with the sauce. Continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes to allow the noodles to soak up the flavors.
- Adjust Seasoning and Serve: Taste the ramen and adjust the seasoning by adding more soy sauce, sweetener, or pepper if desired. Garnish the dish with chopped scallions and sesame seeds, then serve immediately while hot and flavorful.
Notes
- You can customize this recipe with your favorite vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, or bok choy.
- Adjust the amount of chili garlic sauce or hot sauce to control the spice level.
- Using vegetable broth in the sauce adds more flavor than water but either works well.
- The dark soy sauce is optional and primarily used for color and depth of flavor.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, increase the cornstarch slightly.
- Keep some extra sauce ingredients on hand to tweak the flavor after combining with noodles.
