Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
This Ramen Stir Fry is an easy, budget friendly, versatile, 30-minute wonder your whole family will love! It’s made with springy ramen noodles, juicy ground beef and tender veggies coated an irresistible sweet and savory chili garlic sauce. Best of all, this Ramen Noodle Stir Fry is extremely flexible and amendable to whatever protein or veggies you have on hand for the best clean-out-the-fridge or last-minute dinner – because it’s all about the SAUCE! Serve this ramen noodles recipe with some crispy crab rangoons or cream cheese wontons for a complete takeout fakeout feast!
Servings 4 -6 servings
Ingredients
STIR FRY
- 3 (3 oz.) ramen packets (9 ounces total), seasonings discarded
- drizzle of toasted sesame oil (or a neutral oil)
- 1 pound lean ground beef (see options in notes)
- 1 small onion, chopped (half large onion)
- 3 cups medium broccoli florets
- 2 thinly sliced carrots
- 1 red bell pepper chopped into 1/2” pieces
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, or 1 tsp ground
- 4-6 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp powder
- chopped green onions for garnish (optional)
SAUCE
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons Asian sweet chili sauce (like Mae Ploy)
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee or Kikkoman)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons Asian hot chili sauce, more or less to taste
Instructions
- Cook ramen in boiling water for 2 minutes (no longer)! Rinse with cool water and toss with a drizzle of sesame oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Set aside.
- Whisk Sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Heat a large wok, heavy bottom stainless steel pan or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onions, and cook until the beef is almost cooked through. Add broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, garlic and ginger and cook an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir in the sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 1 minutes, until thickened. Add the ramen and toss until evenly coated and the noodles are al dente, about one minute.
- Taste and season with additional chili sauce, salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with green onions if desired.
Video
Notes
recipe variations
This Ramen Stir Fry can be customized countless ways to make it your own. Here are just a few ideas:- Customize sauce: Make it sweeter with brown sugar, spicier with chili sauce, savorier with soy sauce, tangier with rice vinegar, more oomph with additional garlic and/or ginger.
- Ground Proteins: Substitute the ground beef with ground chicken or ground turkey.
- Other proteins: Swap the ground beef for thinly sliced steak, thinly sliced chicken, cubed pork tenderloin, tofu or shrimp. When making with shrimp, cook the shrimp first jut until opaque, remove from the pan and add back at the very end of cooking after the sauce has thickened.
- Tofu: Place firm tofu in a pie plate, top with a heavy plate and weigh down with 2 heavy cans (to release water). Set aside for 10 minutes, then chop into ½-inch cubes. Stir fry them until crispy before adding the vegetables.
- Veggies: Swap the equivalent of the recommend veggies with any of your favorites such as snow peas, zucchini, mushrooms, bok choy, etc.
- Nuts: Cashews or peanuts would add a deeply satisfying crunch.
- Water chestnuts: Also add a tasty crunch. Water chestnuts are easy to keep stocked and ready to go.
- Gluten free: Use tamari instead of soy sauce and gluten free oyster sauce. Use gluten free ramen noodles such as Lotus Foods Organic Brown Rice Ramen. If you can’t locate gluten free Ramen, then try rice vermicelli. Rice vermicelli is usually gluten free, but not always, so just make sure you check the ingredients for wheat starch or wheat flour.
- Vegetarian: Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, LEE KUM KEE Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce instead of oyster sauce and use mushrooms, tofu, additional veggies or plant-based ground “meat” in place of the ground beef.
How to Store and Reheat
- Storage: Store leftover ramen noodles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
- To reheat in the microwave: Transfer small portions to a microwave safe dish, heat for 1 minute, stir, then continue to heat at 20-second intervals as needed.
- To reheat on the stove:Warm in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often. You may need to toss with a drizzle of oil or both/water to loosen the noodles.