Wondering what to do with ramen noodles? This guide covers how to pick them, cook them, store them, and swap them, plus 27 recipes to put them to work.

What are ramen noodles?

Ramen noodles are thin, springy wheat noodles built around one ingredient that gives them their bite: kansui, an alkaline mineral water. That alkalinity is what turns ramen yellow and gives it a slippery, chewy texture rather than the softness of plain pasta.

Most people meet ramen as the dried instant block with a seasoning packet, cooked in 3 minutes. But the same noodle also comes fresh, frozen, and dried without any seasoning, and those are what a real bowl of ramen is built on.

How to Use Ramen Noodles

Instant blocks cook in boiling water in about 3 minutes. The trick is to stop thinking of the packet as the only option. Cook the noodles, drain off the starchy water, then build your own broth with stock, miso, soy sauce, and chili oil.

Fresh and frozen ramen need a true boil and even less time, usually 1 to 2 minutes, because they are already hydrated. Add them to the pot last so they do not turn slack.

Drained and chilled, the dried block is also a salad base. The crushed raw noodles get toasted and tossed into a Ramen Cabbage Salad or a Chinese Coleslaw a la Poggi for crunch.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Ramen loves rich, salty broth: think pork or chicken stock deepened with miso and soy sauce, finished with a soft egg on top. Scallion, corn, bean sprout, and roast pork all belong in the bowl.

It also goes fast into a stir-fry or a quick soup like this 10-Minute Shrimp Soup.

The most common mistake is overcooking. Ramen is meant to stay firm and elastic, so pull it about 30 seconds before it looks done; it keeps cooking in hot broth.

The second mistake is dumping the whole seasoning packet in for the salt alone. It is mostly sodium and MSG. Use half, or skip it and season the broth yourself.

Substitutes

Fresh thin wheat noodles like chow mein or lo mein are the closest stand-in, since they share the same springy character. Thin Chinese egg noodles work too.

For an instant block in a pinch, any quick-cooking thin wheat noodle does the job, and even thin spaghetti loosened with a pinch of baking soda in the water mimics the alkaline chew. Soba or rice noodles change the flavor and texture too much to be true swaps.

Buying and Storing

Look past the soup aisle. Dried instant blocks sit on the shelf and keep for many months, but check the date, since the fried noodles eventually go rancid. Fresh ramen lives in the refrigerated case and lasts about a week; frozen ramen keeps for a couple of months.

For the best texture, buy fresh or frozen ramen labeled simply as noodles, without seasoning, so you control the salt. Keep dried blocks dry and sealed, since humidity makes them stale and crumbly.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find ramen noodles: Ramen noodles are usually found in the soups section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Ramen noodles are a member of the Soups, Sauces, and Gravies US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

拉面

British (UK) term

Ramen noodles

en français

nouilles ramen

en español

fideos ramen

How much do ramen noodles weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 serving	43 grams
1 package	85 grams

Related

Soups, Sauces, and Gravies

Recipes using ramen noodles

There are 27 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 27 recipes