It’s too early to be cookied out for the holiday season, but after getting a head start baking in the fall, my palate already needs a reboot.
That’s where kimchi comes in – the soury, spicy, fermented cabbage that burns your taste buds anew and refreshes your palate for you to enjoy another round of holiday meals.
Straight kimchi may be a little too much for most of us, so on today’s menu, I have this delicious, steamy bowl of Easy Kimchi Ramen for you to cook up this week.
I know it’s the busiest time of the year, so I tried to keep this ramen recipe simple. You just need a good quality store-bought kimchi, ramen noodles (instant is fine), a few basic Asian cooking ingredients, and our handcrafted Korean BBQ Blend.
You start this Easy Kimchi Ramen by cooking up the broth. It’s flavored with the tangy Korean fermented cabbage along with rice vinegar, rice wine/mirin, soy sauce, miso paste, and Korean BBQ Blend. The gingery, garlicky profile of our Korean BBQ Blend really spikes up the soup with a savory punch.
This spicy Korean noodle soup just wouldn’t be complete without some mushrooms to soak up the broth. Add in enoki mushrooms – which add in not only flavor, but also a great texture that’s fun to eat. If you have shiitake or cremini mushroom, add those in too.
Top this Easy Kimchi Ramen with half a hard-boiled egg (or poached egg), and slices of green onion.
Feel free to stop there, but if your soup bowl is big enough, add in some tofu, spinach, bok choy, daikon, or bean sprouts.
Make this noodle soup as hearty or light as you wish. It’s the hot, sour flavor of the broth that’s really going to taste amazing, and give your body a healthy jolt of spicy goodness during this month of excess.
Easy Kimchi Ramen
by Season with Spice
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 servings of ramen noodles (dried or fresh)
Mushrooms of your choice (enoki or shiitake or cremini mushrooms work great)*
A few drops of toasted sesame oil, or hot sesame oil
To make the kimchi soup broth:
4 cups water
1/2 cup kimchi
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp rice wine, or mirin
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp of Season with Spice’s Korean BBQ Blend
2.5 tbsp miso paste (I used red miso)
Salt to taste
Toppings:
2 tbsp kimchi
1-2 eggs (hard-boiled, soft-boiled, or poached eggs)
2 green onions – diagonally sliced
Method:
1. Cook the ramen according to package instructions.
2. While the ramen is cooking, take out a separate soup pot or saucepan. Combine water, kimchi, rice vinegar, rice wine/mirin, soy sauce, and our Korean BBQ Blend. Bring it to a boil. Add in mushrooms of your choice. Then lower the heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender. Keeping it at a low simmer, mix in miso until well dissolved. Season with salt. Taste & adjust any seasonings if needed.
3. Once the noodles are cooked, add them into each serving bowl. Top the noodles with one or two tablespoons of kimchi. Then ladle the soup broth & mushrooms over each bowl. Top with eggs (if using) and green onion. Finish off with a few drops of toasted sesame oil or hot sesame oil.
Notes:
1. Enoki mushrooms cook very fast, so I added them in a bit later. If you are using shiitake mushrooms or cremini mushrooms, you can add them in as stated in the recipe.
2. If you use instant ramen, you can skip the separate pot, and cook the noodles right in the soup broth once you bring it to a boil.
by Season with Spice
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 servings of ramen noodles (dried or fresh)
Mushrooms of your choice (enoki or shiitake or cremini mushrooms work great)*
A few drops of toasted sesame oil, or hot sesame oil
To make the kimchi soup broth:
4 cups water
1/2 cup kimchi
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp rice wine, or mirin
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp of Season with Spice’s Korean BBQ Blend
2.5 tbsp miso paste (I used red miso)
Salt to taste
Toppings:
2 tbsp kimchi
1-2 eggs (hard-boiled, soft-boiled, or poached eggs)
2 green onions – diagonally sliced
Method:
1. Cook the ramen according to package instructions.
2. While the ramen is cooking, take out a separate soup pot or saucepan. Combine water, kimchi, rice vinegar, rice wine/mirin, soy sauce, and our Korean BBQ Blend. Bring it to a boil. Add in mushrooms of your choice. Then lower the heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender. Keeping it at a low simmer, mix in miso until well dissolved. Season with salt. Taste & adjust any seasonings if needed.
3. Once the noodles are cooked, add them into each serving bowl. Top the noodles with one or two tablespoons of kimchi. Then ladle the soup broth & mushrooms over each bowl. Top with eggs (if using) and green onion. Finish off with a few drops of toasted sesame oil or hot sesame oil.
Notes:
1. Enoki mushrooms cook very fast, so I added them in a bit later. If you are using shiitake mushrooms or cremini mushrooms, you can add them in as stated in the recipe.
2. If you use instant ramen, you can skip the separate pot, and cook the noodles right in the soup broth once you bring it to a boil.
