Description
Quick Asian Beef Ramen Noodles is a flavorful and easy-to-make dish featuring caramelized ground beef, tender ramen noodles, and a savory Asian-inspired sauce. Ready in just 15 minutes, this recipe combines dark soy sauce, oyster and hoisin sauces, mirin, and aromatics for a deliciously satisfying meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 2 packets ramen or other instant noodles, discard seasoning
- 1 tsp oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil (or more oil)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 200g / 7oz beef mince (ground beef)
- 1 1/4 cups (315 ml) water, plus more as needed
- Big handful bean sprouts
Sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (or hoisin sauce)
- 2 tsp hoisin sauce (or more oyster sauce)
- 1 tbsp mirin
Garnishes (optional)
- Finely sliced green onion / shallots
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix Sauce: Combine dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, and mirin in a small bowl and set aside.
- Sauté Onion and Garlic: Heat 1 tsp oil and 2 tsp sesame oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add sliced onion and minced garlic, cooking for 1 1/2 minutes until they start to turn golden.
- Cook Beef: Add 200g ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking it up with a spatula, until it changes from pink to light brown.
- Caramelize Beef: Pour the prepared sauce over the beef and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce caramelizes and coats the beef thoroughly.
- Add Water and Noodles: Push the beef to one side of the skillet to create space. Pour in 1 1/4 cups water, then add the ramen noodles, submerged in the water.
- Cook Ramen: Let the noodles cook for 45 seconds, then turn them over and cook for another 30 seconds. Untangle the noodles carefully, then toss them together with the beef.
- Add Bean Sprouts: Add a big handful of bean sprouts, tossing everything for 1 minute or until the sauce has reduced enough to coat the noodles and the noodles are cooked through. Add more water if noodles need longer per packet instructions.
- Serve: Serve immediately, garnished with finely sliced green onion and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Use any brand or type of ramen or instant noodles, but avoid extra large packets as they might not fit in the pan. Breaking the noodles to fit is fine.
- Sesame oil can be toasted (brown color) or untoasted (yellow color). Toasted has a stronger flavor.
- Ground beef can be substituted with any other ground meat such as chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, or veal.
- Dark soy sauce has a richer flavor and deeper color; regular soy sauce may be used but will result in a lighter sauce color.
- Vegetarian oyster sauce is available and can be used as a substitute to make the recipe vegetarian.
- Mirin can be substituted with Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry. For a non-alcoholic option, use 1/2 cup water plus 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth and omit mirin.
- Total noodle cook time should follow package instructions; add extra water if noodles require longer cooking time.
- To scale up the recipe, use a larger skillet and break noodle cakes if necessary to fit.
- Using low sodium soy sauce reduces sodium by about 175 mg per serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
