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This Easy Chicken Ramen can be made at home in about 30 minutes! A flavorful broth with chicken and noodles, and don’t forget the ramen egg!
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Let’s talk about ramen. And I’m not talking about the ten for a dollar packs beloved by college students the world around. I’m talking about the good stuff. It has been all the rage for quite a few years, but for some reason I had never bothered to get myself to a ramen house for a bowl until recently when my cousins invited me to try it with them. I had a feeling I would love it and I was not wrong.
A bowl of ramen is a total flavor bomb, filled with a rich, flavorful broth, tender meat, noodles, and topped with the crowning glory if you ask for it – the ramen egg. And there is a reason that ramen is so flavorful. It is pretty time-consuming to make a broth that complex. I have been craving ramen prettty much every day since the first time I had it, but there isn’t a restaurant convenient to my house that serves it. I thought about embarking on the task of making my own real, authentic ramen, but after reading a few recipes I decided that was best left for another time. What I really wanted was to be able to whip up a super flavorful soup but in not very much time. Oh, and I still wanted that ramen egg, it is EVERYTHING.
So, this is not an authentic ramen recipe. But it is a bowl full of flavor, and you can make it in about 30 minutes. Also I have made it four times in the past few weeks, soooo, I’ve been eating A LOT of it and am not sick of it yet.
This Easy Chicken Ramen is a bowl full of flavor, and you can make it in about 30 minutes.
I learned a few things while making this recipe, and the most important one is about the noodles. I used fresh yakisoba noodles because I wanted that fresh noodle texture. But here is the thing. You can’t just cook the noodles in the broth and call it good. I really wanted to cook them in the soup because that makes sense and I didn’t want an extra step of cooking noodles separately. But the problem is that if you cook the noodles in the soup, they release a bunch of starch which thickens up the broth AND they start sucking up all the liquid in the soup. Then you are left with a bunch of soggy noodles and a soup with hardly any broth. It is not good. I mean, it isn’t bad. I still ate it. But it isn’t ideal Plus, if you reheat the leftovers the noodles pretty much dissolve. Nope, best to just cook the noodles separately , then serve them individually and pour the soup over them. Bonus points: You are totally in control of your noodle portion. Lots or just a few, it is your choice.
And let’s talk about the ramen egg. I now have an INSTANT POT RAMEN EGG RECIPE on the blog! For stovetop directions, I followed the instructions over at Just One Cookbook – except I subbed rice vinegar for mirin because that is what I keep on hand. I marinated them overnight and then just reheated them in soup. If you can’t be bothered with the marinating, you can just make a soft boiled egg and skip the marinating. Or even use a poached or fried egg! But really, I do recommend using an egg, it just takes the whole thing up another level. And if you happen to have the time to make the eggs the night before and marinate them, it is really good.
If you have an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker, I have a recipe for the Ramen Egg in the Instant Pot HERE. You may also like my recipe for easy chicken ramen in the instant pot – see that recipe HERE.
Easy Chicken Ramen
Ingredients
For The Soup:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
- 4 garlic cloves pressed or finely minced
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems removed and sliced
- 1/2 - 3/4 pounds baby bok choy sliced into quarters lengthwise
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 packages fresh yakisoba noodles* one package is about 7 ounces. Use two packages if you like lots of noodles. Fresh noodles are usually found in the produce section of the grocery store
For The Ramen Egg**
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
Additional Toppings (Optional)
- sliced green onion
- cilantro
- chili garlic sauce
- sesame seeds
- lime wedges
Instructions
To Prepare The Ramen Egg:
- Whisk together the 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of rice vinegar and 3/4 cup water, set aside.
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl with ice and water.
- Bring a pot of water to boil (make sure there is enough water to cover the eggs). When boiling, carefully lower the eggs into the water using a slotted spoon or spider. Reduce heat if necessary to keep the water just barely boiling. Cook for 7 minutes, then remove from pot and place eggs in the ice bath. Leave in the ice bath for 3 minutes. Remove from ice bath and gently peel (egg will be soft). Place peeled eggs in the marinade and make sure they are completely covered with the marinade. Leave in the marinade for several hours or overnight. If keeping longer, discard the marinade and store in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat the egg in the ramen broth (don't leave in the broth very long before serving or the egg will overcook).
To Prepare The Noodles:
- If using fresh noodles:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add the noodles and simmer for 3 minutes. Strain and rinse with cold water. Toss with just a little oil if necessary to keep them from sticking (mine already had a little oil on them, so I didn't need to). Set aside.
- (If using another type of noodle, follow package instructions)
To Prepare The Soup:
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant so that they don't burn. Add the chicken broth and 1 cup of water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, stir to combine. Bring back to a simmer.
- When broth reaches a simmer, add the chicken thighs. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and reaches a temperature of 165°F.
- Remove the chicken and shred it with two forks. Add it back to the broth along with the bok choy and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
To Serve The Ramen:
- In a bowl, place a serving of noodles, then pour the soup over them. Top soup with ramen egg, sliced green onions, cilantro and sesame seeds if desired.
Video
Notes
**The egg is optional but I really recommend it. If you don't have time to marinade the egg, you can just skip the marinading step. You can also serve with a fried or poached egg if you prefer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*NOTES: Many readers love the broth as is. However, some people find it too salty. This may depend on the brand of ingredients being used and personal taste. If you find the broth is too salty for your taste, add 1-2 cups of water to the broth.
Ramen Egg adapted from Just One Cookbook
HELPFUL EQUIPMENT: Dutch Oven
Yum! Seriously restaurant quality! Will definitely make this again! My whole family loved it.
Yay! So happy to hear that Carlin!
I’ve made this now several times and this recipe is so good!!! I personally prefer to switch out the oyster sauce with hoisin.
SO happy you love it Clint! That sounds like a great sub!
Seriously LOVED this recipe! The bok choy at my store looked sad so I had to sub spinach but it was still amazing! Will def be making again
So happy you loved it!
YA’LL. This ramen is SO GOOD. The egg was perfect, the broth was perfect, the chicken and veggies were perfect. Only changes were I couldn’t find baby bok choy so I just chopped up the full size one instead and used chicken breast instead of chicken thigh. Will definitely be making this again.
Hi Sydney – Yay! So happy you loved it!
This recipe was incredibly delicious! My girlfriends and husband were raving!!!! The flavor is incredible! One of my friends described it as “restaurant quality” which was made me super proud. Ramen egg turned out perfect! (Only messed up one!) I will say that for me, it wasn’t exactly “easy” which is likely due to using so many new and different ingredients and maybe overthinking it. Will definitely be making this again. Hopefully it will get easier for me with practice.
Hi Jacqueline – Yay! I am so happy it was a hit! I think part of the reason I called this “easy” is it is supposed to be easier than a traditional ramen recipe, which can take several days to make! But I bet this recipe will get easier each time you make it! Thanks for your comment!
OMG I made this tonight and it was AMAZING!! I was so so impressed with this recipe. I used low sodium broth and soy sauce. I did not have any rice vinegar so I used a little apple cider vinegar instead. Didnt have time to marinate the egg but will try that next time. Also added some matchstick carrots. So so yummy! I will make this again.
Yay! So happy to hear that Krizia!
Thank you for the recipe! I doubled the liquid soup ingredients and it didn’t dilute the flavor at all. I also let the extra piece of ginger root simmer in the soup for a bit. Definitely make sure to use low sodium soy sauce and broth as the recipe calls for it or will be too salty (I accidentally used regular broth, had to add a cup of water, flavor was still full!) I think next time I’ll also double the chicken. So delicious and I’m so proud of my eggs!
Yay! I’m so happy you loved it Tiana!
My husband and I loved this recipe. We didn’t make the egg because I have an egg intolerance, but it was still very flavorful. We will definitely make this again.
Hi Heather – I’m so happy you loved it!
This was amazing! Honestly I use all recipes as a guide, I don’t measure anything. But you have all the right ingredients listed to make a broth that is perfect for ramen. I tripled it as I was serving 8+ and everyone raved over it!
So happy to hear that!
Just wanted to stop by and let you know how much I enjoyed your ramen! It was easy enough to make for myself while Mark was in Boston… That’s saying something because I’m not highly motivated to cook when it’s just me. Love it! Now I’ll need to make it for Mark 😉
Yay! So happy to hear that, thank you Tamera!
Hello Meghan, for the garlic/chilli sauce, do you think I could use sriracha? Or should I buy the huy fong one you suggested. Thank you 🙂
Hi! I think sriracha would be fine 🙂
Hi Meghan, what kind of garlic spicy sauce you used for this recipe?
Hi Alfiya, I use Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce.
I’m not that great of a cook so naturally I was shocked at how good this turned out. I’ve made it three times since and it’s amazing and flavorful every time. So easy! A magical recipie for anyone including beginner chefs like me.
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that. So glad you loved it!
OMG….My husband says this is the best thing I have cooked for him in AGES. Well that’s a big compliment…cause he is a great cook. My picky 16 yr old even said …”Hey that was good you can make it again any time”. Also a big thing …..I cut back on the soy a bit and didn’t get to marinate the eggs. The egg is critical…and fantastic just regular…look forward to marinating next time. So glad I found this recipe….THANKS…Susan.
Hi Susan, Yay! I’m so happy you and your family loved it! Thanks for your comment!
This was not that good, we threw 1/2 of it away and made grilled cheese. Heavy vinegar flavor; if I was to make this again I would use way less or no rice vinegar.
Sorry you didn’t like it! As you can see from the other reviews, most people love the flavor, but not every recipe is for every person. What kind of vinegar did you use?
I made this tonight and WOW! DELICIOUS! my 9 year old daughters and husband wolfed it down! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Alisa – Yay! So glad you and your family loved it!
Hi there, is there anyway to replace pork in this recipe? I don’t mean charshu because that’s just too hard to make 🙂
Hi Nicole – I haven’t made it with pork, but I think it would be easy to swap the chicken out for pork! Let me know if you try it!
I made this tonight for 11 people. I quadrupled the recipe. I have seven kids aged 8 to 21, my mom came over, and my daughter’s boyfriend. Everyone loved it! Thank you for a new winner in my dinner rotation!
Hi Rose, I am so glad to hear that it was a hit! That is great to know that the recipe is easy to multiply!
Ooops I meant to put 5 stars on my previous review.
Thank you!
I made this tonight because I was craving ramen and my husband wanted pizza. He got his pizza however was bummed not waiting for this delicious ramen. I used portobello mushrooms, added carrots and used the brown millet ramen and this came out so great. This is the best recipe EVER. I’m difently making again and again. It’s a must try if you love ramen
Yay! So happy you like it Heather!