Ramen gets a a spicy makeover! This flavor-packed, stir-fried kimchi ramen bowl is loaded with pan-fried tofu, crunchy peanuts and hot chili paste.
I love it when people give me ideas on what to blog. Seriously, I owe my boyfriend big time, because he’s the one that really got me started. He was excited to be dating a vegetarian cook, and frequently presented me with kitchen challenges, which I was always thrilled to take him up on. I got carried away with the kitchen challenges and eventually started blogging them, and here I am today, blogging, and a few of you are actually reading. :)
I still get ideas from my boyfriend. I get ideas from other people as well. I had some friends over for brunch a few weeks ago and threw it out there to them that I was happy to take requests. What I got was more like a bunch of ideas, many of which were ingredient-focused ideas, and the two ingredients I repeatedly heard were kimchi and ramen. Fine with me. I combined the two.
Let’s talk about the ramen part of this dish. I just realized ramen and I have come full circle. I ate ramen growing up. Actually, somewhere around the age of ten, a friend taught me to crush up the noodles, uncooked, mix the seasoning packet right in, and eat the mixture out of the bag. When I was a little older I started cooking the stuff, because it’s cheap, but also because it takes three minutes! I’m not proud of either of those phases, and at some point in my teens I dismissed the stuff altogether. It wasn’t cool anymore.
Ramen and I are back together and this dish is our reunion tour. Unlike NKOTBSB however, we’re better than ever.
Getting serious. This dish kimchi ramen is almost as easy as throwing your noodles into a pot for three minutes. There’s just a few more steps, and the awesome thing about kimchi is that all your garlic, ginger and spicy yumminess is packed into one jar of fermented goodness. If you want to go super lazy on this dish, you can skip cooking the tofu, or skip the tofu altogether. It might be a little carby that way, but it’s not like it wasn’t when I ate it as a kid. This dish is delicious. The deliciousness to work ratio is like, infinity. Thanks friends, for making the suggestion.
Incidentally, I’m always taking suggestions. I aim to please, so never hesitate to email or comment on anything you’d like to see on this blog. Well, okay, not steak, but if I did get that request I’d probably make a portobello steak. So maybe steak’s fine.
Stir-Fried Kimchi Ramen with Tofu and Peanuts
Ingredients
- 8 oz. package ramen noodles
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. Asian chili paste or to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil divided
- 1 lb. extra firm tofu pressed for at least 20 minutes and cut into 1-2 inch cubes or triangles.
- 2 cups kimchi vegan store bought or homemade, sliced into thin strips, juice reserved
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
- 2 scallions sliced
Instructions
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Prepare ramen noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
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Whisk soy sauce, vinegar and chili paste together in small bowl.
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Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook until browned on top and bottom sides, about 5 minutes per side.
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Remove tofu from skillet and transfer to plate.
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Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to skillet. Add kimchi and stir-fry for 1 minute.
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Add ramen, any reserved kimchi juice, and half of soy sauce mixture to skillet. Stir-fry unit noodles begin to crisp up and brown in spots, about 3-4 minutes. You may want to use a fork to toss the noodles during stir frying.
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Add remaining soy sauce mixture. Stir to blend and remove from heat.
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Divide onto plates or bowls and top with peanuts and scallions.
Oh yum, this looks s great. I love ramen.
Thanks Jojo! I do too – I forgot just how good it is :)
Ummm, yes, yes, yes!! I need this in ma belly, like now. It looks perfect for fall in Vancouver. Also, I’m kitchen-lazy, so easy, is good. Thanks!!
Thank you!! It really is great for fall! And sooooo easy. :)
Sooooo I’ve never had kimchi. Womp womp! What does it taste like? Is it spicy?
Yup, spicy and sour! My boyfriend described it as “spicy exotic sauerkraut.” If you’re into spicy food you should definitely give it a try – just be careful and read the ingredients in any store-bought variety – sometimes they contain fish sauce.
This looks so, so amazing!
Thanks Claudia!!
Wow, all my favorites in one bowl: kimchi, tofu, ramen and peanuts with a yummy dose of sriracha!
Can’t go wrong with that.
Haha, yeah – I think that’s part of how I ended up with this dish…decided to see what would happen if I threw all my favorites together :)
I was wondering if a meat-free lintel gumbo would be a possibility? I love cajun flavor but don’t favor the shrimp, chicken, etc. I thought lentils could make a great protein substitute though! Any thoughts?
I actually have a recipe on the site for sweet potato gumbo. It was delicious – here’s a link if you want to check it out:
https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/2014/12/sweet-potato-vegan-gumbo.html
It also has some red beans in it, but I think cooked lentils would work well as a sub for the beans. :)
Just made this with the kimchi I’ve had sitting around foreverr to afraid to use. Luckily I was in good hands–this is delicious! I didn’t use all of the soy sauce mixture, though, out of fear it’d be too salty–maybe a result of different kimchis?
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it! Dishes like this are actually my favorite way of using kimchi that’s been hanging around for a long time. :)
another option besides Ramen noodles would be Udon or Hokkein noodles or similar, rice noodles or Soba buckwheat noodles.. they don’t take long to prepare, the Udon & Hokkein by Ra-Me take even less time than Ramen… YUM!
I’d love to see a portobello steak recipe!