Did you know that you can make ramen at home out of the spaghetti noodles that you probably already have in your pantry? Well I didn’t either until recently, but all it takes is a little baking soda added to your cooking water.
Why baking soda? Well, when Chinese lamian, or Japanese ramen noodles are made, they use a substance called kansui which is essentially potassium carbonate. Added to the noodle dough, it gives the finished ramen that signature eggy, slightly sulfurous smell, along with a more yellowish color, and a specific chew that only ramen noodles have.
Now, since most people don’t have kansui laying about in their cupboard, we’re going to use the next best thing — baking soda — which will give us similar results to the kansui.
For this recipe I’ve made shoyu, or soy sauce ramen, but you could just as well make miso ramen or any other flavor you desire.
We’ll start by creating an aroma oil which is basically a flavored oil similar to what you would find in the flavor packets that come with instant ramens. This aroma oil will be a scallion ginger oil — just make sure to use a neutral-flavored oil, like a grapeseed or canola, not something strong or overpowering like a sesame.
Final note — don’t forget to chop up lots of green onions to sprinkle over your finished soup!
10-Minute Shoyu Ramen
Equipment
- saucepan
- stove top
Ingredients
- 5 oz. thin spaghetti or angel hair, spaghetti
- 4 C. water
- 1 tbsp. baking soda
Aroma Oil
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. ginger cut into matchsticks
- 1 tbsp. green onions finely sliced
Tare
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp. mirin
- 1/4 tsp. MSG
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
Soup Base
- 1 tsp. instant dashi powder I like Hondashi.
- 1 tsp. chicken broth powder
- 2 C. water boiling
Toppings
- 1 tbsp. green onions finely sliced
- nori sheets optional
- 1 egg soft-boiled, optional
Instructions
Noodles
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the baking soda. Add the pasta and simmer according to package directions plus 2 additional minutes.
- Strain the noodles.
Aroma Oil
- Add vegetable oil to a small saucepan or skillet. Add the ginger and green onions. Reduce the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Strain the oil to remove the ginger and green onions. Set aside.
Tare
- In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, mirin, MSG, salt, and sugar. Stir until dissolved.
Soup
- Add the dashi powder and chicken stock powder to a large bowl. Add the boiling water and mix until dissolved.
- Add 1 tablespoon of tare and 1 tablespoon of aroma oil to soup. Mix well.
- Add the noodles, top with finely sliced green onions, egg, and nori.
Made for dinner tonight and it was well received. Added spinach and boiled eggs. Will make again.
I am def going to try this out! Do you have a good oil/broth to make it kimchi or spicy style “ramen”?
I had heard of this spaghetti to ramen truck before but the quick tare and aroma oil convinced me to give this recipe a try. I thought it was fantastic!! Can’t wait to try serving this to friends. Next time I’ll check my noddles as they cook so I don’t overdo them. Overall great recipe!!
I want to preface this by saying i didn’t have the whole bulk of ingredients, that being said i followed the recipe using what i had and it turned out SO GOOD. Can’t wait to make it again having all the ingredients as this was already delicious.
In this recipe I make two versions, both of them having the yeasted dough around the hot dog, one with little cubes of potatoes, and the other with panko.