Spicy Chicken Ramen

A hot soup is perfect for a chilly afternoon or a dreary evening, and doubly so if the soup is a spicy ramen. This ramen has loads of chicken and noodles in a creamy broth made with chili paste and peanut butter.

Like a lot of households out there, we try to plan out a weekly menu and stick to it. Planning things means we won’t be going home every night trying to decide what we’re having for dinner, nor are we going to the store every few days and buying a few miscellaneous ingredients. Weekends, however, are a different story. Many times, we don’t have a solid weekend menu in place until midweek at the earliest. However, last week the Beard declared “I want ramen,” and thus ramen was had.

We like soup.

Soups are something that we both enjoy cooking. Like salads, they’re usually quick and easily made, and in most cases we use whatever we have on hand. We almost always have a couple of cartons of chicken stock in the pantry, and toss in some form of carbs and whatever leftover meats and veggies may be in the kitchen. With some kitchen magic, you have soup. Sometimes, there’s enough leftover for another night, making planning the weekly menu even easier.

Ramen is a favorite

We’ve made a variety of meals in bowls over the time we’ve been sharing our recipes here. If seafood is your thing, there’s been chowder and some seafood gumbo. For some Asian influence, we’ve shared a Thai curry, and a really tasty pho. We’ve made some fantastic white chicken chili and tomato soup. Even after all those experiments, The Beard is especially fond of ramen bowls.

Loaded with noodles and meat, we each can customize what goodies go into our ramen bowls, making them as broth-y or spicy as we like. In this recipe, we get the best of everything: spice, long noodles, meat, and a great broth to hold everything together.

Ramen is much more than just a brick of noodles that comes with a packet of straight up sodium. Even if you keep the brick of noodles and use packaged broth, you’re looking at a tenfold improvement over following the package directions. The addition of veggies, meats, and actual spices takes that buy-one-get-10-free ramen pack above and beyond dorm food.

Making this your own

One of the bonuses of making your ramen bowl your own is the ability to customize things to your own dietary needs.

For this ramen bowl, we used chicken sausage to eliminate some of the grease that would come with pork or beef. As a vegetarian option, crumbled tofu could be used instead of ground meat, and switch to a vegetable broth. Likewise, the spice can be adjusted by using more or less chili paste and chili oil. For a bit of added texture, use chunky peanut butter instead of creamy.

Make it yours, and enjoy!

Have you given this recipe a try, or do you have an idea of what could be improved?  Leave us a comment below!  We’d love to hear from you!

– Tart & Beard

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Spicy Chicken Ramen

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken sausage removed from casing
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp ginger fresh
• 3 chili paste
• 3 1/2 tbsps peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tsps sugar
• 2 blocks dry ramen noodles
• 1 tbsp chili oil plus more for drizzling
• chopped green onion optional

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine chili paste, garlic, ginger, and peanut butter.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of chili oil in a pot or saucepan, then add the chicken and brown.  Add the peanut butter and paste mixture to the chicken and saute until browned, about 2 minutes, then stir in the vinegar and deglaze your pan.  Add the chicken stock to the meat, cover, and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.

3. While you wait for the broth and meat to come to a simmer, bring another pot of water up to a boil.  Prepare your noodles per package instructions.  Strain your noodles and divide into two bowls, then add meat and broth.  Top with chopped green onion and a drizzle of chili oil if desired.

The Tart

The Tart likes to eat, cook, and bake things.  She eats to work out, and she works out to be able to eat.