Get your chopsticks ready!! With caramelised beef, a tangle of noodles, and a sweet-savoury 4 ingredient sauce, these Asian Beef Ramen Noodles are totally slurp-worthy and quick to make. It’s all cooked in one pan – no need to boil the noodles separately!
Also see: Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles and Asian Mushroom Ramen Noodles!
Caramelised Asian Beef Ramen Noodles recipe
I’ve previously shared stories where Dozer has been randomly recognised on the streets by readers (ah, it makes me proud!) and the odd occasion when I’ve been recognised. Always in a state of disarray. I am waiting for the time it happens when I just happen to be dolled up for an evening out.🤞🏼
Well, when 3 total strangers within the space of 2 weeks tell you that these Asian Beef Bowls are one of their favourites because it’s so tasty yet quick ‘n easy, it triggered a thought – why not do a ramen noodle version??
So the thought came to life.
That caramelised ground beef / mince is just da bomb! I just want to pick it all out!!! (Seriously, who talks like that at my age??🙄)
I hinted at a cheeky little tip that makes this ramen noodles recipe even quicker than you’d expect – and here it is:
How to make ramen noodles – in one pan!
Yes that’s right, these Asian Beef Ramen Noodles are made in ONE POT!!! Sure it saves on washing up an extra pot to cook the noodles separately, but for this recipe, the more important factor is that the starch in the noodles acts as the thickener for the sauce (which has no cornflour/cornstarch or other thickener).
So here’s how this recipe goes down – 4 minutes for the onion and beef, 2 to 3 minutes for the noodles, MAX!
Cook the beef with the sauce first – get it real nicely caramelised because it’s key to the flavour in this recipe;
Make a well in the centre, add water, plonk uncooked instant or ramen noodles in the water. This serves two purposes – making room for the noodles to sit in the water AND protects the beef from losing their caramelisation by boiling in the water;
After 45 seconds, turn the noodles, then 30 seconds later, they will be loose enough to toss through the sauce and beef;
Add a big handful of beansprouts (great no-chop veggie option!), toss more then serve;
By the time the ramen noodles are cooked, the liquid is absorbed / evaporated, leaving behind a nice coating of sauce on the perfectly cooked noodles.
The beauty of this technique is that it HAS to be a super quick recipe because the noodles are cooked in 2 to 3 minutes. Any longer and they become too soft!
What else can I add to these ramen noodles?
This is a very adaptable recipe. I’ve used onion, garlic, ground beef (mince) and beansprouts because it requires minimal chopping. Finely sliced cabbage would be an ideal substitute for the bean sprouts, otherwise carrots cut into matchsticks, baby spinach or even normal spinach, or even finely sliced kale. Toss these in when the bean sprouts are added, just to wilt.
If using other vegetables that need to be cooked for longer that leach water when cooked, such as peppers, zucchini or mushroom, cook these first then remove from the pan (otherwise they leach too much liquid when the noodles cook so you end up with too much water). Proceed with recipe then toss them in at the end.
Use ramen or instant noodles
I don’t know if you’ve got a hang up about instant noodles – whether from excess consumption in your uni days or because of health concerns – but let’s just say this recipe is a far cry from the plonk-in-water-add-veg that you probably overdosed on.
What I’m making the most of here in this recipe is the quick-cook noodles and the shape of the noodles cakes (flat) so they can be cooked in a shallow skillet.
Any instant noodles or ramen noodles will work just fine because we discard the soup seasoning mix. You can also buy just the noodle cakes (no seasoning) in larger packs of 5+.
If you don’t have instant noodles (or you really can’t get past your dorm days), these Asian Beef Ramen Noodles will work just fine with any other type of noodles. Dried or fresh, rice or wheat / egg noodles.
But honestly, I ask you – does this look like any instant ramen noodles you had in your dorm days?? 😉 – Nagi x
PS I put together a handy ground beef / beef mince recipe collection, for everybody who, like me, pops beef mince in their shopping cart every week!
Quick Asian ground beef ramen noodles
Watch how to make it
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Quick Asian Beef Ramen Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 packets ramen or other instant noodles , discard seasoning (Note 1)
- 1 tsp oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil (or more oil) (Note 2)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 onion , sliced
- 200g / 7oz beef mince (ground beef) (Note 3)
- 1 1/4 cups (315 ml) water, plus more as needed
- Big handful bean sprouts
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce (or Hoisin, Note 5)
- 2 tsp Hoisin sauce (or more Oyster sauce)
- 1 tbsp mirin (Note 6)
Garnishes (optional):
- Finely sliced green onion / shallots
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix Sauce.
- Sauté onion and garlic – Heat oils in a medium skillet over high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 1 1/2 minutes until starting to go golden.
- Cook beef – Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until it changes from pink to light brown.
- Caramelise beef – Add Sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until well caramelised (see video).
- Add water and noodles – Push beef to the side to make enough space for the noodles. Add water, place noodles in water.
- Cook ramen – Leave for 45 seconds then turn. Leave for 30 seconds, then untangle the noodles, then toss through the beef.
- Add beansprouts, toss for 1 minute or until sauce reduces to coat the noodles and the noodles are cooked. (Note 7)
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More noodle recipes
Chow Mein – reader fave!
Pad Thai and Pad See Ew – reader faves! 😂
Char Kway Teow – epic street hawker food
And the Ramen Noodle recipe collection
Caramelised Asian Mushroom Ramen Noodles – caramelised mushrooms tossed through ramen noodles in a sweet savoury Asian sauce
One Pot Chicken and Vegetable Ramen Noodles – loads of hidden veggies!
12 Minute Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles – super quick, using ground meat
Ramen Noodle Salad with Creamy Sesame Peanut Dressing – terrific for work lunchboxes
Chow Mein Ramen Noodles – the faster way to make Chow Mein
Life of Dozer
I’ve been trying to move him onto a paleo diet ie no commercial dog food. Currently experimenting to see what he will and won’t eat.
Raw sardines falls into the Won’t Eat bucket. 🙄
Made this the other night for a quick meal but used Pork Mince as that’s what I had. Once again did not disappoint and so easy. Yummo!
Tried this last Wednesday for dinner. Scary as it cooks so quickly but delish!! Two packs of noodles and I ate the lot!! Yum factor of 10/10 !!!
Great dish, tastes great and so easy to make
Amazing flavors. Cooked as directed with no changes. A definite go to on a busy night.
Perfect Lorraine!! N x
Hi, love all your recipes- batch cooking today and wondered if this would be suitable to freeze?
Thanks xx
Hi Amanda, yes you could freeze this however I’d leave the bean sprouts out. N x
I am so happy I found your website, Nagi. This recipe is so easy and tastes great. Instead of wondering what to cook for dinner for the thousandth time, I come to your website, collect recipes and ingredients and I am set for the week. You are an absolute angel. xx
This is so quick, easy, jam-packed with flavour and DELICIOUS. In South Africa I can’t find mirin so I simply used Pinotage and it was still delcious. Thank you!
Tried this and it is delicious. Substitute the beansprouts (not available around here) with shredded cabbage and added a bit of Sriracha sauce for a bit of heat. Also use medium cream sherry instead of Mirin (to expensive around here). A light sprinkling of lemon juice definitely added a bit of zing.
Cooked this last night and it turned out amazing! Really delicious. I only had shrimp on hand so I pan fried them beforehand and added them in later. I also added some red chili flakes when I was cooking the garlic + onions. I couldn’t find mirin but I used sherry cooking wine and it worked well! I love how fast this all came together. Thank you Nagi!
I just made his for the tenth (at least) time and it’s so, so good and so easy!! I add sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms and double the sauce. It always turns out great!! Thank you Nagi for creating this really wonderful dish and inspiring me to cook Asian recipes. Love from America! xx
Yum, sounds fantastic Victoria! N x
Wonderfully easy recipe. The substitute suggestions were especially helpful. Thank you!
Is there anyway to make this using tofu instead of meat? Mom has discovered the evils of meat, but loves Ramen.
It seems like there there should should be a way to do this with crumbled tofu of one type or another.
TIA. Mark.
Hi Marks, yes you could – I’d add it towards the end of the cook time to stir through. I think firm tofu would be best here. N x
Hello, can I use a pot instead of a shallow pan? I don’t think my pan is big enough for 3 servings. Thanks in advance!
Hi Chow – it’s better to use a pan with more surface area 🙂
I would not advise it. In a pot it will stew the beef and create a lot of moisture because of the high sides, which may stop the caramelisation process. I think you would have to reduce it down quite a bit if you cooked it in a pot. That does not say you can’t, just the results may differ from the Nagi way.. Like that, the Nagi way.
I tried it in a pan that was smaller than I should have used but it worked, just had to remove most of the beef when I first put in the noodles. Thanks Nagi and Whitney!
I would not advise it. In a pot it will stew the beef and create a lot of moisture because of the high sides, which may stop the caramelisation process. I think you would have to reduce it down quite a bit if you cooked it in a pot. That does not say you can’t, just the results may differ from the Nagi way.. Like that, the Nagi way. LOL
Quick and easy. Teens loved it. Even sent recipe to neighbor after her daughter tried it here.
I have been making this regularly since I discovered it on this site. It’s flavorful and super easy!
Thanks so much for the great feedback Marwah! N x
Forgot to rate on previous comment. Like all the recipes this is another hit and deserves 5 stars! So quick and easy and delicious.
Thank you Nagi for another simple and flavoursome meal! Your meals great for a beginner cook like me…was wondering if you ever get time …if you could put together a list of basic kitchen utensils and pans for the start up cook…cheers
Thanks so much! N x
So easy, so quick and sooo good! Family loved it.
I have made this recipe about 6 times now. I’ve made it for my sister in law and my granddaughter. Both loved it! I get everything ready and handy. It is so unbelievably quick, easy, and delicious. I like to have a lot of veggies so I have added a bag of shredded cabbage, water chestnuts, shredded carrots. When I do this I double the wonderful sauce. Tonight I added about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper for a spicy beef ramen, and it was soooo good. I’ve never ever written a recipe review but as I sit here munching this down I thought I had to comment! You can’t beat easy and delicious. I also always use grass fed beef. Try it! Enjoy it!
Silly question but is the water supposed to be hot when you add it?
Hi Brooke, no it doesn’t have to be hot – it should come to a simmer fairly quickly in the pan 🙂 N x
Thank you for clarifying Nagi, making this for the second time tonight x
I added warm water in the end. Wasn’t able to caramelise – think my pan wasn’t hot enough and saw the garlic still on the bench after we ate but it was delicious! 1 and 2 year olds really enjoyed it too, next time will increase meat and noodle content as we didn’t quite have enough for 2 adults 3 kids. Added broccoli and capsicum fried as first step and added at the end as suggested. So easy to prepare will definitely make again.
Hi, I took out most of the meat, added boiled water, waited to almost finsh and added the meat again. My pan was pretty hot, succes!
Thanks for replying!! I wasn’t that clear in my comment I had trouble getting the meat to caramelise at step 4 before adding the water but I like your suggestion of taking the meat out and adding it back in 🙂
Tried this yesterday, huge success!
We are with 5 and it took a little longer to caramelise, but I (or it) succeeded. Sorry if I misspelled, but your recipe reached The Netherlands. Thank you!