Quick Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
by Chungah
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This quick ramen noodle stir fry is so easy and budget-friendly using ramen noodles, ground beef and the most flavor-packed stir fry sauce!
Why you’ll love this quick ramen noodle stir fry
- Perfect for busy weeknights. Stir-fries are simply quick cooking meals. And this is the ultimate ultra-fast, weeknight-friendly dinner that requires no more than 30 minutes start to finish by using ground beef and instant ramen noodles.
- Highly customizable. This recipe can easily be adapted to mix in what you have on hand. For example, you can swap in ground turkey for the ground beef or use rice noodles in place of the ramen noodles to make it gluten-free. The possibilities are simply endless.
- Budget-friendly. You can essentially use up anything and everything in your fridge, transforming random veggies and proteins into the best clean-out-the-fridge meal.
How to make ramen noodle stir fry
- Cook the noodles. Cook the ramen noodles until al dente, rinsing with cold water to halt the cooking process.
- Prep the stir fry sauce. Combine the beef stock, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and Sriracha.
- Brown the meat. Crumble the ground beef with the onion in a large skillet over medium heat, draining off any excess fat and grease.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Deglaze the pan. Add the stir fry sauce, lifting up the browned bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the noodles. Stir in the al dente ramen noodles, tossing until evenly coated.
- Serve. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve warm.
Variations and substitutions
- Ramen noodles: substitute fresh lo mein, chow mein, Yaki-Soba or udon noodles
- Beef stock: substitute unsalted chicken stock
- Sriracha: omit for milder flavors
- Ground beef: substitute ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork
Tools For This Recipe
Quick Ramen Noodle Stir Fry: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Cook the ramen noodles just until al dente, then rinse with cold water to prevent the noodles from clumping and becoming gummy.
The seasoning packet included with the ramen noodles should be discarded as the recipe builds a more balanced, authentic stir-fry sauce with a few pantry staples.
Yes! You can substitute ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork. You can also try this recipe instead using boneless, skinless chicken.
Add quick-cooking vegetables such as broccoli, bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms and snap peas.
Always add the sauce towards the end of cooking time, allowing the sauce to thicken and create a glossy coat.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Quick Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
Video
Ingredients
- 2 (3.5-ounce) packages instant ramen noodles, flavor packets discarded
- ⅓ cup beef stock
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced sweet onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook ramen noodles until tender, about 3-4 minutes; rinse with cold water and drain well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together beef stock, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and Sriracha.
- Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and onion, and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in beef stock mixture, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir in ramen noodles until heated through and evenly coated in sauce, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Prep beforehand. This stir fry recipe comes together quickly. Have all the ingredients and sauce ready to go prior to cooking.
- Cook until al dente. Cook the ramen noodles just until al dente as they will continue to cook when stir-fried.
- Rinse noodles with cold water. This will stop the cooking process to tighten the starches and keep the noodles from clumping.
- Use lean ground beef. Opt for 90% or higher, preventing the dish from being overly greasy or oily.
- Make it mild. Omit the Sriracha for milder flavors, perfect for little ones and toddlers.
Did you make this recipe?
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Chungah,
Thank you for this recipe as it was terrific! I added cabbage and celery (merely to use it up) and given it’s really hot today, it was a fast dish to turn out. This will be in our regular rotation, regardless of the weather! Cheers!
Today I made this for the third time and thought I should leave a review. I used chicken stock instead of beef stock since that’s what I had. I also added a tbsp soy sauce to my taste. Tossed some sautéed carrots at the end along with green onions, sesame and black sesame seeds. It’s super delicious, my husband also loved it and asked me to make it again.
We love hearing that! Thanks so much for sharing, Esra!
Not my first rodeo – I’ve made this before <3. My husband and 1.5 year old son loved this. Rave reviews. Didn’t deviate from the recipe one bit. Thanks for another banger!
One of my favorites, double the sauce. Stir fry some veggies, cook some noodles. Mix all together. It’s the best noodle dish. We love it
If you don’t like oyster sauce, what can you substitute? This looks delicious, but my husband won’t eat it.
Can you make this with spaghetti noodles instead of the ramen noodles?
Sure. I interchange them all of the time.
Can I leave out oyster sauce?
Any tips if I have a seafood allergy and can’t do oyster or fish sauce?
Probably hoisin sauce or soy sauce
Is there a good substitute if you can’t have oyster or fish sauce? Thank you!
Fast. Easy. Delicious.
Absolute winner in my house.
Thank you for this recipe that made our day.
Outstanding, and so easy to make!! I made this exactly as written, using rotisserie chicken. Will double the sauce next time (..and there will be a next time). Thanks again, Chungah and team!
I’m really enjoying your recipes, and this is another one I’ll be adding to our family meal rotation! Love how quick and easy it was to throw together.
Looking forward to trying additional new recipes. Thanks so much for sharing!
This was better than I expected. I hadn’t made Asian dish with ground beef before and I’ve made a lot of Asian dishes. I debated skipping the fresh ginger because my dinner was running late. I’m glad I did not. It really made the meal, in my opinion. Next time I’ll cook the Ramen about two minutes instead of three. They were a little more soggy than I’d like, but still overall a very tasty recipe.
Very tasty and quick recipe. Took to make it fresh at girls lunch everyone liked the flavors. Added red, orange peppers, celery, onion, after cooking beef for additional crunch. Topped serving with peanuts and sweet.mild chilli sauce. Yumm!
Great recipie. I will definitely try it gain with some minor changes. I added some carrots and zucchini for a healthier versions and Added some soy sauce. It was a great dinner.
Very good! Added lots of veggies- red and yellow bell pepper, zucchini, onion,carrot,broccoli. A little red pepper flakes for subtle heat. Was a little on the salty side. I read someone else added honey and I think I’ll try that next time. A little sweet to offset the salt. Still Damn Delicious!
Super delicious and super easy.
Ramen noodle stir fry is a great tasting dish. I made this dish several times and always enjoyed it Easy and fast.
100% better than any takeout!!!
I forgot to add…I double the noodles and sauce but keep the beef to 1 lb. just to stretch the meal for 5 of us