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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This recipe was very easy and quick to make. My 3 kids loved it! My son said “mom you get an A+ for this dish!” Thank you for coming up with these recipes and sharing them. We live busy lives, and kids take up a LOT of time. These quick and easy recipes are MUCH appreciated!
We love that, Caroline! It’s so great to hear that you and your family are enjoying these recipes. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I just love this recipe!! I grew up on Top Ramen and it became very boring and not very filling either. Something like this would be an easy to do, cheap meal for anyone!! Thanks so much!!!
How important is the oyster sauce? Would it taste alright without it?
Most people use reduced sodium soy sauce as an oyster sauce substitute. You can also add half a teaspoon of sugar to the soy sauce, if you wish. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Nobody liked it. More for me, though! Definitely a different flavor than we’re used to. (Maybe I did something wrong? Idk)
Very quick, easy and delicious. But use a low sodium soy.
I made this tonight for my family and it was so yummy, everyone came back for seconds!! I added fresh coriander with the green onions and sesame seeds at the end, Perfect!! I love your recipes and have been making them for a long time, everyone has been a winner, thank you Chungah 🙂
You are so welcome, Janet! We’re so glad your family enjoyed it so much!
I make a chow mein with similar ingredients (oyster sauce FTW) so I thought this looked good and it was! I added some chopped bok choy for a little veg content. Also I think next time I’ll break up the ramen so the noodles are shorter…with long noodles it’s hard to get it well combined.
Such a great and easy-to-make recipe. We substituted the regular ramen with millet and brown rice ramen and it turned out amazing.
Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, Ashley!
I have just discovered this recipe and can not wait to cook it. It sounds so yum abd easy to put togethet
This came through just on time – I unexpectedly ended up having two grandchild to feed last night and stir fried ramen popped into my mailbox. Thank you, they ate a full dinner and then asked to take home the rest. These are “Chicken nugget” and “Mac & Cheese” kids, so this is now a keeper.
Glad we came through just in time! 🙂
I made this around evening time for my family and it was so yummy, everybody returned for quite a long time!! I added new coriander with the green onions and sesame seeds toward the end, Perfect!! I love your plans and have been making them for quite a while, everybody has been a champ, thank you Chungah