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. 🙄
Sooo good, and so easy to make with all ingredients that are in my pantry/fridge all the time!
This is delicious – and I have a back story for it. 20+ years ago as a single parent, there were some weeks when things were lean and a cheap meal to satisfy my 3 sons was ramen noodles and mince. It became known as ‘poor peoples dinner’ in our house because we ate it when we were ‘poor’. We all really liked it but stopped eating it when we didn’t need to. WELL, I found this recipe and whipped it up for dinner tonight. My youngest son rang his brother who lives in another state to tell him we were having ‘poor peoples dinner’ and it was SO GOOD.
Anyway, this has a different flavour profile to the one I made, but boy oh boy is this good…so good in fact that I have been asked to make it every week, AND at Christmas when the family all gets together. What a winner!
OMG – this is such a delicious addition to our weekly rotation of meals. It is seldom that every single person in the household loved it. I loaded it full of vege’s (finely chopped) zucchini, carrot, cabbage as I had no bean sprouts, Super delicious. I did double the recipe.
Should I drain the grease before I add the sauce?
I love this dish and it has become a regular in my house. I add bok choy, broccoli, chilli and grated carrot.
Great recipe that can serve as a base for any on hand veggies.
I made it tonight as written, but will add more veggies as others suggested. Some fresh ginger might really enhance the flavor! I ate mine with chili garlic sauce sold in US.
Just made this tonight as a last-minute dinner plan and we’re SO pleased with it! My boyfriend added a blob of sriracha to his, whereas I’m happy to have mine as-is. But we’re both in agreement that we’re adding this to our dinner rotation, and I’m the winter we’ll add either a fried egg or a soft-boiled egg on top!
Great recipe that can serve as a base for any on hand veggies.
I made it tonight as written, but will add more veggies as others suggested. Some fresh ginger might really enhance the flavor! I ate mine with chili garlic sauce sold in US.
Absolutely love this recipe! I doubled it, added red capsicum finely sliced, chilli flakes, coriander, and crushed nuts. LOVED it! Have frozen portions for work lunches/ dinners. Highly recommend adding this to your menu!
SOOOO Delicious! Nagi to the rescue again! I used ground elk, doubled the sauce and added fresh asian veggie mix from Trader Joes. Husband loved it with siracha. Will make it again and again. Thanks for another yummy recipe! Obsessed with your site and cookbook!!! Love from Arizona.
So easy and so delicious. Can’t count how many times I’ve made this!
Love this! Added chilli crisp oil and used coleslaw mix instead of bean sprouts because that’s what was in my fridge!
Great idea Laura! I just tried it for my first time, but I love the cabbage substitute!
Will try it next time that way.
This was such a fast and easy dish. I scaled back and used 3 oz. of ground beef, one 3 oz. packet of ramen, garlic powder and dried minced onion. I did not scale down the sauce as I know I like things saucy. I didn’t have dark soy, but Kikkoman worked fine. I started with a little water and added as I needed to cook the ramen. This was very tasty. I’d make it again, but I’d cut the beef down to 2 oz. next time as it was very meat heavy with only 3 oz. of ramen. I didn’t have bean sprouts, but it was fine anyway. Thanks for a great recipe! I’ll make this again.
This was a very tasty and simple meal did not disappoint. Great week night meal after a long day. Will definitely be making this again. Thankyou Naji!
I enjoyed this. As a single person I package the ground beef I buy in 1/2# pkgs. This was perfect for that. I would add garlic chili paste to the sauce next time though. It makes a lot of noodles! I did have to cover the skillet and cook the ramen longer to get the noodles to soften enough to detangle. I’ve had the pkgs a while – do ramen noodles get old? I thought they were one of those foods that last forever….
This is an, easy recipe – it’s not really flavourful but it is tasty and quite moreish. I added a teaspoon of Chinese five spice during the frying stage and kept the mince browning until it was quite dark in colour. I didn’t have mirin so I used cider vinegar with a teaspoon of honey. I topped with coriander at the end – personal preference for this flavour.
Nagi – this recipe has entered into our weekly menu plan. All 4 of us LOVE it. It is super quick but does get a bit long as I have to make 3 batches – 1 for teenage son, 1 for hubby and 1 split between my daughter and myself :-). More of a me problem isn’t that. We also love it reheated with a fried egg on top. You are my first stop for menu planning and you never disappoint!! Thank you Nagi.
Thank you Nagi for this recipe. We don’t get paid till tomorrow and I needed to feed 5 people and all I had sitting on the bench was some defrosted meat and no idea. This recipe is such a great recipe for everything you have in your pantry and needing something quick.
It tasted amazing and the kids have requested it again even my 4 year old was a big fan although did ask if I could add chilli oil which I did
A family favourite and as stated was quick, tasty and so easy. I doubled the whole recipe and added Stalk and florets of broccoli and 1/2 small cabbage at the end of adding sauce to browned meat. Came together quickly in my wok with 3 pkts ramen noodles and boiled water. Definitely gave us all 2 bowls each to savour. Solid recipe that you need to try ❤️❤️
Try quick and tasty. I cooked the dish as directed it listened to the people who said more veg: I sautéed a bag of Asian chopped salad (I had it on hand and it contains cabbage and shredded carrot) in a separate pan and added it at the end. It was great and I did that simultaneously so it didn’t take any longer.
626 calories per serving is NOT my idea of a low calorie meal.
Can you point out in the post that this is a low calorie meal? I must have missed it. Once a recipe includes pasta or rice, it’s likely to have a lot of calories, so one has a choice to move on as they know this isn’t for them instead of griping that it isn’t a low calorie meal. Get real!
I scaled up the recipe in my first attempt today and it was quick to prepare and so tasty! I had to adjust the water for the ramen as the recipe did not include a specific weight for the noodles, compared to those sold in the US. Another winner, Nagi, many thanks!