Miso Ramen

Last summer, we got hooked on Chrissy Tiegen’s Spicy Miso Pasta. (Have you had it yet? You should.) I’d never cooked with miso paste before and now had a small tub of it in our refrigerator, waiting for me to come up with a use for it.

Joey suggested miso soup, which we both love to order when we get sushi, but I was looking for something more filling. I wanted a miso soup that felt like a whole meal. I also didn’t want to work very hard. We always keep ramen in our pantry in case of extreme laziness - we’ve been known to dump some peas and carrots into the ramen pot and pretend that counts as eating our vegetables. So… miso ramen?

My miso ramen is adapted from this recipe by Sam at Ahead of Thyme. I loved her idea, but amped up the tomatoes and miso and pan-fried the chicken. The addition of a ramen packet to the otherwise homemade broth is a little low-brow but delicious. Don’t skip it! Taste for salt as you go; exactly how much you’ll need depends on if you’ve used broth or water.

I like the chicken as Sam made it, but this recipe is also a great use for leftover rotisserie or grilled chicken. We’ve also topped with carnitas (there is truly no end to the uses for carnitas).

For us, this usually makes 3 meal-sized servings. It’s best fresh, but we still fight over the leftovers!

A small note: this recipe is not aiming to be authentic. The goal here is more “let’s make this 25¢ packet of ramen into something really yummy.” Authentic ramen is a whole world of food. Read more here.

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Miso Ramen

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INGREDIENTS

Soup Base

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil or vegetable oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 large tomatoes, diced

• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced (4-6 cloves)

• 4 cups water or broth

• 1 teaspoon ginger paste

• 3 tablespoons light miso paste

• 1 packet ramen seasoning

• 3 packs ramen noodles

Chicken

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, left whole 

• 1 tsp each: salt, black pepper, sugar, soy sauce, cayenne pepper

Topping Options:

• Soft-boiled egg (boil egg for 6 minutes, then transfer to ice bath, peel, and slice in half)

• Grated carrots

• Sweet corn

• Scallions

DIRECTIONS:

Soup Base

1. In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add onion, tomato and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until tomatoes have softened, stirring regularly.

2. Add the ginger and water/broth and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the miso paste and ramen packet and dissolve into the soup. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Taste for salt and add more if needed.

4. Add 3 packets of ramen noodles directly to the soup base. When they’re cooked (2-3 minutes), remove from heat, and top with chicken and toppings.

Chicken

1. Add seasonings and chicken to a bowl. Mix, making sure the chicken is well-coated. Cover and place in the fridge; allow chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.

2. When ready, pan fry the chicken in an oiled pan over medium heat. Sear the chicken on one side before flipping. Keep flipping until golden and cooked through.

3. Remove chicken from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and topping ramen.

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