Cheesy Kimchi Ramen
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Soup
- 10 ml neutral oil rounded
- 150 g well-fermented kimchi, roughly chopped rounded
- 30 ml kimchi juice rounded
- 500 ml water or light stock rounded
- 10 g gochugaru (optional) rounded
- 1 instant ramyeon noodle block, seasoning packet reserved rounded
Toppings
- 1 slice of American or mild melting cheese rounded
- 15 g scallion, thinly sliced rounded
Method
Method
- Heat the oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add the kimchi and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until it smells deeply savoury and starts to catch slightly at the edges.
- Add the kimchi juice, water and gochugaru if using. Bring to a boil.
- Add the noodle block and about half the seasoning packet, to taste. Cook according to the package instructions, until the noodles are tender.
- Remove from the heat. Lay the cheese slice over the top of the noodles.
- Cover the pot and let sit off the heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted.
- Scatter with scallion and serve straight from the pot.
Notes
- Fry the kimchi in oil before any liquid goes in, and use kimchi that’s properly sour. Well-fermented kimchi cooked this way turns deep and savoury; fresh, mild kimchi tastes flat and raw no matter how long it simmers, since the sourness is where the real flavour comes from.
- Use only as much of the seasoning packet as you need. The kimchi and its juice already carry a lot of salt and flavour; the full packet on top often oversalts the broth.
- Melt the cheese off the heat, under a lid. A slice melted this way spreads into a smooth, even layer; cheese added to a still-boiling pot or stirred in tends to break and clump instead.
- This comes together fast, in one pot, and is meant to be eaten straight from it while it’s hot.
Ingredient substitutions
- Shredded mozzarella works in place of a cheese slice, though it melts a little less evenly.
- A soft-boiled egg or a raw egg cracked in at the end, off the heat, is a common addition.
- Spam or tofu, added with the kimchi, turns this into a heartier meal.