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Quick and simple 30 Minute Caramelized Shallot Beef Ramen Noodles. For those nights when you’re craving spicy Asian inspired noodles, but just can’t make it out to your favorite spot in town. Crispy caramelized beef, chicken, or pork, tossed in a sweet, spicy, and tangy honey soy sauce, mixed together with brown rice ramen noodles, shallots, garlic, and a little butter too. Not only are these noodles delicious, they’re also made easily, using pantry ingredients and frozen meet, and ready to eat in 30 minutes. Oh, and did I mention that these quick-cooking noodles can easily be made vegetarian? Yep, perfect weeknight cooking for all!
Ok, so I know these noodles have some color going on. And I know that produce is a little hard to come by these days, but please do hear me out. These ramen noodles are the pantry staple recipe we all are looking for right now.
For one, how many of you have at least a few bags of Ramen on hand (brown rice ramen is my favorite)? And if not ramen, how many of you have some kind of noodle on hand? All of you I hope!
And how many of you have either frozen ground beef, chicken, or pork in the freezer? Again, hopefully a good amount of you (assuming you eat meat).
And lastly, how many of you have a pantry full of spices and soy sauce? Please, say ALL of you.
If you have these items, you have everything you need to make some form of these noodles. So you see? This is our new “pantry recipe” and it’s truly so delicious. What’s not to love about a saucy buttery bowl of ramen noodles with caramelized shallots and crispy beef. It’s all good things in a bowl.
Here is the story.
This recipe was inspired by the 15-minute garlic butter ramen noodle recipe that I have in the HBH Super Simple cookbook. I recently shared a photo of these noodles on Instagram and it’s safe to say that it’s a well-loved recipe.
When I returned home from LA last week and things really started to escalate with the Coronavirus, I made these noodles. Not only was this a comforting recipe to make on a stressful day, but I had everything on hand. And, let’s be real, the dish just sounded so good.
Salty, buttery, tangy, and heavy on the noodles. Instead of thinking twice, I just created the recipe. It turned out just as good as I had imagined so I knew I needed to share the recipe. It’s (hopefully) going to be a go-to pantry staple recipe for you all.
Here are the details.
As you can guess, this recipe comes together fast and easy. Start with the beef.
First off, I want to say that you can use ground beef, chicken, or pork for this recipe. I just happened to have ground beef in the freezer. I also want to note that these noodles can easily be made vegetarian by using a mix of chopped vegetables, details on that below.
Moving along. Caramelize the shallots in a bit of oil. If you have sesame oil, use that, if not, just use a bit of olive oil. Now, toss in the meat, a little garlic, plenty of ginger, a pinch of cinnamon, and black pepper too. Cook this all together until the meat is browned. Add soy, plus chili paste, and a drizzle of honey to help balance the heat. Continue cooking this all together for a bit longer…
Meanwhile, cook the ramen. This literally takes five minutes tops.
Ok. Time to finish it up.
Toss the ramen in with that crispy caramelized meat. Add a touch of butter and a sprinkle of either fresh basil or cilantro. Toss and finish with some freshness by adding carrots, green onions, and a sprinkle of toasted peanuts or sesame seeds.
This is a fusion of Asian meets Italian. And while it’s a little bit odd, it’s also a little bit delicious. Sure, the greens on top are now a little harder to source, but just use what you have the easiest access to. As long as you’ve got the noodles and a little sauce, this is going to be great.
What kind of Ramen noodles?
Personally, I love using brown rice ramen, which is vegan and gluten-free. I know it might be hard to believe, but these really do taste just like the ramen noodles we loved as kids…just much healthier. You can find these noodles online either on Amazon or Thrive Market. Or you can purchase them at Whole Foods, Costco, and in many grocery stores as well.
Of course, you can also use whatever your favorite brand of ramen is. Or whatever you’ve got on hand in the pantry. You won’t need any seasoning packet for this recipe.
Alternatively, you can just use noodles. Meaning regular pasta. Any kind of long cut noodle/pasta will work well here. So again, make the recipe work for you, and use what you got!
Want to make this vegetarian?
I totally understand. Making these noodles vegetarian is SO easy to do. Just replace the meat with a mix of mushrooms and chopped cauliflower. Directions are listed in the notes section of the recipe.
Me personally? I prefer this vegetarian version, but either option is truly great.
And feel free to be creative here. I’m sure a mix of mushrooms plus zucchini, or mushrooms plus eggplant, would all be great! I will say that I do think you should use mushroom within the vegetable mix, as they add a really nice “meaty” flavor and heartiness.
So, what do we all think? Easy enough for tonight? Do you have most of the ingredients on hand? Can you make it work?
Fingers crossed!! Hoping to see lots of Instagram stories with these noodles tonight. Yes, I’m that excited over this recipe. It’s comforting, easy, and just what we all need these days.
Hoping you guys all enjoy this!!
Looking for other ramen ideas…try these.
If you make these 30 minute caramelized shallot beef ramen noodles, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
30 Minute Caramelized Shallot Beef Ramen Noodles
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 456 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil, or extra virgin olive oil
- 4 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 pound ground beef, chicken, or pork
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated (or 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated (or 2 teaspoons dried ginger)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2-3 tablespoons chili paste (sambal oelek)
- 3 squares brown rice ramen noodles
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup fresh basil or cilantro, roughly torn
- 1/4 cup toasted peanuts or sesame seeds
- carrots, green onions, and limes, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shallots and cook until the shallots begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beef, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, if using, and pepper. Brown all over, breaking the beef up as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Pour in the soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, honey, and chili paste. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce coats the beef, about 5-8 minutes.2. Meanwhile, cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the ramen according to package directions, until al dente. Before you drain the noodles scoop out about 1/2 cup cooking water, drain.3. Add the noodles and 1/4 cup of the reserved water to the beef. Add the butter and basil, tossing to combine.4. Divide the noodles between plates. Top with peanuts (or sesame seeds), carrots, green onions, and fresh limes. Enjoy!
Notes
To Make Vegetarian: Instead of using 1 pound of meat, use 3 cups of finely chopped mushrooms (can be any variety or a mix of varieties) plus 1 cup of finely chopped cauliflower (or use an additional cup of mushrooms). Sauté the vegetables as directed to do so for the meat. The cooking times should be very similar, if not the same.
This post was originally published on March 19, 2020
HOLY SMOKES! just made this and WOW. I followed the directions as listed, used cilantro, only 1 TB chili sauce, and maybe more ginger than called for. A little lime and some salt… SOOO good. Def gonna be a staple in our house now! Thanks T!
Thank you Jaylyn! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
By far the best thing I’ve made in weeks!! Already can’t wait to make it again. Was so easy to swap and make work with what I had on hand. Cut back on noodles and added a bunch of broccoli after sauteing onions (didn’t have shallots). Thanks for the recipe!!
Thank you so much Jen! That is so great to hear! xTieghan
Just made it with ground chicken and WOW. My fiancé audibly went “Yum” just from smelling It,
I just used what I had in my pantry so I used dried basil in place of fresh and a small onion and two shallots in place of the 4 shallots and I think it still worked super well. My one thing is I caramelized for the 5 minutes suggested but mine needed a LOT longer. They probably could have used an additional 5 minutes. I cooked them in coconut oil instead of olive oil (again, just what I had) so that may have been part of the problem. But the coconut oil actually imparted a super lovely sweetness and nuttiness that went to well with the peanuts and sweetish sauce.
Hi Shannon! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! xTieghan
This was truly delicious! I would love for you to give weights of a serving size for your recipes – I have a kitchen scale and I weigh my food so I don’t overeat. I guess I could weigh the total dish when I’m done and divide it by six, but since you’re working on the recipes anyway. . . . .haha! Thanks for what you do!
Thank you! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Super delicious dinner! I made a vegetarian option with what I had on hand (carrots and zucchini) and it turned out great! So appreciative for a recipe that gives me the confidence to make swaps and use what I have, and still turns out awesome.
Hi Haley! I am so glad this one was so easy to make substitutes on! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
It was so good! I subbed the meat with a vegetarian minced “meat” I had in the fridge. It was a touch salty, next time I’ll cut down the soy sauce a bit.
Thank you so much Heli! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Wow, this was so good! Sometimes I feel like once I add my stir-fry to rice or noodles it soaks up too much of the flavor but this was so flavorful and it all just popped. I had turkey I needed to use but would love to try the beef or veggie versions too!
Thank you so much Bet! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Super easy and full of flavor! My husband commented multiple times how good it was. Thank you!
Thank you!! I am so glad you both enjoyed this! xTieghan
My dear Tieghan, this is AMAZING, we have just enjoyed it for dinner! So tasty, and so simple – like many of your recipes that I am grateful for! Thank you so much, this one is definitely a keeper!
One of the things that has been keeping me sane these days is your cookbook, I rented your first book from an online library, and I am on the waitlist for the second one 🙂 I hope you and your family are doing well <3
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Marija! Thank you so much for trying this one! I hope you continue to love my blog and cookbook recipes! xTieghan
This was bomb-digidy!!! I will ? make this again. So easy! In quarantine by myself, so sent the recipe to all my fam up north in Washington state (I’m down in the SW). I know my brothers will both make! Thank you for this recipe, love all the recipes I’ve made from you!! ??
Thank you so much Michelle! I am so glad you loved this one and hope you continue to love others! xTieghan
I just made this for myself, and it was so good!! So simple to make, but great flavors. I could eat the entire pan. 🙂 One thousand percent will make this again!
Thank you Emily! It is so great to hear that this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Can I use white or red onion in place of shallots if I don’t have them?
Hi Melissa,
Yes either one will work! I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Do you think I could use the ramen noodles from the soup packages?
Yes, of course! I hope you love this Colleen! Let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made a vegie version using cabbage and mushrooms. The flavors were very good but I found it to be too salty. I might cut the soy to a 1/4 cup and increase the ramen water to 1/2 cup next time.
I am so glad you liked this and hope it turns out better with less soy! Are there any questions I could help you with? xTieghan
Amazing! We just made this for dinner. I didn’t notice that we only had regular tamari instead of low sodium and it came out very salty (we used the fish sauce too). Oops!
Hi Leigh! I am glad you enjoyed this and hope you love it more with low sodium! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan