Healthy Homemade Kimchi Ramen

Yes, it may be easier to just go out and buy the kimchi-flavored instant ramen, but again, I keep trying to be more healthy and make my own fresh kimchi and use organic ramen so I know there’s no wax in it, and this turned out super awesome.

Though the kimchi does take over a week to make due to the fermentation process, so you’ll need that ready before you can do this recipe. However, you may want to save work by buying kimchi in stores. I’ve seen kimchi sold in lots of different stores. Those would work just as well as the homemade ones. The main reason is that I don’t know how salty the kimchi that they sell out there is—you may have to add more or less depending.

Again, I recommend using Koyo brand organic ramen, but you can try other ones if you find them. I ordered mine in a box on Amazon.

I didn’t think the ramen here was all that spicy. If you want to make it even hotter, you can try adding more Korean red chili flakes, or even some cayenne pepper.

I love it when scallions are a bit curly, and to do that, you just put it in super freezing water with ice. If you have other toppings you’d like to add, feel free to, such as baked tofu or anything else!

After the kimchi is set, this recipe is super easy to make and takes only about 15 minutes to prepare the entire thing!

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• ½ cup well-fermented kimchi
• ¼ cup bean sprouts
• 1 tablespoon white rice wine
• 1 teaspoon extra light olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon Korean red chili flakes
• ¼ teaspoon Himalayan/sea salt
• A few sprinkles of Szechuan peppercorns
• 2 packets organic ramen (I used Koyo)

Garnish

• 1 scallion
• 1-2 tablespoons well-fermented kimchi

Instructions

1. Add the 3 cups of water, kimchi, bean sprouts, white rice wine, olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, paprika, soy sauce, Korean red chili flakes, salt, Szechuan peppercorns, and ramen in a small/medium saucepan.
2. Bring it to a boil, and continue to cook on boiling heat for a total of 8-10 minutes until the ramen is soft to eat.
3. Meanwhile, slice the scallions into super thin strips and put it in ice water for a few seconds to let it curl up a bit.
4. Once the ramen is ready, spoon it into one or two bowls, then garnish with the scallion and a tablespoon or two of fresh kimchi.

Enjoy your healthy homemade kimchi ramen!