Homemade “Instant Shin Ramyun Hot Spicy Ramen”

In addition to the Instant Mi Goreng, Shin Ramyun (the Korean Hot Spicy Noodle Soup) is another favourite of mine when I want a very quick and cheap meal at home. I got introduced to this popular Korean instant noodles by my dorm mates when I was doing my undergraduate and have not looked back ever since.

In contrast to my student life, instant noodles are now more like a treat rather than a necessity. Whenever I need a kick in my palate, spicy ramen like Shin Ramyun can definitely hit the spot. Like all things, I keep my consumption of instant noodles to a moderate amount or simply change things up a little by cooking homemade versions like the recipe on homemade “Indonesian Mi Goreng”.

So are you ready for an easy spicy ramen recipe? The key ingredient is Korean hot bean paste and the beauty of homemade is you can control the amount of spiciness and saltiness in your ramen.

Homemade “Instant Shin Ramyun Hot Spicy Ramen”

What you’ll need to make one bowl of ramen:-

2 tsps vegetable oil
1 spring onion (scallion), thinly sliced (you will need both the white and the green section)
½ ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
4 – 5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp Korean hot bean paste (Gochujang) – adjust to taste (you can buy it online or selected Coles supermarket on Asian isle)
2 cups vegetable stock (I used Campbell’s Real Stock Vegetable Salt Reduced)
1 cup recently boiled water
1 x 90g (3 ounces) bundle of dried udon noodles (I used Hakubaku Organic Udon)
2 drops of sesame oil

Note – My topping of choice is sweet corn kernels, microwaved in water for two minutes. Alternatively, you can cook the frozen sweet corn kernel in the soup.

Method:-

Heat vegetable oil in a 20cm saucepan. When the oil is hot, add the white part of the spring onion (leave the green part as garnish later) and ginger and sauté over low-medium until aromatic. Add shiitake mushrooms and sauté until they have slightly reduced in size. Add a little more oil if the mushroom mixture becomes dry. Add hot bean paste and sauté until slightly aromatic. Add vegetable stock and 1 cup of water and cook on high heat until it boils and then reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for another 2 minutes. Break the udon noodles in half and add them into the soup. For the brand of udon I used, the recommended cooking time is 10 minutes. Basically, you cook the noodles until they are al-dente, or your preferred texture. Please note that the time may vary a little depending on the brand of udon noodles you used. Add more water if required.

Once the noodles are almost done, taste for seasonings. Add soy sauce if needed. As for me, I didn’t need any additional seasoning. Remove the noodle soup from the heat and add 2 drops of sesame oil.

Transfer the noodle soup into a serving bowl and top with sweet corn kernels and the green section of sliced spring onion. Serve immediately.