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This crockpot crispy caramelized pork ramen noodle soup with curry roasted acorn squash is some real deal Ramen. The mixture of flavors and broth – oh my!! Ramen has always been one of my favorite things to eat and now it’s one that I love to make AND eat – YUM.
Growing up I pretty much lived on Ramen Noodle Soup. Especially during the cold fall and winter months. If you live in northeast Ohio, especially along the lake, like I used to, you know that those months can be brutal. Comforting soup is the best cure-all. The rain, the freezing rain, the snow, the ice, the bitter cold – with no sunshine for days.
UGH.
Ramen, and maybe a roaring wood burning fire, can restore sanity. I would come home from school, boil the water, add the noodles + seasoning and cuddle up on the couch with a big blanket (if I was lucky, the fire was going too), my hot bowl of ramen and either a re-run episode of Gilmore Girls or 7th Heaven.
Ok, that was my ideal day. I cannot say how often that truly happened because I had five other brothers living in the house as well. Getting the TV all to myself meant that I was probably still in grade three, four or five because for some reason those grades got out at 2:45pm. The rest of the grades got out at 3:15 (middle school + high school) and 3:55 (lower elementary school). For the record, Kensington (my upper elementary school) was by far my favorite school, for the sole reason that while attending, I got out earlier than all my siblings. This meant that I had at least an hour alone with my mom after school. With five other siblings + my dad all fighting for her attention, this was obviously the best thing ever to me. It was rare that it was just us girls in the house so I always loved that time after school. Unless of course I had a boatload of homework. Then I was stressed to the max and HAD to get it done right-away (issues).
It’s probably clear I was a total freak. No denying it. I mean what kid does their homework literally right after school? I wouldn’t eat or do anything till it was all done. Mental issues? Yes, yes, yes, I had them and still do, but now they are in different forms…
I have not actually had Ramen Noodle Soup, with the seasoning pack and all, in years because my mom and I sadly found out (at way too young of an age) that Ramen was basically a bunch of processed junk that we did not want to be putting into our bodies. I still remember the day my aunt Alyssa called and broke the news that our beloved Ramen probably wasn’t the best thing to be eating. Daily. And yes, even as a kid I never wanted to eat junk food unless my mom made it from scratch, meaning all her cookies, cakes, K-bars and pies where fair game. I didn’t even like chips. See, total freak.
Last year I made this Thai peanut chicken ramen that I still love and make all the time with angel hair pasta, but this fall it was time for a new Ramen. And um, I have to say that I have totally upped my Ramen making game.
The caramelized pork does the trick. It’s pretty awesome, but I still think the egg… or maybe the curry roasted acorn squash (can’t decide) are my favorites. Together they honestly make the most perfect bowl of ramen.
Bonus, the pork gets cooked all day in the crockpot too. It’s the best way to make this because not only does it make dinner easy, but the pork gets cooked low and slow and creates an incredible broth. Seriously, the broth is out of this world good. There is a little work to do before dinner, you have to roast the acorn squash and get the pork all crispy + caramelized in the skillet, but I promise the extra efforts will be so worth it. You do not HAVE to make the pork all caramelized and crispy. It’s still going to be good if you don’t, but I highly recommend taking the extra ten minutes to do so. It takes the meal to a whole new level. Plus, it totally makes this a Bahn Mi Ramen Noodle Soup.
And the squash, well it’s the perfect fall topping to add to Ramen. I wouldn’t do it any other way. So good.
And those noodles, while nothing will ever compare to real deal Ramen noodles.
Crockpot Caramelized Pork Ramen Noodle Soup w/Curry Roasted Acorn Squash.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 2018 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Soup
- 2-3 pounds pork shoulder roast or butt
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth plus more of needed
- 1/4-1/2 cup + 2-4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce <--Use low sodium
- 1/4 cup + 2-4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce optional
- 2 tablespoons thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek chili paste, or to taste
- The juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 cups wild mushrooms left whole - or button mushrooms, sliced
- 4 packs Ramen noodles seasoning packets discarded
- 4 soft boiled or fried eggs for serving
- Chopped carrots sliced jalapenos, cilantro + green onions, for serving
Curry Roasted Acorn Squash
- 1 medium acorn squash seeded + diced
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1 tablespoon curry powder I use spicy curry
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the pork to the bowl of a crockpot. Pour the chicken broth, 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce (depending on your taste), 1/4 cup rice vinegar and fish sauce over the pork. Add the thai red curry paste, ginger, sambal oelek, juice of 1 lime, Chinese five spice powder, black pepper and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours (I recommend going low and slow).
- About 40 minutes before you are ready to eat, roast the squash. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a small bowl mix together the melted coconut oil, curry powder, miso, brown sugar and a good pinch of pepper. Add the cubed squash to a greased baking sheet and pour the curry mixture over the squash. Toss well. Bake for 30-40 minutes, tossing a couple of times during cooking. You want the squash to be lightly browned and crisp.
- Meanwhile, remove the pork from the crockpot and add the mushrooms. Cover the crockpot and crank the heat up to high. Lightly shred the pork with two forks or your hands.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame oil. Once hot, add enough pork to cover just the surface of your skillet, do not over crowd the skillet. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over the pork, add 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, toss. Allow the pork to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir and allow the pork to continue to caramelize, about 3-5 minutes total. Remove the pork from the skillet, repeat with the remaining pork. Keep the pork warm.
- Add the Ramen noodles to the crockpot and allow them to cook 5 minutes. Once the noodles are cooked, stir in only half of the pork. Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with extra caramelized pork, curry roasted acorn squash and an egg. Season the egg with salt and pepper, Add the carrots, jalapeños, green onions and cilantro if desired. Happy slurping!
Love this bowl. It’s everything you could ever want in soup.
Great meal! I have made several times and it is a hit with family and friends
Hey Ashley,
Happy Wednesday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was tasty! xx
OUTSTANDING RECIPE!!
Hi Carol Ann,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a try! Have a great weekend! 🏈
Is it accurate that this dish has over 2,000 calories per serving?
Hey Jan,
I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe! xT
This is one of my all time favorite meals. This last time, I just used leftover pulled pork and simply adjusted the leftover broth with this recipe’s spices, to save time. Almost as good!
Hey Stephanie,
Love it!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Happy Monday!🎄
Hey I tried this – not sure how it would turn out ? I mean WOW 🤩 even the grumpy picky eater loved it ! So very thankful you posted this !! Proud I did it myself 🙌 Woohoo ! Recommend this to warm you up on a chilly day it’s AWESOME 👍🥰
Hey Kim,
Awesome!! 🍂 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xx
This recipe is INSANE. I first made this two years ago, and it has been a fall/winter staple ever since. It’s always a special dinner when we get to eat this. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Casey,
Happy Sunday!! I truly appreciate you giving this a try and sharing your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed:) xx
I don’t understand how anyone could rate this less than 5 stars; this recipe is amazing! I have made it over a dozen times, including for crowds. I always receive rave reviews and recipe requests. The minute the weather starts to turn in the fall, this is the first thing I make (followed shortly thereafter by your creamy white chicken chili)! Thank you for your wonderful recipes, as always.
Hey Ashley,
Perfect!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a winner! Thanks so much for your kind message? xTieghan
This was so delicious and got a thumbs up from my toughest critic, my 12 year old son! I didn’t have low sodium soy sauce so it was a tad salty so next time I’ll make a point to get low sodium. Such great flavors, and it smelled sooo good cooking all day! I used an almost 4 pound pork shoulder so with the leftovers we made fried rice and it was fantastic! Thanks for a fabulous recipe.
Hey Krista,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
If I wanted to speed the process up and use the instant pot, how much time would you recommend for step 1? Ps- I’ve made this before it is AMAZING
Hey Anna,
I would cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. For best results I would cut the pork into larger chunks. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. xTieghan
Made this (and the chicken ginger spinach) tonight for friends and it got rave reviews. So yummy!!
Hey Elissa,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xxT
Can you use an instapot pressure cooker alternatively and what would the timing be?
Thank you can’t wait to try 😋
Hey Tiara,
I would do 45 minutes on high pressure. Let me know if you give this dish a try, I hope you love it! xT
How would this change if I was to do it on the stove instead of a slow cooker?
Hey Andrea,
I would simmer on low for 2-3 hours on the stove top. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Hey there! I don’t have a crockpot but I have an instapot! Could I make this recipe in that?
Hey Rosie,
Totally! That should work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I never comment on anything but I just had to for this. Tieghan, I have both of your books and will always go to your site first for any recipe I want to try. It’s all because it started with this ramen. I found this recipe on Pinterest years ago and I have since made it more than a dozen times. It is by far the most delicious thing I have ever eaten (and my my own hand- how awesome is that to not have to go to a fancy far away restaurant)! I will say that the broth is so incredibly rich that I usually do half the pork and double the water and I put about 1/2 a teaspoon of the sambal oelek in there because it otherwise burns my face off. I happily ignite my face for this ramen though. I mean, WOW.
Hey Cheyenne,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan