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Also known as, glorified Ramen.
Soooo, you guys have had Ramen, right?
I think it is probably the most consumed food among high school and college students out there. I kind of have a feeling that if I was a normal twenty-year old, sharing a dorm with other normal people, that this said dorm would most likely be packed with Ramen.
College readers? Am I right?
I have not had Ramen since third grade when my mom and I discovered that our beloved noodle soup actually had not an ounce of nutritional value.
This was a huge bummer for the both us.
Like fudge, what the heck are we going to eat now. It was mid winter in Cleveland when we found this info out and if you have ever been to Cleveland mid-winter, then you know just how much we needed this soup. Seriously, all Cleveland winters NEED a good noodle soup and even though Ramen was maybe twenty-four cents and came from a bag, it was still our soup of choice.
Until we found out it really was doing nothing for us. Oh, and do not ask me why I cared about this in third grade. All I can say is that I have always been a really healthy eater. Meaning I really just only prefer good homemade food that I know what went into it. It’s more a control thing than a healthy thing.
So we ditched the Ramen right then and there.
Whatever, no biggie. And it really wasn’t for me, but I am pretty sure my mom had some serious withdrawals. She is a noodle soup freak and by noodle soup, I really only mean noodles and broth. She takes it heavy on the noodle with a decent amount of broth, but she is good with just that. Nothing else. So, obviously Ramen was her favorite.
I had not thought about Ramen for so long, but then I got a text from my brother, Brendan. If you are somewhat new around this blog, Bren is the brother who lives in Tahoe. Well, actually I think right now he is in Salt Lake City, but I am thinking that is only for the next couple months. No actually I heard he is going to Iceland at the end of the month. I do not know, he is kind of all over the place doing his snowboarding thing. He might creep you out just a bit when you first meet him, but don’t let his bad boy image freak you out. He is honestly one of the most kind and caring guys you will ever meet. And he is a crazy fun, go with the flow, loving life kind of guy. Trust me, you’d like him.
Anyway, he text me after this post and asked for budget meals, “you know, something I could actually afford”.
Budget meals? Ahhh, you mean I can’t use a block of eight dollar cheese? Fudge.
One of his ideas? Glorified Ramen.
I kind of just loved the sound of that, so I went with it. I was this close (imagine me pinching my index and thumb finger together to show you how close) to titling this post “Glorified Ramen”, but the logical side of my brain went with the pungent flavors in the glorified Ramen instead. So lame, I know.
I am not sure how cheap this meal actually is with all the chicken, coconut milk and Thai curry paste, but it’s a pretty dang good, and healthy too! Well, minus the Ramen noodle part, but I am told that if you don’t use the seasoning packet, which is full of sodium and MSG, and boil the noodles, that they are not THAT bad. Ah, yeah and don’t tell me otherwise or I may freak.
Obviously, if you want to make this über health you can swap in your favorite whole grain pasta, but make sure to cook the pasta in the soup a little longer. Oh, and this can be made on either the stove or in the crockpot. The stove is the super quick 30 minute version and the crockpot is the throw everything in, walk away for six hours and come home to dinner version. Both are just as good!
Thai Peanut Chicken and Ramen Noodle Soup
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 367 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 peanut oil
- 1 pound chicken thighs or breast or a mix sliced (or left whole if using the crockpot)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated (you may add more to your liking)
- 1 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 sweet potato chopped (skin removed if desired)
- 2 red peppers thinly sliced
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1/4 cup thai red curry paste
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 ounce can coconut milk 14
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 packages Ramen noodle soup seasoning packets discarded (you may also just use your favorite pasta)
- chopped peanuts for serving
- chopped cilantro for serving
Instructions
- To make this on the Stove: Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and the chicken. Brown the chicken, stirring once or twice for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot.
- Add another tablespoon of peanut oil, the ginger, garlic, sweet potato and peppers. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender. Add the mushroom and cook 5 more minutes. Add in the curry paste and smoked paprika, stirring until the curry paste has coated the veggies.
- In the meantime, add 1 cup of chicken broth to a heat safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute or unitll very hot. Carefully stir in the peanut butter until completely smooth.
- Add the chicken back into the pot along with the coconut milk, remaining chicken broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, peanut butter mixture, lime juice and brown sugar. Stir until the peanut butter has been fully incorporated into the soup. Bring the soup to a boil and then add the ramen noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes (if using regular noodles you will need to cook the noodle for a longer period of time, probably about 8 minutes).
- Once the noodles are ready serve soup immediately and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and peanuts.
- To make this in the crockpot add the peanut oil, chicken, ginger, garlic, sweet potato, red peppers, curry paste, smoked paprika, coconut milk, chicken, broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, peanut butter and brown sugar to the crock pot bowl. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4 hours on high, stirring if you can once or twice.
- During the last 30 minutes add the mushrooms and then during the last 5 minutes add the noodles (if using regular noodles you will need to cook them for a longer period of time, probably about 10 minutes). Once the noodles are cooked serve immediately and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and peanuts.
Notes
*The ramen noodles soak up a lot of the broth if not eaten right when the noodles are done cooking. You can prepare this ahead of time, just make sure to add the noodle right before you are ready to eat.
It’s Glorified Ramen time. Slurp.
Can you make this without chicken? My daughters a vegetarian. She loves pad Thai with tofu.
Hi Tamara!! Yes, that would be delish!! The chicken is totally not needed and tofu would be great or just omit it completely! Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
Sounds wonderful. One question though. I make soup on the weekend for eating during the week at lunch. Will this keep well, or should I leave the noodles out until I am ready to eat it each time? I just don’t want them to fall away to nothing.
My first foray into Ramen Soup was your recipe. I modified your recipe, with extra broth, seitan instead of chicken. The whole family loved it. Yaay! Thank you.
SO glad you liked it!! Thank you (:
Best thing i’ve ever made. EVER. I used my weed peanut butter in place of half of the peanut butter called for in the recipe. So good. This is the only thing i will eat from now on.
I have made the stove version of this and absolutely love it. It’s become an obsession of mine. Now I want to try the slow cooker version as I’d like to throw it in at lunch from work. I am just wondering… It says ( or left whole if using the crockpot) for the chicken. Does this mean do not slice when adding to the slow cooker in the beginning, leave whole, and then shred or cut up after the cook time?
HI! Yes, leave the chicken whole when using the crockpot method. Let me know if you have questions. THANKS!
this is incredible! I love it. I just made this recipe & posted it on my blog, with credit to you 🙂
Hey! Just thought I would point out that my husband and I made this and totally failed to add in ginger and garlic because in the original instructions, both of those ingredients don’t show up so we kind f forgot about them until the end. I assume they go in at the same time as the sweet potato??
HI Rena,
Yes, I am sorry they go in at the same time. I will fix the recipe.
Makes perfect sense! it was just easy to forget about in the process. Thanks!
All that prep n ingredients makes an awesome soup that doesn’t even require the ramen ?. Here’s my simple quick Thai ramen… Chile lime shrimp flavor ramen ? scoop of peanut butter, garlic powder, left over chicken, hand full of salad mix…
Girl! Dang this was good! I made this last night. I think the only thing I would maybe do next time is use a little less brown sugar and even that is a preference – whenever I cook dinner with sugar in it, I tend to add it slowly just because I’m weird about sweet/savory food. That said, it’s very reminiscent of a Thai curry sauce. My husband said he ate way too much of it cause he couldn’t stop. I really love the sour flavor of Thai soups so maybe next time I’ll try adding even more lime and fish sauce. Thanks! Will be trying your other asian soups/ramens on here – we have a ton of condiments to use up in the pantry 🙂
I was just wondering if I should use breast or thigh? Or what the difference in the two would be? I know breast can dry out but would also be easier for me to cut into cubes. But I loooove love thighs. What did you use?
I used breast, but wither or will both work great. If you prefer thighs, I would go with thighs. I hope you love this! 🙂
use breast if making on stovetop and thighs if making in the crockpot because the breast is not good for cooking long periods of time, they tend to try out, unlike the fattier thighs.
Thanks Jane! I would say the same thing!
I made this recently, minus the fish sauce, and it was DELICIOUS. Definitely going on my go-to recipes list. Thank you!
Awesome soup. Seriously AMAZING. The only thing I will do differently next time is use a little less fish sauce, as the soup was just a little too salty for me. Otherwise, AMAZING!
Girl, I made this tonight, followed the recipe exactly. It was amazing! My wife was in heaven.
SO happy you loved it, THANKS!!
Looking at these photos…I was just craving it sooooo bad and I went out and picked up all the ingredients I didnt already have and made it for dinner. However I used tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, and needle mushrooms as my veg, extra ginger and garlic (as usual.) This soup was the bomb. It was as good as these photos look and I served it with stir fried chinese greens. We had leftovers (so yay more for lunch!) and I cant remember the last time I have been so ridiculously grateful towards a food blogger before. You rock!! Thanks for providing the perfect dish for my evening, will be making this again! oh oh and cant wait to try your cinnamon brioche!
BTW tip: like Jasmine above stated, you dont need to buy those crummy deep fried instant noodle packets, get the dry ones (they come in several a pack) and just pour your soup over one and it will cook in your individual bowl.
SO excited you loved this, THANKS!!
Ok, update… So I made this today. The favors are amazing. I would change just a few things. I would parcook the sweet potato because they burnt but they were still somewhat salvageable if you like charred food. Me not so much only thing I like chared are burgers & roasted red peppers. So that’s the first thing. Secondly I think 3 packs of ramen is plenty. After it sat for awhile it soaked up all the broth & became pasty. Actually I would halve the recipe because there’s only 2 of us….I think I would precook the noodles separately, again the paste factored into this decision. Lastly 1/4 c peanut butter would be sufficient because it masked the coconut milk & I do love that coconut milk! Well, I did say lastly but an afterthought just occurred. I would use more chicken broth. The flavor is delicious but the peanut butter, & don’t get me wrong here, I do love a great satay with peanut dipping sauce, but it was a little overpowering. You can bet I will be making this again…maybe I’ll fish out all the chicken & start all over again.