This cheese ramen recipe makes cheesy instant ramen noodles, my guilty pleasure when I’m over-worked, over-tired, racing to meet a deadline, and can’t summon the energy to cook. An American-influenced Korean comfort food, these noodles are a favourite of Korean students and I totally understand why. Instead of American burger cheese I use Italian Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella but use what you like.
Noodles and dumplings are my ultimate comfort foods – curry laksa, khao soi, cao lau, ohn no khao swe, nom banhchok, kuy teav, yaki udon, japchae, rad na, vareniki, pelmeni, pierogi, potstickers, wontons, you name it, I adore them all. But when I’m on deadline, with little time to cook, let alone make dumplings or noodles, I reach for the instant ramen.
In our Siem Reap kitchen, Terence and I jazz up our instant ramen with Asian ingredients we can easily buy from our local markets and supermarkets. Terence makes the best Korean instant ramen noodles with Nongshim Shin Ramyun (he’s a fan of Nongshim’s Shin Black Noodle Soup) and slices of char siu pork, blanched bean sprouts, Chinese greens, boiled eggs, fried shallots, and his homemade chilli oil.
I have a now not-so secret formula for upgrading instant ramen noodles, which includes a combo of flavour, texture and fragrance-boosting elements, spice and umami from the popular Southeast Asian dipping sauce, crunch from crispy fried shallots or fried garlic, and aroma from fresh herbs, for simple but seriously delicious instant noodles.
But sadly I have limited access to fresh chillies and Southeast Asian herbs here in rural Victoria, where I’m currently staying with my mum – and racing to meet a guidebook deadline – so late one night when the frigid temperatures froze my finger-tips and I was falling asleep, I reached for the instant ramen… and cheeses.
Cheese Ramen Recipe for Cheesy Instant Ramen Noodles, My Guilty Pleasure
This super easy cheese ramen recipe really doesn’t even need a recipe but I wanted to inspire the other instant ramen lovers out there to add cheese to their ramen next time they have a late-night craving or need to whip up a quick meal.
Back in Siem Reap, where our supermarket has a whole long aisle dedicated to dried noodles and half of that aisle filled with instant ramen varieties, I’m often amazed by the crazy flavours. They’re often Italian-American influenced, from ‘loaded pizza’ instant ramen to hot ‘chicken carbonara’ ramen.
As a food writer, I’m naturally curious and love trying things new to me, so I couldn’t resist trying the Parmesan ramen. I was so disappointed but was intrigued by the idea of cheese in instant ramen – which is when I learnt about the Korean love of cheesy ramen.
I remember finding a Korean recipe that called for those plastic wrapped single slices of yellow American burger cheese, which we never buy, but Terence happened to have some in the fridge for a burger recipe he was developing. It was late one night after a long day of writing, so I thought what the heck…
I boiled the ramen, drained it, saving a little water as the Italians do, and tossed it in a bowl with sesame oil, chilli crisp, chilli oil, some shredded poached chicken pieces we had in the fridge, and a couple of slices of that American burger cheese. I sprinkled on chilli flakes, crunchy fried shallots and sesame seeds, and used chopsticks to stir it all up. It was so good.
We don’t keep American burger cheese in the fridge here at my mother’s either, but I’ve been cooking a lot of quick and easy pasta recipes since I’ve been here, so had some Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella in the fridge. I also have a jar of chilli crisp and chilli oil that I made. I made that ramen I came up with in Siem Reap but grated in some of those cheeses instead. It was just what I needed.
Tips to Making this Cheese Ramen Recipe
Just a few tips to making this cheese ramen recipe as it’s so easy it doesn’t even need a recipe. Firstly, only boil the ramen noodles until al dente because if they’re soft they’ll go mushy when you combine then with the grated cheeses.
I add the sesame oil to separate the noodles as much as to flavour them, but you could just use chilli oil.
I really love the combo of grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or Grana Padano or Pecorino Romano) and grated mozzarella, but you can use any combination of cheeses. I almost added a little red Leicester cheese. A vintage cheddar, or any cheddar, would be delish too.
When it comes to that cheese, my recipe is rather restrained compared to some I spotted. I’m not a fan of extreme use of cheese in ramen, so there appears to be more gooey cheese than noodles, but if you are, go for it!
I like the freshness that finely sliced green scallions (spring onions), and coriander leaves bring, but use your favourite fresh herbs.
As a spice lover, I can never have enough chilli, hence the chilli oil, chilli crisp and chilli flakes, but obviously you should adjust to suit your palate. Enjoy!
And if you’re an instant ramen noodle lover and have more time to cook than I do right now, try my recipe for Korean spicy noodles with meatballs, inspired by spaghetti and meatballs.
Cheese Ramen Recipe for Cheesy Instant Ramen Noodles
Ingredients
- 120 g ramen noodles - use a packet of quality instant ramen, such as Ottogi JinRamen OR ShinRamyun, discard seasoning
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp Reggianno Parmiagano - grated
- 2 tbsp mozzarella - grated
- 1 tsp scallions - green part, finely sliced
- 1 tsp fresh coriander - small leaves only
- 1 tbsp chilli oil - or to taste
- 1 tbsp chilli crisp - or to taste
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the ramen noodles until al dente according to the packet instructions, probably around 3-4 minutes, then drain.
- To a small- to medium-sized pan or pot over medium heat, add the sesame oil, then the noodles and stir to separate the noodles.
- Add the grated Reggianno Parmiagano and grated mozzarella, finely sliced green scallions (spring onions) and coriander leaves, and stir to thoroughly combine.
- In a small dish combine the chilli oil and chilli crisp and drizzle on top (or pour the lot in as I do!), sprinkle on sesame seeds and chilli flakes, and eat immediately.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make this cheese ramen recipe in the comments below. I’d love to hear if you have any favourite combinations of cheeses or other additions.
