Those ubiquitous little packages of Top Ramen soup. Some of us would have starved to death in the early days of adulting if it wasn’t for those cheap, salty bowls of soup. I can’t remember the last time I prepared them as directed on the package. But I do love to use them as a base to create inexpensive, tasty meals. Stir together a few asian ingredients to make a sauce, clean out the veggie drawer in the fridge, add a protein like chicken or ground beef and toss everything together and you will have dinner on the table in no time for just a few pennies per serving. Eating healthy doesn’t always require hours in the kitchen and it doesn’t always have to be an expensive endeavor either. This quick to make meal is proof that you can eat healthy on a budget and you can do it even when time is short.
In a bowl, stir together chicken broth and corn starch. Add brown sugar, light soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, and sriracha sauce. Stir to combine. Set aside.
Good to know: You can find light soy sauce in asian markets and many regular grocery stores that have a well stocked asian food section. It is commonly used in asian cooking and is not the same as soy sauce you add to foods at the table such as Kikkoman soy sauce. You can absolutely substitute regular soy sauce if you can’t find light soy sauce. The flavor will be slightly different but it will still be delicious.
Whenever you are cooking up a stir fry it’s important to have all the ingredients ready to go once you heat up the skillet to stir fry. Start by chopping the veggies. Cut carrots into matchsticks, cut snap peas in half, slice onion and red bell pepper. Set aside.
Cook Ramen noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside. Any flavor will do since we will be discarding the seasoning packets, we won’t be using them for this recipe.
While the noodles cook, heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spatula as it cooks.
When the beef is about ¾ of the way cooked, add sliced onions, minced garlic and ginger to the pan.
Next add the veggies to the pan; the carrot matchsticks, sliced red bell pepper and sugar snap peas.
Continue to cook until beef is cooked through and vegetables are crisp tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Add reserved sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Cook over medium heat until sauce turns glossy and thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the cooked noodles to the pan and stir to coat the noodles with the sauce in the pan.
Cook until heated through.
Serve hot and garnish each serving with sliced green onions if desired.
Not only is this dish delicious, (hint, hint, hint; it’s the delectable sauce) but it comes together in under 30 minutes! That’s awesome on a busy weeknight. You can use what ever veggies you have in your veggie drawer that need using up. Celery, spinach, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and broccoli would all be delightful tasty additions to this stir fry. The ground beef adds some needed protein and using inexpensive Ramen noodle packages keeps this meal affordable. Let’s face it, everyone could stand to save a little money these days.
Give this tasty, easy to make, inexpensive meal a try. I promise you won’t get any complaints when this dish hits the table.
Beefy Ramen Stir Fry
Equipment
- large skillet or wok
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ large onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 large carrot, cur into matchsticks
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 cups sugar snap peas
- 3 pkgs Ramen noodles, cooked according to package directions
- sliced green onions, for garnish
For the stir fry sauce:
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- In a bowl, stir together chicken broth and corn starch. Add brown sugar, light soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, and sriracha sauce. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- Cook Ramen noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside. Discard seasoning packets.
- While noodles cook, heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat.
- Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spatula as it cooks.
- When the beef is about ¾ of the way cooked, add sliced onions, minced garlic and grated ginger to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add carrot matchsticks, sliced red bell pepper and sugar snap peas to the pan.
- Continue to cook until beef is cooked through and vegetables are crisp tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add reserved sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat until sauce turns glossy and thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cooked noodles to the pan and stir to coat noodles with the sauce in the pan.
- Serve hot and garnish each serving with sliced green onions if desired.
Did You Make This?
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Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!