Kicked Up Ramen Noodles – Kung Pao Style
These kicked up Ramen Noodles – Kung Pao Style require the use of only one skillet and they are fantastically delicious and kid-friendly!
Confession #1: My family really loves to eat ramen noodles.
Confession #2: I happen to quite like the little noodles, too, but the very thought of the highly processed/salty/nasty seasoning packet makes me want to gag.
What’s a girl to do? Well, for starters, when we want ramen noodles, I toss the seasoning packet and cook the noodles in low-sodium all-natural chicken broth or my favorite vegetable broth. No one knows the difference.
But to kick them up even more, we’ve been making this kung-pao style dish with the ramen noodles and let me tell you, it is killer. And fast. And requires the use of one skillet.
And is fantastically delicious and kid-friendly. Seriously, get out, right? I mean, who could resist the curly, tender noodles and golden chicken combined with the Asian flavors of hoisin sauce, a hint of sesame oil and sweet red peppers.
The lightly toasted peanuts make homely ramen noodles somehow seem instantly gourmet. And when that happens, you know you have a winner!
Confession #3: Despite what the picture portrays, my kids did not eat these with chopsticks (I tried and mostly failed). Instead, I used my kitchen scissors to cut my kids noodles and peppers into small pieces. When it comes to cutting up ramen noodles for toddlers, kitchen shears are my best friend.
Confession #4: While “kung pao” style food is notoriously hot and spicy, I dumbed it down quite a bit in order to spare my children the inability to feel their tongue for a week. Feel free to increase the heat as you like it!
What to Serve With This
- Steamed broccoli or roasted cauliflower or even corn on the cob
- Fresh pineapple slices
- Green Salad
One Year Ago: Homemade Taco Tortilla Bowls
Two Years Ago: Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach
Three Years Ago: Chicken Lo Mein
Kicked Up Ramen Noodles – Kung Pao Style
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2-3), cubed
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced thin
- ½ cup roasted unsalted peanuts
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, add more if you want more heat
- 3 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 packages (3-ounces each) ramen noodles, discard seasoning packets
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 4 scallions, green onions, sliced thin
Instructions
- In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil over medium to medium-high heat until it is hot and rippling. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Add the cubed chicken to the pan in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Remove the chicken to a medium bowl.
- Add the last tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat until hot and rippling. Add the red bell pepper and the peanuts and cook until the pepper is softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the mixture into the bowl with the chicken, trying to leave as much oil as possible behind in the skillet.
- Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to the remaining oil in the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds to 1 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth. Break the bricks of ramen into small chunks and add them to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, tossing the ramen constantly with tongs to separate, until ramen is just tender but there is still a bit of liquid in the pan, about 2-4 minutes.
- Stir in the hoisin sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil and continue to simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken, peppers and peanuts. Sprinkle with green onions before serving.
Notes
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Recipe Source: adapted from The Best 30-Minute Recipe
This recipe was really great! I did have some questions about it. Ours came out really spicy. What would I cut back on to make it less spicy?
For some reason, we also had no broth leftover. The noodles absorbed all of it. Would we add more broth or lessen the cooking time?
Hey Jessica, you can omit or cut down on the red pepper flakes and that will cut the heat. If you want more broth, you can add more at the end.
I made this for my husband, toddler and I this week. It was really good, but I think next time I will reduce the hoisin sauce by half a tablespoon and maybe add a few dashes if soy sauce and see how that turns out. Our peanuts weren’t roasted, but they still tasted great. I did add a bunch of stir fry veggies in with the red pepper and it was wonderful. We also had 5 adult servings and a toddler sized serving from this.
This recipe is SO GOOD. I am a young married girl in college so ramen is my life, but you just made it ten times better!! Thank you Mel!!
We love this recipe, it’s so easy and delicious!! Thank you, Mel!
We loved this!! It was quick, easy, and scrumptious. (Like everything from Mel!)
This recipe is so versatile….I didn’t add the sesame oil or the peanuts and the noodles were still yummy. I stir-fried or steamed our favorite veggies so everyone could make a plate to taste. I also left out the chicken to make this our meatless meal for the week. Love recipes that allow you to tweak the ‘blueprint’ and still taste great.
This is one of my family’s favorite quick meals. I usually put in 3-4 times the amount of vegetables (more pepper, and then green beans, or snap peas or broccoli or whatever I have on hand). I have also made it with vegetable broth and shredded beef for a friend with a chicken allergy, and substituted slivered almonds or cashews for the peanuts. So easy to improvise and still be delicious!
This was so, so delicious! The rare meal that my husband, two kids, and I all loved! No complaints, not even from from the pickiest child on the face of the earth – though he did navigate around the peppers 🙂
Hi Mel, this was so fabulous! Next time I have make 1 1/2 recipes since my 3 kids and husband loved it and there wasn’t enough for seconds for all of us (I have two teenage boys). I substituted unsalted roasted cashews since my son is allergic to peanuts and it worked out perfect. Your website saves my sanity several times a week. Thank you!
Mel, your recipes never fail to be winners! It seems like every time my husband says, “This is delicious!”, I am saying, “It’s a Mel recipe.” I made this dish last night and am in Ramen heaven. Thank you for the time, effort and thought you put into your site. It is a blessing in my life!
Making this tonight! Using a chicken baking in the oven, so I have some chicken for other recipes this week. Can’t wait! Made a cucumber salad with sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes as a side.
Love your site. So many great recipes! Didn’t realize how much I enjoy cooking until I hit my 50’s. Love trying new stuff.
you know that those noodles are just flour and water, I just mix some up and sometimes add an egg for extra nutrition and put it through a food mill or potato ricer directly into boiling water or broth Cheaper than those dried packets and you don’t throw anything away.
This turned out great — thanks! I added broccoli florets with the red peppers because I needed to use them up before going out of town, and I think I’ll always make it that way now. I had to omit the peanuts and sesame oil (I just added some olive oil) because of allergies. It’s nice to have a dish actually turn out to be quick to make when a food blogger says it will be 🙂