My daughter has been on a serious ramen kick for months now. But not fancy ramen, only the kind of the instant variety (and the kind in that styrofoam cup). Which is great! But it’s missing important things like, you know, protein and produce. My goal — bring together something she loves with some stuff she needs in this quick and easy Chicken Ramen Skillet. It has those irresistible ramen noodles, but there’s chicken and fresh vegetables too, and a sauce that you’d be a fool not to fall in love with. And the best part? It cooks in just 15 quick minutes.
More or less, this is a stir fry, so you’ll be quickly cooking vegetables and tossing them with cooked noodles and sauce. Easy as that. You’ll need three packets of instant ramen noodles that you want to boil just how the package tells you to, but without the seasoning packets. (You can just throw those away, or save them for something creative!) Drain the ramen and toss it with a little oil to keep it from sticking.
You want to have everything else ready because things move fast. So chop up your veggies and your chicken and whisk together your sauce (cornstarch, soy sauce, chicken broth, sesame oil, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, Sriracha, and black pepper). Then get cooking.
Heat up some oil in a wok or skillet and cook the garlic and ginger just until their fragrant before you add in the onion, carrot, broccoli, bell pepper, and mushrooms. It’s key that you chop everything small so that it cooks through quickly. No big chunks here. It should take just about five minutes for the veggies to soften…
… and then you push them to one side, add a little more oil on the other, and toss in the chicken (which should also be chopped small).
The chicken should only take three or four minutes to cook through and then you can stir in the sauce and the noodles to bring everything together.
The sauce should thicken up nicely in just a couple of minutes.
This moves quick but that just means that dinner is on the table quick. And when it’s one the whole family gets excited about, that’s extra good news.
Chicken Ramen Skillet
Ingredients
- 3 packages instant ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece ginger, grated
- 1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 cup broccoli florets, diced
- 1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
For the sauce:
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For serving:
- Green onion, sliced
- Sesame seeds
Preparation
- Prepare ramen (without seasoning packets) according to package instructions. Drain, toss with 1 tablespoon oil, then set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients: the cornstarch, soy sauce, chicken broth, sesame oil, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, Sriracha, and black pepper. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add onion, broccoli, bell pepper, carrots, and mushrooms and cook until just tender 4-5 minutes.
- Push vegetables to one side, then add 1 tablespoon oil to empty side, followed by chicken. Season with salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink, 3-4 minutes.
- Stir sauce once more time, then add to skillet along with drained ramen noodles. Cook and toss everything together with tongs until sauce has thickened and coated everything, 2-4 minutes.
- Serve topped with green onion and sesame seeds and enjoy!