Name: Chicken Curry Ramen
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1kg (2 1/4 lb.) chicken breasts and/or thighs, cut into thin strips; Salt and pepper to taste; 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) or coconut oil; 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1 x 2.5cm (1 inch) galangal or ginger, minced (preferably galangal); 6 spring onions (scallions), cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces; 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste (shop bought is fine for this one; 1/2 tsp ground turmeric; 2 litres (8 cups) Asian chicken stock; 2 x 400ml (14oz) tins (cans) thick coconut milk; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 6 packs of instant ramen noodles; OPTIONAL GARNISHES; Coriander (cilantro); Crispy fried onions; Julienned carrots; Chinese chilli oil; Sriracha

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Chicken curry ramen can be made in under 30 minutes.

Who doesn’t love a good bowl of curry ramen noodles? This curry ramen can be made with instant or better quality ramen noodles and it’s so easy to prepare. If you use instant noodles, you can make this whole recipe in one pot. That’s what I did today. I was cooking for eight people and wanted to make things really easy on myself.

Comfort food at its very best. Give this curry ramen a try today.

A bit about this curry ramen recipe…

This recipe is something like Caroline and I had for the first time at a restaurant in Bangkok. Ramen is of course from Japan, but the chef at the restaurant whipped up his signature Thai curry ramen for us.

I didn’t get the exact recipe but but he did tell me how he made it so it was quite easy to come up with this version when I got home.

In addition to the ingredients he told me he used, I also added a generous teaspoon of S&B Oriental curry powder which we both really liked. I have since made my own homemade version of S&B curry powder and will be posting it on the blog soon.

Getting this curry ramen recipe right

Although you can make this recipe with chicken stock cubes, I recommend making your own. It’s a lot better.

I usually make a huge batch of chicken stock and then freeze what I don’t use. That way, I always have some on hand.

Here’s the recipe for Thai chicken stock from my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy Thai.

Which curry paste?

You can use a good quality shop bought Thai green curry paste for ease. I used homemade which, of course tastes better!

So little paste is used in this curry ramen recipe, so use either.

Which ramen noodles are best?

To be honest, I find instant ramen noodles really good. I was surprised to find that many quality restaurants in the Far East actually serve instant ramen noodles. They are good and that’s why I used them in this recipe.

You could go upmarket and purchase other fresh or dried ramen noodles. Most only take a few minutes to cook so you could say all ramen noodles are instant. If you use other ramen noodles, you’ll still be able to prepare and cook this curry ramen recipe in under 30 minutes.

Do I have to add chicken?

Nope. You could use vegetable stock and leave the chicken out. I made this curry ramen once for a veggie friend with fried tofu. It was great!

To fry tofu, simply add cubes of tofu to the pan at the beginning of this recipe instead of the chicken.

Can this curry ramen be frozen?

Although you could freeze it, I don’t recommend doing so.

The coconut milk and the noodles don’t freeze well. That said, you could prepare the recipe up to when you add the coconut milk. Leave it out and freeze the unfinished curry.

Then you can defrost it and add the coconut milk and ramen noodles, even quicker for an amazing curry ramen.

Are there other types of curry ramen?

You bet. One of my favourites is to serve ramen noodles with this Japanese chicken curry.

If you have a curry you really like, whether it be Thai, Indian or other, it will be delicious served with ramen noodles.

Here’s a Mexican style birria ramen I made a few weeks back and it was amazing too.

Curry ramen in pictures…

Get your ingredients together before you start cooking. It’s easier that way.

Fry your chicken over a medium high heat. You might need to do this in a couple batches. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside.

Frying garlic, galangal and spring onions (scallions)

Fry the garlic, galangal and spring onions for about a minute or until fragrant.

Stir in the green curry paste and fry, stirring often for another minute.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering for about 5 minutes to reduce some.

Add the curry powder. This is optional but good!

Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.

While the stock is simmering, pour boiling water over the instant noodles. They should be ready in a couple of minutes.

Divide the noodles between 6 bowls. Place the chicken on top and pour the stock over the noodles. Garnish with your ingredients of choice.

Dig in!

Galangal vs. Ginger

Although galangal and ginger look similar, they have different flavours.

You can prepare this delicious curry ramen with galangal or ginger. Galangal is preferred in Thai cooking. It has a piney flavour and is quite mild. It also has a woody texture so it needs to be finely chopped. Ginger, on the other hand is spicier and has a citrusy flavour. It can be finely chopped or grated.

Although they do have different flavours, both will work in this curry ramen recipe.

If you like this curry ramen recipe, you might like to try some of these too…

Thai green chicken curry
Thai red curry
Beef Massaman curry
Chicken Massaman curry
Jungle curry
Panang curry
Thai green beef curry

Yield: 6