I’m in the home stretch of pregnancy (about 40 days to go!), and all I can think about is brothy soups.
I’m exhausted all the time (which has been my biggest preggo issue since the beginning – I got off easy!), and the late-pregnancy “discomfort” that everyone tells you about is starting to kick in. Lower back pain, occasionally swollen ankles/feet, breathlessness after the simplest tasks, and fierce baby kwon-do moves to the pelvic area are now in effect (seriously, I think we have a future martial artist on our hands). Thus, comfort food is all I am in the mood for these days. Not necessarily comfort food that is heavy or creamy, but rather something more along the lines of the hearty-yet-light variety. Enter my go-to meal of choice: soup. I know it’s still too warm outside for most people to be on board with a hot bowl of soup, but I haven’t been able to shake the idea of a slurp-worthy and noodly soup for weeks now. In fact, in the midst of our kitchen renovation this summer, I was counting down the days to where I would have a stove again…just so I could make a pot of soup. I’m addicted, I tell ya.
Many months ago, I saw a recipe online for homemade ramen. Ramen as in the authentic kind you get at Asian noodle houses…not so much the instant kind that comes with the scary MSG-loaded flavor packet. I’ve been dying to try it out at home for forever now, and I’m taking this pregnancy craving as an opportunity to do so. If it’s still too warm out for you to make something like this, PLEASE save this recipe for the winter. It’s so incredibly cozy and comforting. A definite must-make meal.
This version uses some breakfast flavors we all know and love: bacon and eggs. We’re already off to a good start, right? Combine those with an spiced, salty broth and fresh spinach and shallot…and OMG, it’s a flavor and texture explosion. I DO take the shortcut of using the pre-packaged noodles I ate daily in college but sans the mystery seasoning packet. The dried noodles themselves work great for this. If you can get your hands on fresh ramen noodles (I could not), then definitely use those!
Not only is the broth suck-through-a-straw good, but the soft-boiled eggs are not to be ignored! To soft boil my eggs, I cook them in simmering water for exactly 5 minutes (you can go an extra minute if you like the yolks a tad firmer – you can see mine are still pretty runny), run under cold water until completely cool, and then carefully peel. They should be added to everything. I will not debate this. Soft-boiled eggs for life! This has been something I have eaten all through my pregnancy, despite many people’s feelings against runny egg yolks (don’t worry, I cleared it with my doctor). Runny yolks are the only yolks worth eating, unless we’re talking about deviled eggs or egg salad.
If you have some leftover cooked chicken, pork, or beef, feel free to add them in. If I had some of this pork on hand, I definitely would have thrown that into the mix. That’s the wonderful thing about dishes like this: they’re completely customizable. If you’re a vegetarian, you could easily swap in veggie stock for the chicken and omit the bacon altogether. You might want to sub in something a bit heartier to give this soup the heft you normally get from the pork flavor, though. Maybe some sautéed mushrooms (I’ll try not to judge…)…or some crispy tofu? I think it would still be fabulous without the bacon…not that I personally would ever try it that way, hah. Bacon and soft-boiled eggs for life!
Thanks, Baby Boy, for making me crave noodly soup in August and forcing me to try out this long-awaited recipe. I’m going to high five you in approximately 40 days.
Bacon, soft-boiled eggs, AND noodly ramen for life!
Check out the video I made for this recipe as well. It shows just how easy it comes together!
Homemade Ramen with Bacon & Soft-Boiled Eggs
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are 1x
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
- Red pepper flakes, to taste (I used about ½ teaspoon)
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste (or more to taste)
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (or to taste – the miso already adds quite a bit of salt)
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 cups ramen noodles (use fresh if you can – dried work in a pinch, just make sure to discard the included seasoning packet)
Toppings:
- 2 cups stemmed and chopped baby spinach leaves
- 1 shallot, very thinly sliced
- Soft-boiled or poached eggs (I usually do 1 egg per person)
- Chopped scallions
- Sriracha hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Place a pot over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Render until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside (this will be used as a garnish).
- To the drippings, add the ginger, garlic, and lemongrass and sauté for 1 minute. Add the red pepper flakes and stock and bring to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Simmer for 30 minutes and then strain out and discard the aromatics (garlic, ginger, and lemongrass). Stir in the miso paste, soy sauce, vinegars, and toasted sesame oil and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Make the soft-boiled/poached eggs at this point but do not drain the water when finished. Instead, return the water to a simmer and cook the ramen noodles for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
- To serve, divide the baby spinach, shallot, and the cooked noodles between two bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles and top each bowl with the crisped bacon, soft-boiled eggs, scallions, and hot sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes
Adapted from here.
Ingredient notes:
- If you cannot find fresh lemongrass in your grocery store, check the Asian/International aisle for jarred lemongrass in water. Works in a pinch!
- Miso paste can be found in the produce or refrigerated section of most grocery stores. You can also order it online. It has a strong flavor with a super salty punch, so start out with a little bit and add more as needed. I found that 1 tablespoon was perfect for me.
- The original recipe called for Chinese Black Vinegar
, which I could not find anywhere for the life of me (except on Amazon). Not needing a millionth bottle of something in my pantry, I made do with a mix of balsamic and rice wine vinegars. While not as authentic, it still tasted great!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: soup
Hi There. I'm Molly. I'm a food-obsessed, self-taught cook and I can't wait to share my passion for all things culinary with you. My love for egg yolks is just the tip of the iceberg!
That is one beautiful ramen, Molly, especially with the soft boiled egg on top!
Thank you, Matt! Add a runny egg yolk to anything and I’ll eat it!
Lovely recipe, I love ramen noodles a lot. Your pictures are beautiful as well
Thanks, Tracy!
Molly, this looks delious. I def will try this one out. Also beautiful pictures also. Good luck with the baby boy♥I love you said ” Dan’s your guinea pig” lol thats cute and so are the pictures of you two. Thanks for sharing your recipes:-)
Thanks so much, Amy!
Hi Molly,
I’m Tara Fuller, director of brand strategy at Greatist! I’m working on a round-up of recipes, and would love to include a blurb and photo of this recipe. I’ll of course credit your photo and link back to the recipe on your blog! Let me know if this usage is alright and if you have a hi res (or larger) version of the recipe I can use on the article page. If you have one that’s 1800 pixels wide, that would be wonderful.
Thanks so much and hope you’re having a nice week!
Yes, I would love it if you included my recipe! Thanks for checking. I can email you a high-res photo.
Huge thank you from another pregnant lady craving soup in August! I’m just entering my second trimester and I’m so looking forward to cool weather and soup for every meal! This one will be a regular.
Aw, so glad to hear! It is one of our most fav dishes ever…and that was true for me all last summer during my pregnancy. It’s a go to!
This was delicious! I made it your way the first time and added onions and subbed Asian 5 spice for the red pepper flakes the second time I made it. This is definitely a keeper! We live in a food desert and I miss all the great variety of foods we used to eat. Thanks for this recipe!
Oh this is so delicious. I added a little bit of chicken and replaced the spinach (because I couldn’t find any) with paksoi and I finally found the perfect ramen for my taste. Gorgeous recipe and amazing photos. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
just FYI, a great substitute for chinese Black Vinegar is Worcestshire sauce. I’m convinced it’s the same thing. 🙂
Wow, that’s great to know! Thanks, Shelley.
This was delicious, so flavorful! Could eat it every week.
Me too! Thanks, Amy!
This is the perfect recipe for weekday nights, from one time rushed person to another. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I would make this one million more times!
Thanks so much, Becca! Glad you love this recipe as much as we do 🙂
I made this a few nights ago, and oh man, it’s delicious! I did 1.5 times the recipe, so we could have leftovers for lunch, and I ended up getting about 6 servings. I couldn’t find miso paste, so I used Better Than Bouillon vegetable base which worked great. I wish I would’ve seen the comment about subbing Worcestershire sauce for the black vinegar beforehand, with the balsamic and rice wine vinegars, it was a bit too vinegar-y for my taste, but I added more broth to cut it. I used unsalted broth, but with the bacon, bouillon, and soy sauce, it was still a tad on the salty side. I think I would add a cup of water just to dilute it a bit next time (it was definitely saltier as leftovers). I think my husband and I scarfed this down in about 2 minutes flat, I’m definitely adding it to our dinner rotation! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
yay! this makes me so happy! so glad you were able to adjust it to your tastes, too. that’s what cooking is all about! thanks, Jillian!
Could the broth be made ahead of time and reheated when ready to use with the ramen noodles and everything else?
Hi Priscilla! Absoutely. In fact, that is usually what I do. I’ll make a big batch of the broth for the week and then re-heat + add the other components when it’s time to eat. Hope this helps!
A friend told us about this recipe and we ABSOLUTELY love it!