• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sudachi Recipes
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • Contact
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Japanese Cooking from Scratch

    How to Make Ramen Noodles Using Spaghetti (Hack)

    Published: May 17, 2020 · Modified: Apr 15, 2021 by Yuto Omura

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    Share this recipe!
    Share on Facebook
    Facebook
    Pin on Pinterest
    Pinterest
    Share on Reddit
    Reddit
    Tweet about this on Twitter
    Twitter
    Share on Yummly
    Yummly

    Bowl of ramen noodles from the side

    Hey guys, Yuto here (@sudachi.recipe).

    Finding Ramen Noodles Abroad

    From my experience

    A common problem Japanese ramen lovers like myself face when living abroad, is the fact that there aren't ramen restaurants on every corner.

    When I lived in Norwich, England, I always had this problem of not being able to find ramen.

    There were a few ramen restaurants in London back then, but obviously I wouldn't go down to London just to fulfill my ramen craving right? lol

    Trying to make by myself at home

    So, first solution for the problem was to try to make ramen egg noodles from scratch at home.

    It was a strenuous job indeed, messy one too!

    I put ingredients together (Only ingredients that I could get easily) and used manual pasta machine to attempt.

    Soup and chashu turned out to be a lot better than expected, however, noodle wasn't. (I want the time and effort back still :p)

    Advice from folks all over the world

    Since then, I almost gave up making ramen in my kitchen and got on with my life.

    But I stumbled upon a cheat way to make ramen egg noodle from spaghetti!

    Apparently, it is a common (essential) solution used by a lot of Japanese people who live abroad and love ramen.

    I wish I knew this trick before I made a mess in the kitchen and got told off... if only...

    Bowl of noodles overhead shot

    What is the Ramen Noodle Trick?

    Spaghetti and baking soda!?

    So this trick is very popular among Japanese people who live abroad who also cannot get premade Ramen noodles.

    So it's not only me who think the trick is good enough!

    The trick is, cook normal spaghetti in water and baking soda!

    That's it!

    Of course it's not technically the same but it's surprisingly close enough. I know it doesn't sound promising but trust me and other folks on that one.

    How does the chemistry happen?

    When you make egg noodles from scratch, using lye water is fairly essential.

    Lye water is the one that makes noodles

    • More yellow in colour
    • A bit chewy in texture
    • A distinctive smell

    Lye water is alkaline.

    If you dissolve baking soda in boiling water, apparently the boiling water becomes similar to lye water.

    This causes spaghetti's starch and gluten to react.

    Ramen noodles in a bowl closeup

    What Can You Use Ramen Noodle For?

    There are many dishes where you can use ramen noodles (including hack ramen noodles) for.

    Such as:

    • Soup ramen (ラーメン)
    • Soup-less ramen "Abura soba" (油そば)
    • Ramen salad (ラーメンサラダ)
    • Cold ramen for Summer (冷やし中華)
    • Yakisoba (焼きそば)

    And if making ramen noodle like noodles is so easy, you won't need to have the hassle of looking for the right egg noodles or making from scratch every time!

    Big respect to whoever came up with this trick for the first time!

    Check out our video for How to Turn Spaghetti into Ramen-Style Noodle!

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Bowl of noodles overhead shot

    How to Make Ramen Noodle Using Spaghetti (Hack)


    ★★★★★

    4.5 from 2 reviews

    • Author: Yuto Omura
    • Total Time: 10 minutes
    • Yield: 2 Portions 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    How to Make Ramen Noodles Using Spaghetti (Hack)


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 160g Spaghetti (1.8mm)
    • 2000ml Water
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • 1 tbsp Baking soda

    Instructions

    1. First pour 2000ml of cold water into a large pot with ½ tsp of salt and bring to the boil.ramen noodles recipe
    2. Once it's boiling, add 1 tbsp baking soda.ramen noodles trick
    3. Add the spaghetti and boil for 2 minutes more than it says on the packaging.Ramen spaghetti
    4. Serve up as you wish! (In a broth, as a salad, for yakisoba, whatever you like!)Ramen noodles serving
    5. Enjoy!

    Notes

    If you're using the noodles in a cold dish, wash them with cold water before serving to cool them down.

    • Cook Time: 10 minutes
    • Category: Noodles
    • Method: Boiling
    • Cuisine: Japanese

    Keywords: How to make ramen noodles,how do you make ramen,ramen noodle recipe,ramen noodle hack,how do you make basic ramen,ramen noodles from scratch,how to cook ramen noodles

    Did you try this recipe?

    Comment below or show us on Instagram!

    @sudachi.recipes     #sudachirecipes

    Share this recipe!
    Share on Facebook
    Facebook
    Pin on Pinterest
    Pinterest
    Share on Reddit
    Reddit
    Tweet about this on Twitter
    Twitter
    Share on Yummly
    Yummly
    « Ramen Restaurant Style Japanese Pork "Chashu" (チャーシュー)
    Abura Soba (Soupless Ramen) 油そば »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Andy Mc

      May 20, 2020 at 10:55 am

      Great tip. I live in Norwich and there are a couple of good Japanese restaurants though I’m no expert.
      You need to check the recipe as you mention tsp and tbsp of salt and there’s a big difference!
      Love the site and your instagram.
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Yuto Omura

        May 20, 2020 at 7:35 pm

        Hi Andy,
        Thank you very much for the comment!
        Yes! There are a couple or a few good Japanese restaurants in Norwich! It's more like I was always skint back then so I couldn't really go to restaurants haha

        And thank you for pointing that out, I've just fixed the tsp and tbsp measurement on the recipe. I really appreciate it 🙂

        Thank you!

        Reply
    2. Mary

      February 22, 2021 at 9:23 am

      This will come in handy since I can't have instant ramen (shellfish allergy that popped out of nowhere) and sometimes I crave a bowl of ramen.

      ★★★★

      Reply
      • Yuto Omura

        February 22, 2021 at 4:51 pm

        Thank you for your comment and I'm sorry to hear about your allergy. But yes, this trick is handy for making your own ramen from scratch! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Didina Gnagnide Angorinie

      June 01, 2022 at 4:29 am

      Thanks for the hack, I tried it with long curly spaghetti to make ramen at home, it was pretty good. Do you know if it also works with gluten free spaghetti? I have a friend who has coeliac and I'd like to make some ramen for her too.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Yuto Omura

        June 01, 2022 at 6:58 am

        Hi Didina, Thank you for the comment and rating! I'm glad the hack worked well for you.
        I've never tried it with gluten free spaghetti, but because the hack relies on a reaction between the alkaline in the baking soda and the gluten in pasta, I think it probably wouldn't work. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, I hope you can find a solution!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Konnichiwa!

    Thanks for visiting Sudachi Recipes. My name is Yuto and I'm a Japanese guy with a passion for food. Here I share tasty and accessible recipes so that you can bring a taste of Japan to your own kitchen.

    More about me →

    Follow Us


    Search by Category

    • Noodles
    • Rice
    • Meat
    • Fish and Seafood
    • Vegetable
    • Sweets
    see all categories

    New Recipes

    • Authentic Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
    • Tamago kake gohan 101: everything you need to know about TKG
    • Duck Soba Noodle Soup (Kamo Nanban Soba)
    • Harusame salad (Chuka style glass noodle salad)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Sudachi Recipes

    • About Us
    • Recipes
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Coming soon

    Social Media

    • Contact Us
    • Youtube Channel
    • Instagram
    • Tiktok
    • Facebook

    Copyright © 2021 Sudachi Recipes