Hey guys, Yuto here (@sudachi.recipe).
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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...
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.
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!
Watch our video for how to turn Spaghetti into Ramen-Style Noodle
Step by step recipe
How to Make Ramen Noodle Using Spaghetti (Hack)
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 Portions 1x
Description
How to Make Ramen Noodles Using Spaghetti (Hack)
Ingredients
- 160g Spaghetti (1.8mm)
- 2000ml Water
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Baking soda
Instructions
- First pour 2000ml of cold water into a large pot with ½ tsp of salt and bring to the boil.
- Once it's boiling, add 1 tbsp baking soda.
- Add the spaghetti and boil for 2 minutes more than it says on the packaging.
- Serve up as you wish! (In a broth, as a salad, for yakisoba, whatever you like!)
- 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
Andy Mc
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!
Yuto Omura
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!
Perer P
Love the hack! I've used just plain spaghetti noodle in a pinch before but now I'll try this hack. And what might have you been doing all the way over there in Narrich? Studying at UEA? I've done a couple years there myself. I miss the place. The good news is there is also now a stall in the Norwich Market that sells Southeast Asian food and then Fair selection of ramans.
Thanks for sharing! I Came Upon This by accident but now I see lots of recipes I'm going to be checking out. Cheers mate
★★★★★
Yuto Omura
Thanks so much! Yeah I was at UEA for 4 years, I had a great time there! What a small world haha
I have a feeling that stall opened during my final year so I didn't have time to make the most of it, but it's great to hear they have a good selection. Is it reasonably priced?
Hope you enjoy the recipes and thanks for the 5 star review!
Mary
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.
★★★★
Yuto Omura
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! 🙂
Didina Gnagnide Angorinie
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.
★★★★★
Yuto Omura
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!
Arca kim
hello and thank you for this hack ^^
I made it and it was delicious <3
Yuto Omura
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
dick m
Hi Yuto, I found your website while looking for Yakisoba recipes. Also found your homemade Yakisoba Sauce and that was just sheer serendipity. It's great. Have had it severalnow and will be having it again. Yakisoba is one of my favorite dishes. This evening I found your ramen hack--more serendipity. Definitely will be trying that with Bucatini noodles. Bucatini is like spaghetti, but it's a bit fatter and has a hole that runs through the center, like a tube. Anyway great site. I could buy yakisoba sauce and ramen but that would be an hour and a half round trip. So glad I found your site. Thanks.
★★★★★
Yuto Omura
Hi, so glad you found my blog and are enjoying my recipes! I hope you enjoy the hack, I've never tried Bucatini noodles, let me know how it goes. Also thank you for the 5 star rating, much appreciated!