How to Make Ramen Noodles Using Spaghetti (Hack)

Featured Comment:

“Thanks for the hack, I tried it with long curly spaghetti to make ramen at home, it was pretty good.”

– Didina Gnagnide Angorinie

Finding Ramen Noodles Abroad Can Be Tricky

A common problem Japanese ramen lovers like myself face when living abroad is the fact that there aren’t ramen restaurants on every corner like back home. When I lived in a small city in England for years, I always had this problem of not being able to find ramen.

Of course, it would be absolutely wrong to expect the same environment in other countries as in Japan, but I grew up with ramen and my occasional craving for it will probably never disappear.

Can cup noodles or instant noodles satisfy that craving? Unfortunately, no. Of course, I like cup noodles too, but I consider ramen from a ramen restaurant and cup noodles to be two completely different dishes.

Here is my personal opinion on whether or not I recommend against known measures for such a problem of not being able to reach ramen from my experience.

Making it from scratch at home

My first attempt to tackle the ramen puzzle was to roll up my sleeves and try making the noodles from scratch at home. Believe me, it’s not for the faint of heart. Between assembling the ingredients and wrestling with a manual pasta machine, it was a messy affair that tested my patience back then!

The result was quite a triumph I must say but, it was quite a hassle! Making the soup and chashu from scratch alone requires time and effort. Add homemade noodles into the mix, turning into a day-long culinary marathon. Another drawback is the need for equipment such as a pasta machine.

So, while creating authentic ramen noodles at home is entirely possible, it’s also a commitment – of time, effort, and extra cleaning. If you ask me, I wholeheartedly recommend trying homemade ramen noodles, but only if you have time to spare.

Using the noodles from packaged instant ramen

Another common workaround involves using dried, instant noodles from packets, for instance, Maruchan instant ramen. This method is undeniably straightforward. However, as I’ve previously emphasized, instant ramen and authentic ramen are similar yet entirely different.

While some instant soups and flavors have become unbelievably authentic these days, the most significant distinction lies in the noodles themselves. Ramen shops always serve fresh, raw noodles, made in-house or at a noodle mill, then boiled to perfection. In contrast, instant ramen noodles are essentially preserved food—dried and fried before packaging.

So, while I do appreciate instant ramen, it doesn’t quite capture the essence of ramen in Japan. Also, it is wasteful and expensive to buy instant ramen just to take the noodles and throw the seasonings away.

But don’t lose hope! In the next section, I’ll share a handy trick using spaghetti—a pantry staple more akin to genuine ramen than instant noodles.

Ramen with spaghetti noodles

Following my homemade ramen adventure, I was nearly ready to abandon and ignore my ramen craving. But then, I stumbled upon an amazing workaround—making ramen noodles from spaghetti!

This hack is quite popular among many Japanese ramen lovers living abroad. I wish I’d discovered it sooner before turning my kitchen upside down with my earlier attempts!

The following section will explore how to morph your everyday spaghetti into a satisfying ramen noodle substitute. It’s simpler than you might imagine!

How to Make Ramen with Spaghetti Noodles

Here’s the surprising twist—this trick is not only my secret but also a well-loved hack among many Japanese people who, like me, can’t easily find premade fresh ramen noodles.

The secret lies in cooking regular spaghetti with a bit of baking soda! It’s as straightforward as that!

Before we proceed, it’s essential to clarify—this hack is not magic that will transform spaghetti into exact replicas of the noodles you’d find in a ramen restaurant. Instead, it’s the most convenient way to make something similar to ramen noodles abroad. Please keep this in mind as we dive into the details.

Furthermore, spaghetti is usually cheap and easily available in basically any country, so it is also economical. Don’t waste time buying instant ramen; just take out the noodles and throw away the soup!

The Chemistry Behind The Ramen Hack

Ramen noodles owe their distinctive chewiness and yellowish hue to “lye water” known as “kansui” (かん水) in Japanese.” Lye water is an alkali salt solution mixed into the flour during preparation. Without it, you’d simply be kneading regular wheat flour into udon noodles. On the other hand, pasta lacks this lye water component, giving it a distinct texture that’s firmer and less chewy than ramen noodles.

The crucial ingredient in lye water is sodium carbonate. The thought process behind using baking soda while boiling pasta is to mimic a basic environment that encourages a reaction between the base and gluten—similar to the process of making ramen noodles in the first place.

Now, baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, has extra hydrogen. However, it decomposes into sodium carbonate, water, and carbon dioxide when heated. Hence, the theory goes that boiling spaghetti with baking soda transforms into something similar to ramen noodles.

Visual Walkthrough & Tips

Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to turn dried spaghetti into ramen noodles at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the printable recipe card below.

FAQ

Here are answers to frequently asked questions I have received across all platforms, including here, YouTube, and Pinterest. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to me anytime! It will be a big help for everyone in this community!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!