Spicy Pulled Pork Ramen

Spicy pulled pork ramen made with homemade bone broth and aromatics like lemongrass and ginger will satisfy your hungry family and cure the cold weather blues. Use your leftover pulled pork and other favorite vegetables to create this soul satisfying bowl of noodle goodness. Find more leftover pulled pork recipes here.

My kids love ramen. They love soup and the love all the noodles they can get in their soup bowl. My husband was the first to introduce ramen to them. And yes, it was the instant totally bad for you ramen bricks and sodium laden soup broth.

I learned to fill their ramen bowls up with vegetables and meat to make them healthy-ish. With a giant Asian market only 10 minutes away, we’ve stocked on all different kinds of noodles and ingredients.

And eventually, I learned to make my own ramen broth, including this delicious spicy pulled pork ramen.

Why this recipe is so awesome

Ramen is popular Japanese soup consisting of wheat noodles that has evolved into a filling and inexpensive meal popular all over the world. There are many different varieties and flavors of ramen. And of course, the ramen toppings are endless.

One meal all of my kids can agree on is my homemade ramen bowls.

The base of this pork ramen broth is my pork bone broth. If you do not have or cannot find pork broth, you can substitute with chicken or vegetable stock. The higher quality of the stock you use, the better tasting ramen broth you will have.

I start the ramen broth by sautéing lemon grass and onions. I love the aroma and flavor of lemongrass and have a plant in my yard so I can use often. It was a delicious base for my chicken udon noodle soup with lemongrass, so I used it again for my ramen broth.

Once the vegetables are soft and aromatic, you add the rest of the ingredients and let all the flavors meld together in a slow simmer.

I serve ramen to my family a la carte style. I chop up all the vegetables and everyone can customize their bowl with their favorite toppings.

I usually use leftovers from my crispy pulled pork for the meat, but you can also use shredded chicken, tofu or any other protein you like.

Ingredients you need

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)!  Read my full disclosure policy

Ramen Broth Ingredients

• Pork broth: If you do not have pork broth (homemade or store bought), you can also use chicken or vegetable broth.
• Lemongrass stalk: This is both aromatic and flavorful.
• Onion: You can use brown or white onions.
• Extra virgin olive oil: You can also use any other netural oil like corn or vegetable oil.
• Sesame oil: A little sesame oil goes a long way in terms of flavor.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic offers the best flavor.
• Fresh ginger: Again, fresh ginger offers the best flavor compared to powdered.
• Sake: Yup, a little sake adds something unique to the broth. Don’t worry, the alcohol burns off. If you prefer no alcohol, add a little bit of dried seaweed instead.
• Miso: This paste comes in a variety of flavors. Use whichever you prefer or can find.
• Chile paste: Use Thai chile paste or sriracha and as much as you like.
• Soy sauce: You can also use Tamari sauce.
• Dried shiitake mushrooms: Again, we are building up the flavors of the broth. I have a package of dried mushrooms in the pantry just for making ramen broth.

Other Ramen Ingredients

• Ramen noodles: Ramen noodles come in all shapes and sizes. You have the squiggly bricks similar to what you find in the very Americanized packaged bricks you find at the grocery store. Japanese ramen noodles can also be found flat and straight. Whatever shape noodles you use, for it be ramen, they do need to be wheat noodles.
• Favorite vegetables: I like bean sprouts, mushrooms and shredded carrots! More topping ideas are listed further below.
• Protein: Shredded pork or chicken, slices of steak, soft boiled egg or tofu.
• Fresh herbs: Cilantro, basil and/or green onions.
• More flavors: Chile paste, lime or extra soy sauce.

Step-by-step directions

1. Cut the lemongrass into pieces that will fit in your pot. Slice down the center of the reed to open it up and/or smash it with the back of your knife. This helps release the flavor of the lemongrass.

2. Heat a large pot over high heat and add oils. When the oil is hot, add the lemongrass and onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, miso, chile paste and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Pour in the pork broth and remaining broth ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

4. Using a slotted spoon or pour through a colander, remove and discard the solids and reserve the broth. I strain the broth twice, once with a big holed strainer to grab the big stuff, then with a fine strainer to get the smaller bits.

5. While the broth is simmering, bring another large pot to boil with salt. When water is boiling, add ramen noodles and cook until done per time on package directions. Drain noodles and reserve.

6. While everything is cooking, chop and prepare your vegetables and toppings. Cut them small and thing so they will soften quickly in the hot broth.

7. To serve, add noodles to your bowl. Drain noodles and divide into 4 large bowls. Add your favorite toppings vegetables and herbs. Ladle in strained ramen broth and enjoy!

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

For my family, ramen is all about the noodles and of course, the toppings. As I stated earlier, I serve all the fixings separately so each person can customize their bowl of pork ramen any way they want.

For the pork ramen pictured below, I used shredded carrots, bean sprouts, soft boiled egg, assorted mushrooms, cilantro and limes. Vietnamese pho is served with fresh herbs and we Persians love our fresh herbs, so it seemed totally natural to serve them with our pork ramen.

If you really want to make this a spicy ramen, feel free to add more chile paste to your soup. Listed below are some of our favorite ramen toppings. Whatever toppings you do use, keep them cut thin so the hot broth will soften them.

• Shredded pork
• Shredded carrots
• Shredded cabbage
• Bean sprouts
• Assorted mushrooms like enoki, oyster, beech and maitake
• Celery
• Bok Choy
• Radish sprouts
• Fresh spinach
• Dried seaweed
• Bamboo shoots
• Corn
• Chile paste
• Chile oil
• Soft boiled egg
• Salmon roe
• Cilantro
• Green onions
• Thai basil
• Lime wedges
• Kimchi

My ramen is not a traditional broth, but inspired by traditional ramen ingredients. If you would like something more traditional, check out this post all about Japanese ramen.

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my eMail list, too!