Ramen tossed with baby spinach in a savory garlic ginger sesame sauce. This garlic sesame ramen is simple, delicious, and perfect for a quick light meal.
Let’s face it. There are days when we’re just not in the mood to cook.
As much as I love cooking, there are days when I just want to sit in bed and laze around. I don’t want to spend time in the kitchen prepping ingredients for a meal. I don’t want to stand at the stove cooking after a long day at work. I want my meals to magically appear in front of me.
Seriously. If only, right? Lol
This garlic sesame ramen is as close to an instant meal as you can get.
Is it terrible to admit that sometimes instant ramen is a guilty pleasure for me? We’re usually stocked up with noodles just in case of emergencies. But the instant ramen minus the seasoning packets are perfect for quick and easy meals like this.
Ramen noodles tossed in a mixture of garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce. It’s so savory and so delicious. And even better, it’s super easy to make. So even tired me will be okay with making it. Because there’s barely any prep work that goes into this. Add a little spinach for some veggies and ta da, dinner. Or lunch. Or…. snack. lol.
Heat water in a small pot. Once the water comes to a boil, cook the noodles according to the directions on the packaging. About 2-3 minutes. Once the noodles are almost cooked, add the baby spinach. Drain the water and set aside for now.
While the noodles are cooking, place a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and once heated, stir in the garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute until lightly browned, then stir in the brown sugar, soy sauce, and chili garlic paste. Turn off the heat and stir in the toasted sesame oil. Add the noodles to the skillet and toss well to coat.
Serve the noodles with green onions and black sesame seeds on top. Or if you like, you can top with furikake seasoning.
Enjoy!
- 1 package ramen noodles, seasoning removed
- 1½ cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic paste
- 1½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 green onions thinly sliced, optional
- Black sesame seeds for topping
- Heat water in a small pot. Once the water comes to a boil, cook the noodles according to the directions on the packaging. About 2-3 minutes. Once the noodles are almost cooked, add the baby spinach. Drain the water and set aside for now.
- While the noodles are cooking, heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and once heated, stir in the garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute until lightly browned, then stir in the brown sugar, soy sauce, and chili garlic paste. Turn off the heat and stir in the toasted sesame oil. Add the noodles to the skillet and toss well to coat.
- Serve the noodles with green onions and black sesame seeds on top. Or if you like, you can top with furikake seasoning.
Jennifer @ A Colorful Voice says
This looks delicious! Can I get chili garlic paste at any grocery store or do I need to go to a specialty place?
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
You can get it at Asian supermarkets and at the Asian aisle at the grocery store. Or on Amazon. This one is my favorite.
Britt says
Looks good, might try it this week..
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
I hope you’ll like it!
Britt says
We ended up making it for dinner last week and it was really good. We added a little broth to our noodles, though. Thanks for the quick dinner/lunch idea!
Rachel says
This looks like the perfect weeknight meal! Simple and delicious.
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Super easy to make!
Content Catnip says
This looks so good, and so easy! Thanks Andrea
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
I hope you’ll get the chance to try it!
circadianreflections says
This sounds so much better than just adding that flavor packet it the noodles come with! I’ve got a couple of packets of noodles in my pantry…this one I’m going to try!
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
I hope you’ll like it!
artofthebeat says
This was a staple at our house, I had 4 kids and they loved it. You can mix so many things into the ramen to make it different. Being a single parent, ramen was the bet way to get vegetables into my kids and feed them all for under $5.
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
I grew up on ramen with veggies and meat too. lol
beth says
this sounds delicious