Ramen made with ginger, shallots, garlic and duck fat (easy to find at Whole Foods) and adds richness, and topped with tons of fresh vibrant vegetables over satisfying ramen noodles.
Using duck fat to make ramen is a really easy way to add a lot of flavor with minimal effort. Duck fat can be found at Whole Foods, enabling you to throw this super tasty dish full of healthy vegetables together in 30 minutes. The duck fat adds a ton of richness, which leaves room to focus on adding heaps of fresh vegetables over those satisfying curly noodles.
When visiting some of my old college roommates in Florida recently, they took me to a restaurant in walking distance that had the most incredible ramen. One of the things that stood out about this ramen was that it was made with duck fat. Almost a year later, and on the road in Austin, TX, I tried making this at “home” (aka our 2 month long Airbnb as we travel around the country). It was so, so good, and saved so much time in the cooking process, not having to cook or prepare any meat.
Toppings
I added in all the toppings here including baby bok choy (my favorite), red bell peppers, green onions, jalapenos, and hard boiled eggs (which I prefer over soft boiled). But you could easily pair this down to 1 or 2 toppings and make it a super fast weeknight dish. It’s peeling those pesky hardboiled eggs that takes the most time, though it’s nice to have the added protein.
Doubling the Ramen
I try to make a habit of doubling this recipe to have tons of broth leftover for lunches during the week. In the future, when we are back at our real home, I plan to double the broth, freeze the leftover broth and pull it out anytime we need dinner ready in about 15 minutes. All I’ll have to do is make the noodles and cut up a few veggies.
Notes on 30 Minute Duck Fat Ramen:
- Making ramen is all about the broth. In this case, the broth is made with duck fat, shallots, ginger, and garlic. Using duck fat means that you get all the flavor of that fat without all the work of preparing, cooking, or cutting any meat. Lots of flavor and short cooking time.
- Duck Fat: It’s definitely a strange ingredient and not one that ends up on our typical grocery list. I can’t imagine most people have ever bought duck fat at the store. I hadn’t until wanting to make this recipe. But it was actually fairly easy to find at Whole Foods. Depending on the time of year (if it's near Thanksgiving) it can be found in the refrigerator section in the same area as the hot dogs/sausages/bacon in a small round white tub, almost like margarine. It's called, "Mary's Rendered Duck Fat." Otherwise it can be found in the aisle with oils.
- Duck Fat does not have a strange taste, and it doesn’t really stand out as having any strong specific flavor (especially given its just 2 tablespoons), it just adds a nice savoriness.
- I have been able to find packaged ramen noodles fairly consistently at Whole Foods (different Whole Foods markets around the country), and I’ve also seen the Ocean’s Halo brand at a Kroger. I’ve heard of other people buying pre-packaged ramen noodles (the instant kind that you pour hot water over) and discarding the seasoning but using the noodles. I haven’t tried this, but it definitely would be less expensive.
- One box of Ocean’s Halo Ramen Noodles is enough for one meal for a family of 4. However, you’ll need another box for any of the leftover broth the next day.
- Often I will also make a whole bunch of hard boiled eggs (8-10), thinking that if there are any extra, I’ll use them for egg salad sandwiches during the week. But usually we end up eating them all between the first night and leftovers.
- I add ½ tsp of sriracha here, which is a pretty small amount compared to the amount of broth so it doesn’t make it spicy at all, and perfectly suitable for little kids. If you want it spicier feel free to add more, add some to your individual bowl, or skip it all together if this is not something you normally keep in your pantry.
Looking for other Asian inspired recipes? Here are some ideas:
Yellow Thai Curry with Vegetables
If you make this 30 Minute Duck Fat Ramen, I'd love to hear from you and learn how it went. Leave a rating and a comment down below and let me know how it turns out. Your feedback means a lot!
30 Minute Duck Fat Ramen
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsps duck fat
- ¼ cup peeled and sliced ginger
- 1 shallot, sliced (not minced)
- 5 garlic cloves, sliced (not minced)
- 8 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ½ tsp sriracha
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 bulbs baby bok choy, thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 4 eggs (to be hard/soft boiled)
- 15 oz Ramen Noodles + more for leftovers (Ocean’s Halo brand can be found at Whole Foods)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat, add olive oil and duck fat. Add the ginger and shallot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, and sriracha. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Separately, hard or soft boil eggs to your preference. I prefer hard boiled, which can be done by putting eggs in a pot, cover the eggs with water, bring to a boil, remove from heat, and let sit for 12 minutes before straining the water. Then plunge into a bowl of ice water. Peel and slice the eggs.
- Place the corn in a bowl along with a little bit of water and microwave for 1 minute until warmed through, strain out the water.
- Cook the ramen according to the package directions in a separate pot. I’ve used Ocean’s Halo ramen noodles, which comes in a 10.5 oz package at Whole Foods. The whole package is enough for one dinner for 4, but you will likely need more to use with any leftovers.
- Using a fine mesh strainer remove and discard all of the ginger, shallots, and garlic so that you are left with only broth.
- To serve, place ramen noodles in bowls and top with bell peppers, bok choy, jalapeño, green onions, corn, and sliced eggs. Ladle the still piping hot broth over the vegetables and noodles. The broth should be so hot that it starts to cook the peppers and bok choy so that they become slightly soft.
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