Description
Hearty Slow Cooker Beef Ramen Noodles offer a comforting journey through Japanese-inspired comfort cuisine. Tender beef and silky noodles create a satisfying meal you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 kg (2 lbs) beef chuck roast or stew meat, cut into chunks
- 4 cups beef broth (low sodium)
- 4 packs instant ramen noodles
- ⅓ cup soy sauce (low sodium)
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsps oyster sauce
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup baby spinach or bok choy
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
- Soft-boiled eggs (optional)
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- Additional green onions (optional)
Instructions
- Meat Preparation: Nestle beef cubes into slow cooker, optionally pre-searing to amplify flavor complexity and develop rich caramelization.
- Liquid Foundation: Combine beef broth, water, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, minced garlic, sliced ginger, onion, and sesame oil. Whisk ingredients thoroughly to create harmonious flavor profile.
- Slow Cooking: Cover and allow meat to tenderize through prolonged gentle heating at low temperature, targeting 6-8 hours until proteins become effortlessly shreddable.
- Vegetable Integration: Add crisp vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, and carrots during final 30 minutes of cooking, preserving their textural integrity and nutritional essence.
- Noodle Finalization: Introduce ramen noodles in final cooking phase, gently fragmenting clusters and allowing them to absorb broth’s rich essence for 4-5 minutes.
- Serving Ritual: Transfer steaming mixture into serving vessels, ensuring balanced distribution of succulent meat, perfectly cooked noodles, and aromatic broth. Garnish with freshly chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds for visual and gustatory appeal.
Notes
- Boost Meat Flavor: Pre-sear beef cubes in a hot skillet before slow cooking to develop a rich, caramelized exterior and enhance overall depth of flavor.
- Manage Liquid Balance: Adjust broth consistency by adding water or broth incrementally to prevent overly thick or thin sauce, ensuring optimal sauce-to-noodle ratio.
- Preserve Vegetable Texture: Add delicate vegetables like spinach during the final 30 minutes to maintain crisp texture and prevent overcooking or mushy consistency.
- Customize Dietary Needs: Substitute traditional ramen noodles with gluten-free alternatives, use low-sodium soy sauce, or replace beef with plant-based protein for varied dietary requirements.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 7-8 hours (low) or 4-5 hours (high)
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 500
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg