What Goes Good With Beef Ramen Noodles
What To Serve With Ramen: 15 Best Sides
November 1, 2021
If you're planning a Japanese inspired meal, you might be looking for ideas around what to serve with ramen. If that's you, you're certainly in the right place!
Ramen is one of my favourite meals, and this steaming bowl of goodness can be the ultimate in comfort food. It consists of a rich flavoured broth, with wheat noodles and a variety of toppings and garnishes such as meat, tofu, chopped veggies, and fresh herbs.
It's often considered to be a fairly informal meal, and there's loads of fun to be had with rolling up your sleeves and slurping those noodles!
It's filling and nutritious even on its own, but you might decide that you want to make some side dishes or nibbles to go alongside your main course.
Check out these ideas for what to serve with ramen…
1. Tea stained eggs
A marbled tea egg is often considered to be a snack, and they're made by first hard boiling the eggs, then cracking the shells and simmering in a mixture of tea, soy sauce, and spices.
By letting the eggs simmer for longer, you can achieve a deeper colour and flavour.
They're always a conversation starter at the dinner table, which is one of the reasons why I always prepare a batch when I have guests coming over for Asian food.
2. Gyoza dumplings
Whenever I'm eating at a Japanese restaurant, I always order a side serving of gyoza to eat alongside my ramen.
They're Asian dumplings filled with a mixture of minced pork, chicken, or prawns, and various different crunchy vegetables. They offer lots in the way of traditional, authentic flavours, and it's always great fun to get stuck in with your fingers. Chopsticks aren't required here!
They're a little challenging to make, so just make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to familiarise yourself with the step by step process before you get started.
This gyoza recipe uses water chestnuts as a filling, which add such a welcome crunch!
3. Edamame beans with sea salt
Edamame are quite simply young soybeans. They're rich in nutrients, super tasty, and used in a huge variety of Asian dishes.
They're also completely delicious when served simply, using just a handful of ingredients to really bring out the flavour.
These days, you can often find high quality edamame beans in the frozen aisle at the supermarket, so make sure you pick up a bag next time you're shopping. If you're lucky enough to have an Asian greengrocers on your doorstep, you can find them fresh there.
Cook your beans according to packet instructions, drain, and place in a serving bowl. Finally, sprinkle over salt, garlic powder, chilli flakes, and a squeeze of fresh lime. Toss, and serve warm or at room temperature.
I personally like to serve these as a nibble with a glass of wine whilst the ramen is cooking away on the hob!
4. Cucumber and chilli salad
A side serving of cucumber and chilli salad is always super refreshing, and ideal when you want something that's light.
Shred your cucumbers into fine ribbons (a potato peeler works really well for this) and then splash with white wine vinegar and leave to lightly pickle for a short while. Finish off by garnishing with red chilli and sesame seeds.
5. Japanese potato salad
If you're a potato lover, you really need to try Japanese potato salad!
The addition of carrots, cucumber, and red onion make for a delightfully crunchy texture.
6. Stir fry
Stir fry is the perfect option for what to serve with ramen when you're in a hurry! Just throw in your favourite veggies, like carrots, broccoli, and baby corn and mushrooms.
It can be tempting to use a packet of ready made sauce, but more often than not, these are full of unnecessary sugars and additives. Instead, make your own with simple ingredients like garlic, ginger, chilli, and soy sauce.
7. Yakitori skewers
Yakitori is the word used to describe skewered chicken, marinaded and cooked on the grill.
These skewers make for a quick and easy side dish or accompaniment to a main meal, and they're another great option to serve as a nibble whilst you enjoy conversation with your guests over a drink or two.
8. Crispy baked teriyaki tofu
In this recipe for crispy baked teriyaki tofu, morsels of tofu are baked (instead of fried!) in a deliciously sweet and salty teriyaki sauce.
If you've never tried tofu before, this recipe is definitely worth the effort! It's ideal for evenings when you're catering for vegan guests, or just when you want to get a little more experimental and cut down on your meat intake.
An interesting fact here is that tofu itself is virtually flavourless. It's extremely absorbent of any flavourings that it's marinaded in, making it a really versatile ingredient to feature in your meal plans.
9. Kimchi
Kimchi is often considered to be a staple ingredient in Korean cuisine, and it's a side dish made from fermented vegetables.
It's considered to be healthy due to it containing probiotics, and it's sour and spicy in taste.
Serve small bowls of this around the table and invite guests to help themselves. It's one of those dishes that's an acquired taste, so you don't want to add any directly to anyone's plate before you know exactly what they think of it!
There are more than 180 varieties of kimchi available, and it's been around for over 1500 years. It's one of those ingredients that you can discover so much about when you delve into it further, so if it piques your curiosity, make it your mission to find out more!
10. Mini donburi
Donburi is a Japanese dish that involves cooked or uncooked ingredients being served on top of a bed of rice. Though it's often served as a main course in its own right, I like to prepare mini dishes and make them available as accompaniments when I'm considering what to serve with ramen!
This approach is a great way to introduce your family members to different recipes, tastes, and textures.
Some of my favourite recipes that I recommend include:
- Pulled chicken teriyaki donburi
- Teriyaki beef donburi
- Japanese pork bowl
Of course, you can simply alter the quantities so you can make smaller bowls than the recipes state. Alternatively, keep the leftovers for lunch the next day!
11. Chilli squid
Chilli squid is always a welcome addition to any Japanese inspired feast, and it's a popular option for what to eat with ramen.
I like to prepare mine deep fried with plenty of salt, garlic, and fresh chilli as seasoning!
12. Crispy seaweed salad
This side dish for ramen is light, healthy, and totally delicious!
You can often easily pick up seaweed if you have an Asian supermarket nearby, but alternatively, you might want to try my crispy 'seaweed' kale recipe instead.
It's baked in the oven, and it takes hardly any time to prepare. Just make sure you keep a close eye on it whilst it's cooking, as it can burn quite easily if you're not careful!
13. Karaage (Japanese fried chicken)
If you love fried chicken, you need to try karaage!
It's flavoursome, juicy, and wonderfully crispy, and the fact that it comes in bitesized nuggets makes it a great addition to the table when you want to create an Asian banquet.
Serve on a platter with some lemon wedges for squeezing, and some lettuce leaves for garnish.
14. Chashu (Japanese braised belly pork)
Chashu is melt-in-the-mouth pork belly. It's sometimes considered to be a ramen topping that you can add straight into your bowl, though I personally prefer to cut it into bite sized chunks, thread on to skewers, and serve as a side dish or appetiser.
I strongly advise making some extra so you can enjoy it again over the next few days! It's also delicious served on steamed rice with some greens such as broccoli and pak choi.
15. Pickled vegetables
Pickled veggies are a popular choice for serving alongside Japanese inspired dishes, and they're a good choice for many different reasons.
They're easy to prepare, can be made in advance, and they're also super healthy. Cucumber, radish, cabbage, and carrot will all work really well, and of course can easily be found in your local supermarket or greengrocery store.
Choosing a couple of these side dishes to serve with your ramen will turn an everyday meal into a real feast, and there's something here for all kinds of different tastes.
Which is your favourite, and which will you be trying first?
Source: https://slimmingviolet.com/what-to-serve-with-ramen/
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