Originally Published April 15, 2016. Republished on November 26, 2018 with new photos and updated information. This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Looking for a chicken version? Try my slow cooker chicken ramen recipe!
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I had a newborn who refused to sleep. Like, ever. And I watched a lot of TV very late at night. One night I happened to catch this movie called “The Ramen Girl” starring Brittany Murphy. Basically, this girl finds herself abandoned, dejected, and utterly hopeless in Tokyo, and has no where to go except this Ramen House, where she forces the chef to teach her his trade.
Now, if you know anything about Ramen beyond the microwaveable college staple, then you know that Ramen is more of a revered art form than it is “food” – and its ALL about the broth. Chefs actually spend years and years perfecting their broth making skills before they are even allowed to serve ramen to anyone. It’s like, a really big deal.
It might have been because I was delirious with utterly no sleep, or it might have been because its easy to feel kinship with hopeless wretches when you are rocking a screaming baby who refuses to sleep for more than 4 hours in an entire day, or maybe its because I love the thought of food as an art form – any way you look at it, I loved this ridiculous movie. And that is when I became obsessed with making and eating Ramen.
How to make this easy ramen recipe
Don’t fret, because you, too can totally achieve an amazing bowl of ramen, and it won’t take you years to master it, either. I’ve tested tons of recipes and perfected the BEST and EASIEST way for you to enjoy a delicious and healthy bowl that you can actually prepare at home with almost no work! And guess what? You make it in the crock pot!
This homemade ramen broth, while it hasn’t been graded by a Ramen Master (that’s a real thing), is pretty dang good – its complex, flavorful, and amazing.
- Place the pork in the slow cooker.
- Whisk together the broth ingredients and pour over the pork in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
- Remove the pork from the crockpot and lightly shred with two forks.
- Add the ramen noodles, cilantro and basil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Once the noodles are cooked, ladle the broth into bowls and top with all the things!
- Enjoy!
How to make pork ramen kid-friendly
- Serve all the toppings in small bowls on the table. Allowing them to choose between a variety of toppings gives them the feeling that they are more in charge of what they eat. Offer a variety of toppings in a rainbow of toppings and suggest that your child choose at least 3 things of a different color, etc.
- Have Kid-Friendly Chopsticks on hand. Not only will it make eating ramen seem more authentic, but its way more fun!
- Eating Ramen is FUN for kids! Did you know that when you eat ramen you are SUPPOSED to slurp your noodles? Make it loud, make it messy, make it ok! It is also ok to hold your bowl and sip the broth from it like you would hot chocolate.
Interested in adding more Asian flavors to your weeknight meals but not sure how to make it actually doable? Check out my Beginner’s Guide to Asian Cuisine for easy tips and recipes that are weeknight and kid-friendly and will help your weeknight meals be a win!
Ramen Toppings:
You can easily customize this dish by adding toppings based on what you like or have on hand. I totally suggest buying those little bags of pre-shredded cabbage and carrots,a s they make prep-work almost non-existent.
I love offering a variety of toppings for my homemade ramen in many colors for kids to choose from, and try to pick as many options in different colors that I can. Here are some great choices you can use:
- Red, Orange and Yellow Sweet Mini Peppers, sliced
- Shredded Carrots
- Shredded Purple Cabbage
- Sliced Mushrooms
- Soft or Hard Boiled Eggs (Remember – boil an egg for 5 minutes for a soft and runny yolk, 7 minutes for a soft but set yolk, and 10 minutes for a hard set yolk.)
- Fresh Cilantro
- Fresh Basil
- Green Onions
You can also use those cheap-o packets of ramen (and throw away the spice packet), or you can get the real thing and use these ramen noodles.
Try these other great slow cooker meals:
Food tastes better when its shared! If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and rate below!
Crock Pot Pork Ramen
This slow cooker ramen is so simple yet amazingly flavorful! This family friendly meal is perfect for busy nights and will quickly become a favorite!
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds pork shoulder or butt
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 Tablespoon chili paste
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 Tablespoon sriracha
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 packs of Ramen Noodles, seasoning packets discarded
Toppings
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 4 eggs, soft boiled
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup sliced mini sweet peppers
- 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms,
- fresh chopped cilantro, basil and green onions
- toasted sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
- Add the pork to the crock pot.
- Whisk together the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, chili paste, lime juice, sriracha, toasted sesame oil, pepper and brown sugar and pour over the pork in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
- Remove the pork from the crockpot and lightly shred with two forks.
- Add the ramen noodles, cilantro and basil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Once the noodles are cooked, ladle the broth into bowls and top with all the things!
- Enjoy!
Notes
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, in an air tight conatiner, for up to 4 days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1094Total Fat: 67gSaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 37gCholesterol: 328mgSodium: 2487mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 70g
Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided for informational purposes only. For the most accurate information, please calculate using your specific brands and exact measurements.
Marsha
Friday 15th of April 2022
Really liked this ramen! I loved all the flavours. Thank you!
Laura
Sunday 7th of November 2021
Yes! I loved watching The Ramen Girl and immediately tried making my own. Thank you for the recipe, there are ingredients here that will take my ramen up a notch!! 😍
dane
Wednesday 17th of March 2021
I made this, combined with another recipe. I enjoyed it, but I will leave out the brown sugar and cinnamon next time I make it.
Sam
Thursday 21st of January 2021
Big hit! My husband is a Ramen fanatic so I wanted to make some that our picky toddler would actually eat as well. Both loved it and it was so easy to make! I think the only things I'd change are either only 2 packets of noodles, and/or doubling the broth components except the meat, because it was A LOT of noodles and they soaked up so much broth I didn't have any actual broth for leftovers. Just meat and noodles. (Tho still very tasty!)
Katie
Monday 11th of November 2019
I love the flavors! I sliced the 2 lbs of pork around 7 hours or so (medium-well), for a neat presentation. My husband doesn't like yolks all in one place like hard boiled eggs, so I did an "omelette" and sliced it into smaller pieces for his. I also used maybe 1/2 to 1 tsp of ground cinnamon instead of a cinnamon stick. Very good! The broth was VERY salty, even with low sodium soy sauce. I don't usually have a problem with my chicken bouillon/broth but I would definitely either add more water or use less bouillion next time. Great spice though!