Spicy, peanutty, noodley bit of super easy comfort food coming your way with these saucy gochujang noodles!
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This was so easy and DELICIOUS. We had it on a weeknight. I was able to find all of the ingredients at our regular big chain grocery store. We’ll definitely be enjoying this again soon.
Sarah
Summer has summer-ed and the outside shouldn’t hog all the heat for itself, let the sauce have some! Thank you ever so to the subtle heat of the gochujang sauce and rich creaminess of the peanut butter, thank you to the twisty twirls of the little ramen noodle bricks (instant noodles are life), and bless those piles of fresh herbs on top.
This new pal is so easy to throw together you might just find yourself making it again and again and ok yes sure, why not one more time this week.
In This Post: Everything You Need For Gochujang Noodles
- Watch How to Make These Gochujang Noodles
- Ingredients for Gochujang Ramen Noodles
- What is Gochujang?
- How to Make Gochujang Noodles
- Substitution Ideas
- Gochujang Noodles: Frequently Asked Questions
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Ingredients For Gochujang Ramen Noodles
A handful of pantry/fridge staples probably already on hand for this baby, but then round up the rest and get ready. We’re using the standard crinkly ramen from the little packages (minus the spice packet) but any stir fry noodles would also work great here!
For the sauce:
- soy sauce
- gochujang sauce (like this one (affiliate link)) or gochujang paste (will be spicier)
- tomato paste
- peanut butter
- brown sugar
- sesame oil
- garlic
- broth or water for thinning
For the noodle paradise:
- ground chicken (ground pork could work too!)
- ramen noodle bricks (just the noodles)
- fresh spinach
- fresh herbs, chili oil, and sesame seeds for topping
The type/brand of gochujang sauce will also determine your spice level. When testing with the P.F. Chang brand, it was definitely on the mild side and was totally kid-able. But other brands like Bibigo packed more heat.
What Is Gochujang?
If you’re not familiar, gochujang — a staple ingredient in Korean cooking with an absolutely delicious lingering heat and strong umami flavor — mixed with some other ingredients like soy sauce, vinegar, and a sweetener. Gochujang itself is a spicy-sweet-savory paste that is made from fermented soybeans, red chile pepper flakes, sticky rice, and salt and it is commonly used to flavor meat dishes, soups and stews, and sauces. You can read a little more about how it’s made and used from Christina Chaey over at Bon Appetit.
For this recipe, we actually used a gochujang sauce which is premixed with other ingredients, mostly because it is almost always available at our local grocery store. But also because it is a little less potent than the paste, closer to a mild sriracha, whereas the paste is thicker and spicier.
If you happen to have the paste, it is definitely a deep and interesting flavor and can of course be used here! But you might consider adding a splash of soy sauce and honey to balance out the flavors.
Let’s Make These Delicious Weeknight Noodles
Easy peasy is the name of the noodle game here so you could definitely whip these up on a weeknight. Or multiple weeknights in a row, should your heart to desire. Let’s get to it.
- Sauce. Whisk the sauce ingredients (minus the extra broth) in a small bowl or just give them all a jar-shake until thick and creamyish.
- Chicken. Get your ground chicken browned up in a skillet and season generously.
- Noodles. Again, we just used the wavy noodle ramen bricks and cooked until softened.
- Magic. Once the chicken is done add your fresh spinach and the cooked/drained ramen, cover in sauce and toss everything over heat to combine. Add extra broth as needed to get to your optimal sauciness.
Serve those noodles piled in a bowl, absolutely showered with fresh herbs, green onions, sesame seeds, maybe a little chili oil. YES.
Just a quick textural note, these noodles will get stickier (still very delicious!) the longer they rest, so you may have to add a little water to loosen things up and get back their silkiness when you’re returning for seconds, thirds, fourths or leftovers.
Subs and Jazzers For This Noodle Pile
What is truly great about a weeknight wonder like this is that you can really make it your own! You can swap ground pork or ground turkey for the meat, or if you want to make it vegetarian you could try:
- vegetarian crumbles
- shredded tofu (like this!)
- crispy tofu (try this technique)
- or just pile in the veggies (peppers? roasty brocc? mushrooms? could all be great!)
If you don’t have or can’t find the gochujang sauce or paste, you could certainly sub in some sambal oelek, sriracha or any other chili paste you might have (or make a recipe like this stir-fried udon). Just check the spice levels as you go!
And this would not be a noodle wonderland if you did not jazz it up with piles of fresh herbs on top — basil, cilantro, chives, green onions, or all of the above. Are you going to drizzle with sesame oil and squeeze on some lime juice and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top? Man, we hope so.
Please report back on how often you are making these so we can feel totally normal and non-obsessive about how often we’re making these, ok? Carry on, noodle lovers.
Gochujang Noodles: Frequently Asked Questions
This makes for a very delicious lunch the next day! The texture does get stickier the longer it rests, so you may just need add some more water to loosen everything up and make it saucy again.
Gochujang sauce is premixed with other ingredients, thinner in consistency, and more mild. Gochujang paste is thicker, spicier, and more potent than the sauce. We’re using sauce in this recipe!
Rice noodles would work great here!
If you’re using gochujang sauce, they have a kick (because, well, gochujang!) but still somewhat mild. If you’re using the paste, definitely higher on the spice level.
Skip the ground chicken or sub in your favorite vegetarian sub (like tofu!).
Source Notes: This recipe was inspired by these Gochujang-Sesame Noodles by Zaynab Issa at Bon Appétit. You can also read a little more about gochujang and how it’s made from Christina Chaey over at Bon Appetit.
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Saucy Gochujang Noodles with Chicken
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Spicy, peanutty, noodley bit of super easy comfort food coming your way! These gochujang noodles require just a handful of pantry ingredients – like ramen noodles, peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, and more – and come together in just 20 mins. Weeknight win!
Ingredients
Gochujang Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2–3 tablespoons gochujang sauce (like this one (affiliate link))
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1–2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1–2 cups broth or water for thinning the sauce
Ramen:
- 1 pound ground chicken (could also use pork)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 packets ramen or stir fry noodles (just the noodles)
- 1–2 cups fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup chives, scallions, cilantro, basil, or whatever herbs you like for topping
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon chili oil for finishing
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for finishing
Instructions
- Whisk the sauce ingredients (except the extra broth) in a small bowl or shake together in a jar. It should form a thick sauce.
- Cook the chicken in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Boil the noodles for just a few minutes to soften. Drain and set aside.
- When the chicken is done, add spinach, cooked noodles, and sauce to the pan, keeping it over medium high heat. Toss to combine; heat until the spinach is wilted. Add extra water or broth to thin the sauce, a little at a time, to get the sauciness that you like (I usually add about 1 1/2 cups total).
- Serve topped with fresh herbs, scallions, chili oil, sesame seeds, and whatever else you like.
Equipment
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Buy Now → Notes
The type of gochujang used will determine how spicy the noodles are. I’ve used both the Bibigo brand and P.F. Chang’s brand. With the P.F. Chang’s gochujang sauce, I felt like it was mild enough to serve to my kids. If you want to be sure, you can reduce the overall amount of gochujang and then just add a bit of extra heat with chili oil or the gochujang sauce for the spicy lovers right before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Korean-Inspired
Keywords: gochujang, noodles, stir fry, ground chicken, spicy noodles, weeknight dinner
This was such a hit with everyone! so tasty and easy to make. I added spinach, cabbage and baby bok choy.
So good! We make it at least once a month. My toddler will eat it so I only add 2 tablespoons of gochujang . I add chili crisp to my bowl to make it a little spicier.
My one, five and seven year-old absolutely devoured this meal! I love how easy it is to customize and add in so many vegetables or toppings
I made this tonight – I cooked up chicken thighs in some soy sauce with garlic instead of ground chicken but made the sauce as written, using 1 TBS of sugar and 2 TBS of gojuchang, and water instead of broth. My boyfriend went totally crazy for it!!! He took a bite, looked me dead in the eye and just said my name. Lol!
so so so good! i pan fried tofu in some oil instead of chicken and it was great! also used gochujang paste instead of sauce and fettuccine noodles and it worked the same
that sounds delicious!
Really love a lot of your recipes, and this one was also great! My teen sons went for seconds! Thanks for the easy prep, too.
The only issue with this recipe is that I can’t stop eating it.
Hi, can this be frozen? How long would you recommend freezing this for?
We wouldn’t recommend freezing this!
Sorry, this was a total miss. The peanut butter was too overpowering. I don’t understand the high ratings.
So so good and easy!! Added some bell peppers and red onion and the sauce is the perfect creamy consistency! A good kick but not too spicy at all. Adding to the weeknight meal rotation!
What brand chili oil do you use?
Your affiliate link for the sauce is no longer available!
Can you use spaghetti or thin spaghetti or linguine noodles? I don’t typically by ramen or have it on hand.
Spaghetti noodles should work!
I made this last night. Soo good! Definitely had some heat, so if you don’t like spicy it’s nice that you can modify. I didn’t have spinach but I added some shelled edamame for some extra “greens” and it was good! Quick and easy, would definitely make it again
Pretty easy to throw together and tasted good. Def has a kick to it with the gochujang. I used three cakes of Ramen noodles and only 1 cup of veggie broth to thin it.
Thank you for this recipe.
Can this be made without peanut butter? There is a nut allergy
You could use tahini instead!
This was super easy to prep at the last minute. I usually prep in morning but no time. So prepped. Sat to a glass of wine and then cooked in my wok- used bean threads- delicious especially for being so easy . I topped with my homemade chili crisp and took it over the top.
I am sure it is versatile and may add mushrooms and carrots next time
I make many of your recipes and they are all winners. I made this for dinner the other night and my husband couldn’t speak because he was enjoying it so much!! A great recipe, but really good when pressed for time during the week. Wonderful flavours.
Made this for my wife today, adding some peppers and onions to the mix. Seasoned with crispy fried onions and scallions.
Amazing recipe. We had to stop ourselves from eating the whole pot in one sitting.
I dream of this one.
This is our most made recipe in our household! So quick, easy and delicious. I always double it and use a box of stir fry noodles instead of ramen and it’s perfect
This recipe is perfect! Only modification I had to make was olive oil instead of sesame oil because I was all out. I used 2 tbsp of gochujang sauce, probably will up to 3 next time as my husband and I both like spicy!
Excellent sauce mix. I make a load and keep it in the fridge to use on fresh udon and mix whatever’s sitting in the fridge. Now a weekday staple.
Do you have any side recommendations for this dish? Or is that unnecessary? Thanks 😋🙂
We find this pretty filling on its own!
My whole family LOVED this. And they are picky eaters. Definitely adding this to our favorite meal rotation!