I love good quality food, but I also have a small place in my heart reserved for convenience foods like instant ramen or frozen pizzas. I don’t indulge in them often, and when I do I often spruce them up with something special to make them a little more interesting. I’ve posted before about the things I like to add to my instant ramen to give it an upgrade, and now I have a new favorite ingredient—gochujang! This sweet-salty-spicy paste creates a rich broth with plenty of umami that I balanced with some fresh spinach and chunks of mild tofu. This Gochujang Ramen with Tofu is a quick and easy way to indulge that noodle craving!
What is Gochujang?
If you’ve never heard of gochujang, it’s a Korean chile paste made with chile peppers, rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It kind of reminds me of a spicy version of miso. Gochujang is really starting to trend in the U.S. because of its uniquely sweet-salty-spicy and UMAMI flavor. And because we’re all kind of over our infatuation with sriracha and looking for the next best thing. It’s those fermented soy beans that really set gochujang apart and give whatever you’re adding it to that extra “WOW” factor. So if you haven’t tried it yet, put it on your list!
Where to Buy Gochujang
Because gochujang is really becoming quite popular, you’ll probably be able to find some at most major grocery stores. My local kroger actually carries about 4-5 different kinds! I’m using this Sempio Gochujang. If you have an Asian grocery store near you, you’re sure to find a really good selection there, and probably much better prices. Want to try to make your own? Try this traditional gochujang recipe, or this quickie 5-minute gochujang.
To Use the Ramen Packet or Not to Use the Ramen Packet
Personally, I like to use my own broth when making ramen instead of using the little seasoning packet that comes with the noodles. I like the freedom of tweaking the flavors and salt content, but you can use the seasoning packet if you prefer. Gochujang has quite a bit of salt, so if you do want to use the flavor packet that comes with the instant ramen I suggest adding the gochujang to the water first (3 cups water), then adding a little of the flavor packet at a time until the broth reaches a reasonable salt level for you.
How Spicy is It?
Decently spicy, IMHO. You can reduce the amount of gochujang to make it slightly less spicy, if you prefer. Or, if you’re looking for non-spicy ways to spruce up your ramen, check out my post about 6 Ways to Upgrade Ramen, or my Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen.
What Should I Do With my Leftover Tofu?
This recipe uses half of a traditional 14oz. block of tofu. My first choice for using up the other half of the block would be to make a half batch of my Curried Tofu Salad. That stuff is to die for. You could also toss it into a stir fry, or chop it up, add some BBQ sauce and make yourself a BBQ Tofu Slider.
Try These Other Instant Ramen Recipes
Gochujang Ramen with Tofu
Servings 2Ingredients
- 7 oz. extra firm tofu ($0.90)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
- 2 cups vegetable broth* ($0.26)
- 2 Tbsp gochujang ($0.46)
- 1 package instant ramen* ($0.19)
- 2 cups fresh spinach ($0.25)
- 2 green onions ($0.20)
Instructions
- Drain the tofu and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Add the water, vegetable broth, and gochujang to a small sauce pot. Whisk until the gochujang is dissolved.
- Add the cubed tofu to the pot, place a lid on top, and bring it up to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, add the instant ramen noodles (without seasoning). Boil for one to two minutes, or just until the noodles begin to soften and pull loose from each other.
- Add two handfuls (about 2 cups) fresh spinach and stir it into the hot broth until wilted. The noodles will finish cooking as the spinach wilts.
- Slice the green onions and sprinkle over top of the ramen just before serving.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Gochujang Ramen with Tofu – Step by Step Photos
Drain a 14oz. block of tofu and cut half of it into ½-inch cubes. See the notes above the recipe for ideas for using the remaining tofu.
Add 1 cup water, 2 cups vegetable broth, and 2 Tbsp gochujang to a small sauce pot. Whisk until the gochujang has dissolved.
Add the cubed tofu to the pot. Adding the tofu before we start boiling the broth gives it a few minutes to start absorbing some of the flavor from the broth, as opposed to adding it at the end. Place a lid on the pot and bring the broth up to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, add the block of instant ramen noodles (without seasoning packet). Let the noodles boil for about a minute, or just until they being to soften up and loosen up from the block.
Add a couple handfuls of spinach to the pot and stir it in until wilted. This should give the noodles just enough time to finish cooking as well.
Slice two green onions and sprinkle them over the ramen just before serving.
Enjoy that spicy goodness!! The egg fanatic in me is dying to add a soft boiled egg in there, too!
We liked this recipe, but here are the changes we are planning to make next time:
half as much gochujang – it’s tasty but very, very spicy!
Add the ramen flavor packet to the broth as well, for more depth of flavor
Add a poached egg for a more creamy broth and to make it more filling
Add bean sprouts for additional vegetables and some crunch
Hello. I guessing we should use “firm” Tofu. Right? Thank you. John
Hi John, the ingredient list says to use extra firm, but if you already have firm on-hand that should work okay!
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. It was delicious! Instead of gochujang, I used white miso (it was what I had on hand) and it turned out great! I will be making this again.
I made this for lunch today. This time I used gochujang and it turned out great. So delicious! 😋
Loved this! I made it for meatless Monday and then proceeded to add some XO sauce to my bowl :p It was lovely on its own, but the umami turbo boost from the XO was perfect. This one is going into our rotation :)
Sooo delicious and fast and spicy. Thank you!
Made this tonight! This will be one of my winter go to meals! So good!
Here’s a tip on the firm tofu. Freeze it first. Frozen tofu is a staple in Chinese hot pot. It expands the pores in the tofu, which basically makes it a flavor sponge, and it is one of my favorite things (I press out the excess liquid before using it)
Always looking for ways to fancy up my instant ramen. :)
Do you drain the tofu before freezing?
My two cents is freeze with the liquid, but press and drain really well after thawing. :)
I’m not a big ramen soup person normally, so I didn’t know what to expect making this. I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious it was for being so simple. I followed the recipe exactly with 2 tbsp gojuchang, which wasn’t as spicy as expected. Super filling for two people, and cheap.
FYI– this is missing from the tofu index page. :)
Thanks! Fixing now. :)
So good and so easy! I make this all the time. My hubby and I love it.
IMO you should actually use korean style extra soft tofu that comes in a tube and add it later :)
This wasn’t good at all.
This was great inspiration for my ramen today !! I added some beaten egg and kewpie mayo to the broth to make it creamy, and added mushrooms. Served with seaweed and Lao Gan Ma on top!!!