I’m all about quick stir fry dinners because they’re easy, you can work a LOT of vegetables into them, and they’re just plain delicious. My newest creation, Crunchy Chicken Ramen Stir Fry, is kind of a new twist on an old favorite Beef and Cabbage Stir fry. This time we’re using chicken instead of beef, using the same light and easy sauce, tons of shredded cabbage and carrots for inexpensive bulk, and some crushed up ramen noodles for crunch. Oh, and I added a drizzle of creamy sriracha mayo because I was feeling a bit #extra. ;)
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Can I Skip the Ramen?
Sure! If you’re not the ramen type, this is still a really killer (although slightly less crunchy) stir fry recipe! No hard feelings. You do you. We also have a classic chicken stir fry recipe you might want to try!
Same goes for the sriracha mayo topping. While *I* love the contrast of the creamy spicy with the fresh crunch, you don’t have to add it to your stir fry if you’re not into it.
How to Store Your Stir Fry
If you plan to eat some of your stir fry as leftovers, make sure to keep the crunchy crushed ramen noodles separate from the stir fry and just stir them in after the stir fry has been reheated. Same goes for the sriracha mayo topping. Add that after reheating. The cabbage and carrots do get slightly softer after refrigeration and reheating, but I still find it to be quite delicious.
Other Vegetables You Can Add:
The other awesome thing about stir fries is that you can add just about any vegetable that you might have leftover in your fridge. Some other good options would be spinach, broccoli, bell pepper, mushrooms, snow peas. Keep in mind that if you increase the amount of vegetables, you may also want to increase the sauce.
Crunchy Chicken Ramen Stir Fry
Servings 4 About 1.25 cups eachIngredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.12)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil ($0.30)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
Sriracha Mayo Drizzle (optional)
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise ($0.09)
- 1 Tbsp sriracha ($0.11)
Stir Fry
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2/3 lb.) ($4.08)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1 14oz. bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) ($1.49)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 3 green onions ($0.30)
- 1 3oz. block ramen noodles (seasoning packet discarded) ($0.25)
Instructions
- Prepare the sauces first so they're ready to use when needed. In a small bowl stir together the ingredients for the stir fry sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar). In a separate small bowl stir together the sriracha and mayonnaise.
- Mince 2 cloves of garlic, grate about one teaspoon of fresh ginger, and slice three green onions.
- Without opening the package of ramen, use a rolling pin or mallet to crush the noodles into small pieces. Once crushed, open the package and discard the seasoning packet.
- Chop the chicken into small 1/2-inch pieces.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken pieces and sauté until they're cooked through (3-5 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger to the skillet about half way through cooking the chicken.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, add the coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots). Continue to sauté for about 2 minutes more, or just until the cabbage begins to soften slightly (do not overcook at this step).
- Add the stir fry sauce to the skillet and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes more, or until the cabbage has softened to your liking (I prefer mine still slightly firm).
- Finally, turn off the heat, stir in the crushed ramen, and top with sliced green onions and a drizzle of sriracha mayo.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Color Cutting Boards
- Rolling Pin
- Garlic Press
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Crunchy Chicken Ramen Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
This stir fry cooks SUPER fast, so it’s best to prepare all of the components before you begin cooking. Start with the stir fry sauce: stir together 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and ½ Tbsp brown sugar. The brown sugar might not dissolve all the way, but that’s okay.
For the sriracha mayo, simply stir together 1 Tbsp sriracha and 1 Tbsp mayonnaise.
Mince two cloves of garlic, grate about 1 tsp fresh ginger (I keep mine in the freezer for easier grating and longer storage), and slice three green onions.
Without opening the package of ramen, use a rolling pin or a mallet to crush the noodles into small pieces. After crushing the noodles you can open it and discard the seasoning packet (or use it for something else).
Chop one boneless, skinless chicken breast (about ⅔ lb.) into small 1/2-inch pieces.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the skillet. Add the chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through, adding the garlic and ginger about half way through cooking. Because the chicken pieces are so small and the pan is so hot, it should only take a few minutes for the chicken to cook through.
Add one 14oz. bag of coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) to the skillet. Continue to sauté for only 2 minutes, or just until the cabbage begins to soften.
Add the prepared stir fry sauce, making sure to scrape any sugar that has settled to the bottom into the skillet. Continue to sauté for a couple minutes more, or until the cabbage is to your desired softness. I like mine still a bit firm, so I only sauté for about 2 minutes more.
Pour the crushed ramen into the skillet. Turn the heat off, and stir the crunchy noodles into the stir fry.
Sprinkle the sliced green onions on top and then drizzle the sriracha mayo over everything.
This a great recipe. I’m not a big fan of cabbage but enjoy it prepared this way. Used bagged cabbage but shredded a couple of carrots at home and added because I like carrots and wanted their color, flavor and nutrition. It’s absolutely worth making the sauces and using the green onions for garnish as they add a lot to the flavor. Because I live alone and like to make things that can be eaten for more than one meal I prepared the chicken and the sauces in the morning and put in the frig. At dinner I used cooked brown basmati rice instead of ramen and added the cooked meat and uncooked cabbage carrot mixture. Drizzled the soy and sesame oil sauce over the top. Covered the bowl and microwaved for 2 minutes or so on full power. Steams the veg just enough and reheats the chicken. Topped with the onions with the sriracha mayo on the side. Will certainly make again.
5 Of 5 kids ate it and liked it! That makes it a winner! We didn’t use the sriracha sauce. I doubled the recipe for our family of seven. My coleslaw bags were a little bigger so I added two extra tbsp of soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar after already doubling. We will definitely have it again!
I’ll admit I was a little nervous about the flavor when I tasted it right out of the skillet… felt like it was missing something… but maaaann adding the sriracha mayo made it PERFECT! I added extra sriracha of course but the flavor was so so good and it was so easy!
This was one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. I ate sooo much of it. I am GF, so I used rice noodles instead. I could eat this everyday!
Can leftovers be frozen in individual portions? If so, how should they be reheated? Thank you.
I don’t think I’d consider this one very freezer friendly because the noodles will get soft and the cabbage will further wilt and seep water.
This recipe is really delicious! I have made it three (3) times with ground chicken, ground pork and ground beef. I boil the ramen noodles and add them cooked because the kids don’t like the noodles crunchy!!
Love this. I’ve already made it three times since we first tried it! Definitely part of the rotation. What I like most is how quickly it comes together on a busy weeknight.
We loved this! I used herb slaw which had coriander in it, which was perfect with the other Asian flavours. It also works well with mushrooms in the stir fry and as we didn’t have mayo we used aioli. Also a great combination.
I never leave comments on anything, but this was so fast, easy and flavorful that I felt like I had to! The only modification I made was adding about half a bag of frozen unshelled edamame in right at the end of cooking the chicken. I used broccoli slaw because it was only $.83 at my grocery store (about to expire). so, so good and I recommend not leaving out the sriracha mayo if you like a little kick!
I made this yesterday and paired it with your simple sesame rice. The chicken breast I pulled from the freezer was a little small so I topped it with a poached egg (highly recommend!).
This was missing something for me, so I think when I eat the leftovers I’ll squeeze a little lime over it. A little brightness would really make it perfect for me.
I love the ease of this recipe though, especially with the bagged cole slaw. Highly recommend this if you want a quick dinner!
I also skipped the sriracha mayo (just lazy), but may try that on some of the leftovers.
Easy, delicious, and will definitely be part of our meal rotation in the future!
I replaced the chicken with tofu cubes, and – for lack of spring onions – fried one yellow onion with the tofu and added some chive to the final dish. The pantry only yielded one package of ramen (~45 gr, about half of the 3 ounces from the recipe), which resulted in a pleasantly filling dinner for 2 adults. For color, I added 1/3 sliced red bell pepper, and I extended the Sriracha majonnaise with 2 tablespoons of plain joghurt.
Thank you for this great recipe!
I loved this quick dinner that tastes like a meal in an Asian restaurant. My husband liked it also. I had 20 oz of chicken tenders thawed, so I just used them all (more than 2/3 pound of chicken). Also had two 9 oz packages of slaw mix (from Trader Joe’s) so used them both. I will definitely make this again for company and friends, maybe adding a bit more of the soy sauce mixture next time. Delicious!
Quick and easy meal! Made this last night and it was a hit with everyone except the pickiest of eaters. The mayo sauce helped with the less picky children, but for them I modified the sauce to be just mayo with a few drops of regular hot sauce. For the stir-fry sauce, I added a little more soy sauce to the pan, so in the future I’d probably use 3-4 tbsp of soy sauce and cut back the sesame oil to maybe 1/2 tbsp. Also the dish was pretty under-seasoned so a little salt and pepper helped out.
Oops and another comment: love the crunch of cabbage in this recipe. Also added more carrot and my Kuhn Rikon shredder makes lovely shreds. On my second shredder – loved the first one so much it got dull! More carrot adds color and nutrition. (I have zero connection with Kuhn Rikon or any other purveyor of kitchen stuff! The right tool can be a game changer and this one did it for me).
Love this recipe. Keeping refined carbs out of diet so skipped ramen noodles and used quinoa for a starch. The sriracha mayo is a great finish and only requires a small amount to make a difference. I grate all the ginger after buying and put extra in the freezer. Handy to have ready like roasted garlic and pesto.