Have you ever prepared a delectable, but oversized, bowl of ramen noodle soup, and it was so good that you wanted to save the leftovers?
Regular soups are usually not a problem to reheat.
However, reheating noodles, particularly noodle soup, doesn’t always give the best results.
Luckily for you, I’ve tried out two different reheating techniques that preserve the awesomeness of your ramen and bring it back to life.
Top tip: it’s essential to store the ramen broth and the noodles separately; otherwise, the noodles will turn to mush. If your noodles have been sitting in the broth overnight, they’re probably beyond saving.
A Note on My Experiment
Over the weekend, I got a bit carried away and made way more Ramen than I should have.
Hey, sometimes I get long-eyed when it comes to good food.
Of course, I wasn’t going to throw the ramen out, so I set about figuring out the best way to reheat it.
I tried two different reheating methods:
- Reheating ramen noodles on the stove ( Best method overall)
- Reheating ramen noodles in the microwave ( Most convenient method and perfectly fine if I don’t have access to a stove)
Note: my methods assume you have kept the broth and the noodles separate – if you haven’t, the noodles are probably ruined, and you’ll need to cook fresh ones.
Related: Can You Reheat Miso Soup?
Reheating Ramen on the Stove
The best way to reheat ramen is on the stove. Heat the broth in a pan on medium heat until it’s just below boiling point. While it’s heating, arrange the noodles, meat, and veggies in a bowl. Once the broth is hot, pour it over the noodles and let it rest for 1-2 minutes before tucking in.
The residual heat from the broth will heat the rest of your ingredients.
How to Reheat Ramen on the Stove:
- Get all of your ingredients out of the fridge.
- Put the broth in a pot on the stove and heat it on medium heat until just below boiling point (don’t let it boil). Stir occasionally.
- While the broth is heating, arrange your noodles, meat, and veggies in a bowl.
- When it’s hot enough, pour the broth into the bowl with the noodles.
- Wait a few minutes for the hot broth to heat the other ingredients.
- Serve immediately.
The noodles are delicate, and cooking them further will result in mush. Gentle heating them in their broth avoids overcooking them and just warms them.
Top tip: warm your ramen bowl before putting all the ingredients into it.
I do this by filling it with boiling water for 30 seconds. This warms the bowl and means when you pour the broth in, it doesn’t cool down too much.
The same goes for the noodles and veg.
Take all your ingredients out of the fridge and let them reach room temperature as you heat the broth on the stove. This way, they won’t cool the broth down.
If you want to ensure the meat is piping hot, you can choose to microwave it for 30 seconds while you’re heating the broth, or heat it on the stove alone with the broth. The meat is less delicate than the veg or the noodles.
You can also microwave any eggs you’re using for 10-20 seconds to warm them up.
My Verdict
The stove is more time-consuming than the microwave, but for me, it was worth it.
The broth was more tasty and fresh. I always find that the microwave dulls flavors.
Also, it’s easier to control the temperature of your broth and make sure it doesn’t get too hot.
Reheating Ramen in the Microwave
To reheat ramen in the microwave, heat the broth in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals until it’s piping hot (but not boiling). Once the broth is hot enough, take it out of the microwave and add in the noodles, meat, and veggies. Let the ramen rest for 1-2 minutes before serving.
The residual heat from the broth will be enough to heat the other ingredients.
How To Reheat Ramen in the Microwave:
- Get all of your ingredients out of the fridge.
- Place the broth in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave the broth in 30-second intervals until it’s piping hot. Avoid boiling it.
- Remove the bowl from the microwave and add the noodles, egg, meat, veggies,etc.
- Wait 1-2 minutes for everything to warm up in the broth.
- Enjoy your Ramen.
Again, while the broth will warm your meat and eggs, they won’t become piping hot.
If you want to ensure these components are fully heated, you can microwave the meat for 30 seconds and the egg for 10 seconds before putting them in the broth.
My Verdict
This method was very quick and convenient, and the results were good. I just felt that the flavors of the broth were slightly muted.
That said, if I was in a hurry I wouldn’t think twice about using the microwave.
Tips for reheating ramen
Here are some quick tips to help you reheat your ramen with ease.
Microwave the noodles to help separate them
Ramen noodles will often stick together in the fridge and can be hard to separate without breaking them.
While letting them rest in the hot broth will help them separate, you can speed the process up by microwaving them for 10-20 seconds. The steam created will loosen the noodles and allow you to separate them with ease.
The perfect solution if you need to portion the noodles out.
How To Store Ramen
To store ramen you need to separate the noodles from the broth as soon as possible. If you leave the noodles in the broth, they’ll absorb the liquid and turn to mush. Store the broth and noodles (plus any meat and veg) in separate airtight containers in the fridge. The broth will keep for 3-4 days.
Ideally, the noodles will never have been in the broth. Noodles that have not been exposed to any broth can last up to a week in the fridge. If the noodles have been in the broth and then removed, their shelf life reduces to 1-2 days.
A great reason not to put too many noodles in the broth at the same time!
If you think the noodles are too far gone, just store the broth and cook new noodles
Top tip: to keep the noodles from sticking together too much in the fridge, toss them lightly in oil before storing them.
Different vegetables will have different shelf lives, but you can expect things like bok choy or mushrooms to get slimy after 2-3 days in the fridge. Especially if they’ve been sitting in broth for an extended period of time.
Meat and eggs will last for 3-4 days in the fridge.
The broth will solidify in the fridge, but this is nothing to worry about. It will turn back to liquid when you start heating it.
Can You Freeze Ramen?
To freeze ramen, separate all the components as soon as possible and freeze them separately. Put the noodles, meat and broth in separate freezer bags and squeeze all the air out before putting them in the freezer. Vegetables and eggs don’t freeze well, so it’s best to prepare fresh ones later.
Meat and broth can last in your freezer for up to six months, while noodles will last up to one month.
How To Freeze Ramen:
- Grab at least three air-tight containers or freezer bags.
- Separate leftover components – broth, noodles, and meat.
- Discard or store veggies and egg in the fridge for a day or two – don’t freeze.
- Let the components cool to room temperature before putting them in your containers.
- Date each bag or container and place in freezer ( 6 months for meat and broth, one month for noodles)
I like to use freezer bags because you can easily get all the air out. Air exposure is the prime culprit of food developing that off-freezer taste!
You can either squeeze all the air out with your hands or get a straw and suck the air out (like a human vacuum machine).
How To Thaw and Reheat Frozen Ramen
To defrost your ramen take the frozen components out of the freezer and let them thaw overnight in the fridge. Alternatively, you can thaw the broth and the meat in the microwave and submerge the noodles in warm water for 60 seconds.
Once everything has thawed, reheat the broth in the microwave or on the stove until it’s hot, then pour the hot broth over the other components to heat them.
Never put frozen noodles in hot ramen broth, because you’ll cool the broth down too much.
Read Next: How To Reheat Pho
How To Reheat Ramen – I Test 2 Methods
Ingredients
- 1 serving broth
- 1 serving noodles
- 1 serving meat and veggies
Instructions
- Get all of your ingredients out of the fridge.
- Put the broth in a pot on the stove and heat it on medium heat until just below boiling point (don’t let it boil). Stir occasionally.
- While the broth is heating, arrange the noodles, meat, and veggies in a bowl.
- When it’s hot enough, pour the broth into the bowl with the noodles.
- Wait a few minutes for the hot broth to heat the other ingredients.
- Serve immediately.
![Exactly How To Reheat Refried Beans – I Test 3 Methods [Pics]](https://pantryandlarder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/reheat-refried-beans-feature-200x200.jpeg)
![Exactly How To Reheat Baked Beans – I Test 3 Methods [Pics]](https://pantryandlarder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/reheat-baked-beans-feature-200x200.jpeg)