Healthy Ramen Noodles with a Spicy Soy Ginger Sauce, Ground Chicken, Shitakes, and Kale, topped with hot sesame oil. The mushrooms blend into the ground chicken with the sauce and can be completely undetectable if you have picky eaters – hence, the title…
If I’m being honest, this isn’t my style of food. My family loves it, and I found this recipe makes me love it too. It’s an adaptation from Half Baked Harvest’s 30 minute Spicy Sesame Noodles with Ginger Chicken, which is amazing and easy, and I’ve tweaked it slightly here. It’s an easy meal to make ahead and leave in the pot, allowing everyone to heat portions as needed. It’s also great the next day for lunch, or dinner again! Great for the busy seasons, and healthy enough for a Monday night of feeling good about what you are eating.
The ingredients are supremely healthy here, and as always, it’s worth the splurge to buy the good stuff. I find the ramen noodles in packs of 4 at Whole Foods, pictured above (2 oz each) which means my family needs 1.25 boxes for this meal, but you likely would be fine with just one. You can also use Ramen packets and simply discard the packaged seasoning. I also should state this recipe is SPICY – in a REALLY delicious way, but if you don’t love spice, perhaps omit the red pepper flakes in both locations of this recipe, and substitute a small amount of black pepper with just the chicken mixture.
Spicy Ramen Noodles with Ground Chicken and Sneaky Veg
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 3 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch knob of fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
- 3 cups finely chopped shiitakes and/or crimini mushrooms
- 2-3 cups shredded tuscan kale ribs removed
- 10 oz ramen noodles
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup scallions, sliced diagonally
- pomegranate arils, for topping
Hot Sesame Oil for Topping
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Instructions
- In a glass measuring cup, mix the soy sauce, pomegranate juice, honey, and 1/2 cup water. Set aside for use later
- In a large skillet with high sides, or a dutch oven, heat the sesame oil over medium heat, and cook the ground chicken until no longer pink. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, and mushrooms, stirring to combine and release the flavors. Add 1/2 of the soy sauce mixture, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the liquid has concentrated a bit. Add the kale and the remaining soy sauce mixture, and simmer over medium low heat for a few minutes until the kale has wilted, and everything comes together.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the Ramen noodles according to package directions - drain and reserve to add to the chicken mixture in the large pot.
- When the kale has wilted, add the noodles, along with the sesame seeds and sliced scallions, remove from the heat and stir to combine. When ready to serve, top with the Hot Sesame Oil below, or simply top with crushed peanuts, sliced scallions and pomegranate arils.
Hot Sesame OIl for topping
- In a small saucepan, cook the sesame oil with the red pepper flakes until hot, then pour into a glass bowl with the chopped peanuts.
Notes
