THE BEST SLOW COOKER RAMEN

This ramen recipe is SO GOOD and my favorite slow cooker meal. I use my slow cooker a lot, so this is truly high praise. Indeed, I like this recipe so much that I packed up my slow cooker and brought it with me to Suncadia for a three-day weekend. Who brings their slow cooker on a road trip you ask? A woman who really wants ramen! Admittedly, the recipe has a lot of ingredients (that I also packed up and brought to Suncadia), but do not be dissuaded. It is worth it! I often prep the pork and broth the night before; refrigerate in my slow cooker insert overnight, and then turn on my slow cooker in the morning. The weather forecast calls for rain in Seattle this weekend – this ramen is the perfect meal for rainy weather.

This ramen recipe was originally posted on Crate&Barrel’s blog in collaboration with Half Baked Harvest. Unfortunately, Crate&Barrel’s blog has been redesigned and this recipe is no longer available, but I managed to capture the content before it disappeared. It was the first Half Baked Harvest recipe I ever made and the reason I now own both her cookbooks and became one of her biggest fans.  I have since tried many of Tieghan Gerard’s other ramen recipes and this one remains my favorite. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 lbs. pork shoulder roast or butt (bone-in or boneless)
• 4 cups +chicken broth, low sodium (I like more broth, so I often add more chicken broth to the recipe at the end before adding ramen noodles or if using a larger pork roast, I will add 1.5x the liquid ingredients to the slow cooker before I start cooking the pork)
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon sambal oeleck chili paste or to taste
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 packs Ramen noodles seasoning packets discarded (4 packs of Ramen noodles should feed 5+ people. If you want to use as leftovers, I suggested holding out some of the Ramen noodles and cooking them separately later with the leftover pork and broth. Otherwise the ramen noodles get mushy. Still very good, but mushy)
• ½ cup fresh basil and cilantro, chopped
• 4 soft boiled eggs for serving
• Sliced carrots, jalapenos, green onion, radishes, and cilantro for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the pork and sear all over until browned and caramelized. You may skip this step if in a hurry.
2. Add the pork to the bowl of a slow cooker. Pour the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar and fish sauce over the pork. 
3. Then add the ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick, sambal oelek, juice of 1 lime, sriracha, toasted sesame oil, black pepper and brown sugar. 
4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours (I recommend going low and slow).
5. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and lightly shred the pork with two forks or pull apart with your fingers. Keep warm.
6. Add the ramen noodles, cilantro and basil to the slow cooker and allow to cook on high for 5 minutes. Once the noodles are cooked, add in about half of the pork and stir. 
7. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the remaining extra pork and an egg. Add carrots, jalapeños, green onions, cilantro, pea pods and broccoli if desired.

NOTES:

Soft boiled eggs: Bring saucepan of water about 4 inches deep to gentle boil. Add eggs to saucepan. Gently boil for 6 minutes. Remove eggs from saucepan and immediately place into cold bowl of water with some ice. Remove eggs and soon as cool enough to peel. 

Steamed Vegetables: Place in steamer basket on stove for about 3 minutes once water below is boiling. Season with salt and pepper to taste while steaming. Remove and serve. You do not want to overcook.

Please let us know if you try this ramen recipe. We would love to hear your thoughts!