An instant Ramen soup mix transforms itself into a noodle bun to make a perfectly modern Japanese Ramen Burger with Teriyaki Sauce!
Ramen burgers are all the rage right now, and for good reason! They are delicious, easy to make, and perfect for satisfying any hunger craving. This Ramen burger recipe takes things up a notch by adding a honey teriyaki sauce to the bun, which brings out the flavor of the ramen noodles.
So if you’re looking for an irresistible burger that will have everyone asking for seconds, get your aprons on, and let’s start cooking!
Inspired by the film Tampopo
If you’re a fan of Japanese cuisine, you’ll love the film Tampopo. It’s all about the art of cooking ramen but in a crazy humoristic way. In fact, it has been dubbed the first spaghetti “ramen western”, if such a thing is possible.
The movie is also a lot of fun, so you can enjoy yourself while learning some new tricks in the kitchen. I saw this movie during my very first annual Food Film Marathon some years ago, and it was a hit with all attendees.
The story centers around Nobuko, who is trying to keep open her late husband’s Ramen shop but without great success as her Ramen is simply not very good. This general opinion is confirmed by two à la John Wayne truckers who stop by the shop. Goro and Gun decide to take Nobuko under their wing and teach her to make a perfect Ramen bowl.
Hence begin a series of adventures with a growing group of helpers in pursuit of the perfect Ramen soup and it is met with many obstacles. Does Nobuko finally achieve the holy grail bowl of Ramen? Watch the movie to find out!
Not Your Normal Japanese Ramen Recipe
It’s a great film to get familiar with many Japanese food recipes, And as I am sure you have deduced, Ramen is the main star.
Making a ramen broth from scratch is definitely on my to-do list but for this post, I wanted to try something different. Ramens burger is one of the many fusion Asian recipes that are so popular. I have tasted a couple myself when out in restaurants.
Making my own ramen burger sounded like a fun and easy enough challenge. And boy, am I ever happy I did.
Where does the Ramen Burger actually come from?
Keizo Shimamoto is the man who is responsible for the world-famous ramen burger, which he created in 2013 in Brooklyn, NY. Just like General Tso, the ramen burger recipe is a cultural twist invented in America.
Instead of regular hamburger buns, ramen noodles are briefly cooked, mixed in with eggs, the included soup mix, and a few other ingredients, then pressed into bowls resembling the shape of a bun.
And no need to get fancy ramen, those Japanese instant ramen ones from your grocery store will do perfectly. One small package is enough for one burger.
Watch You Got Between Your Buns?
What to put in your ramen burger is really up to you, but I highly recommend pairing it with Japanese condiments. For my burger, the honey teriyaki sauce sounded like a perfect fit.
The teriyaki sauce is really simple to make and you will enjoy its warm jelly texture and super shiny look. Make your honey teriyaki sauce first and separate it into a small bowl and a bigger one to season your meat. Mix with the ground meat, divide into how many patties your need, and cook them as usual.
Use the rest of the sauce as your main condiment when you build your ramen burger. Other nice additions are Japanese mayonnaise, tomato slices, lamb’s lettuce, and chopped green onions. Serve with a side of edamame.
You will need a fork and knife to eat this burger but the taste is two chopsticks up!
Ramen Burger with Honey Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 packet of ramen
- 4 egg
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil divided
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup Mirin
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pepper, to taste
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 tomato sliced
- 1 cup lettuce such as arugulaor mache
- 2 Tbsp Japanese mayonnaise or regular mayonnaise
Instructions
- Cook the ramen according to the package's instructions. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again. Mix and blend well the ramen with the egg and the spice packet.
- Oil the inside of 8 deep, flat-bottom salad bowls and divide the ramen mix. Press the noodles into the bottoms of the dishes with the bottom of a glass and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat, and flip the buns into the skillet and remove the bowl. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown on one side, flip, and cook about 3 to 5 minutes more till golden.
- Mix the soy sauce, honey, Mirin and water in a sauce pan. Measure out cornstarch in a bowl and mix with a bit of the liquid mix to prevent clumping. Add back to the sauce mix. Cook at medium heat until it boils, and keep a boil going for about 1 minute. Cool for a bit.
- Mix ground beef, half the teriyaki sauce, salt and pepper. Divide into 4 and make large patties. Heat a skillet at medium-high heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Cook the beef for 3-5 minutes on each side.
Build your burger
- Place a patty on a ramen bun. Spoon some teriyaki sauce and mayonnaise. As you desire, place a slice of tomato, some lettuce, and chopped green onions. Top with another ramen bun. Enjoy!
Check out all the wonderful Japanese dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share them with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!
Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Yoshinoya Beef Bowl (Gyudon)
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Japanese Rice
Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Kuri Kinton (Candied Chestnuts and Sweet Potatoes)
Cultureatz: Ramen Burger with Honey Teriyaki Sauce
Kitchen Frau: Chawanmushi (Steamed Savoury Egg Custard)
Sugarlovespices: Dorayaki with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
Sneha’s Recipe: Vegetarian Omurice /Japanese Fried Rice Omelette
Pandemonium Noshery: Ginger Pork Stir Fry
Palatable Pastime: Edamame with Sakura Dipping Sauce
Check out more Japanese recipes here:
What a good idea to do with ramen! Really want to try this.
It’s really fun to make and eat.
Fun post! Making my own ramen burger is on my to do list (my very, very long to do list!). Yours looks perfect — thanks.
I have one of those lists too.
That sauce really is quite shiny, it looks so delicious on that burger.
I was very impressed with the shininess too lol
What an absolutely fun idea! I love this, and can’t wait to try it. I bet it’s loaded with flavour, too!
It’s bursting with flavors.
I remembered this fun dish the minute I opened the page. Love it just as much this time.
I was due for a revamp 🙂
So cool! I want to try this ramen burger so bad, now!! Thank you also for the movie recommendation!
My pleasure, enjoy the movie and the ramen burger 🙂
These are the coolest things I’ve seen in awhile. I have not heard of this trend but I want to make these soon! Thank you Evelyne. Really creative dish!
Thanks so much Debra! Let me know if you try the recipe!
This is CRAZY and crazy good Evelyne!!! Gotta give this a try! Need to watch the movie as well.
Ha ha love how much you like this one. That dinner while watching a movie sounds like a plan!
What a creative dish Evelyne. Great job!!
Thank you Wendy 🙂
I saw this on your Facebook or Twitter and my heart leaped with joy, I wanna try, I wanna try stat. What a brilliant idea and it’d be fun to eat too. Totally messy. Adding to my list of weird and wonderful foods to try. 🙂
Thanks Anna, I am so amazed by the reaction form this recipe, everyone is so stoked to try 🙂 I hear you can get gluten free ramen too. I challenge you to eat it with hands like a burger when you make it ha ha :-D!
Challenge accepted! 🙂 🙂
Trendy recipe indeed, but you’ve put a delicious looking twist on it! I love the movie inspiration concept as well. Mmmmm!
Thank you Viviane, it was a fun recipe to come up with 🙂
I’m a big fan of teriyaki sauce but I’ve never made one! What a bummer! 🙂 It must be super delicious and surprisingly not that difficult to make. Yum yum yum!
Well no more excuse to not make it Agness, it is so simple and can be used on lots of foods 🙂
I’ve been wanting to try a ramen burger for awhile but for whatever reason or another I haven’t. And now I’m thinking maybe I just need to make it using your recipe :). Hopefully it won’t be an epic fail lol. Thanks for this Evelyne :).
Oh I hope you try it and no epic fail in site, just leave the noodle / egg mixture rest int he fridge enough before frying and be careful when you fill the buns 🙂
Fabulous job Evelyne as usual and so perfect for the movie! When the ramen burger craze first started a while back there were pop up restaurants with huge lines here in Honolulu. I had recently given up meat and so I didn’t go try one but I wanted to. I recently came across a veggie one and a veggie “noodle” ramen bun version that I might have to try just to say I did. 😉
Thank you so much Deb and glad you know of the trend. Oh so glad you found a veggie version for the bun, and the patty can be endless vegetarian combinations.
I’ve never seen a ramen burger before, but my noodle-loving self loves it!!! So fun!!
Oh it’s a must try them Liz if you love noodles 🙂 very tasty and original 🙂
That movie sounds amazing, I kind of want to watch it now.
Also, I have been wanting to try Ramen Burgers. I actually might have to make this. 😀
Great post!
Thanks Krysten, please try and see it, hope you like absurd movies. And watch it with your homemade ramen burger too!
I’ve had a ramen burger (which I loved) but I’ve never seen Tampopo. That’s terrible isn’t it? It’s such a classic foodie film 🙂
Ha Lorraine I am not surprised you have tried a Ramen burger…but you MUST see this film!
Honestly I havent tried Ramen burgers yet, I think now that I have seen this delicious recipe of yours I need to give it a go.
Took me a while to get on in a restaurant, they are much better at home. Let me know if you try it Raymund.
Thanks for the teriyaki sauce recipe. Always good to make that from scratch when you need it ?
Thanks Tandy, you will like the sauce 🙂
This is a heavenly way to burger. I couldn’t help, I just couldn’t help loving the burger itself.
Thanks Nava, hope you get to try it!
That’s an interesting burger and I am craving some right now. Let me check my pantry for gluten free ramen noodles.
Oh I did not know they have gluten free ramen noodles, so glad you can try it then!
How fun. What a great idea to make Ramen noodles. Look really easy and delicious! Will have to try it making it sometime 🙂
Thanks Rosemary, they are fun to make and yummy, hope you give them a try!
What in the butt is going on here. LMFAO!!! I remember those Ramen noodles. I think I ate them raw like 2x but then never had them again. I love salt so they were right up my alley!
Now I want to try a package raw! yeah the calorie content of the package was scary, and salt.
I’ve yet to try a ramen burger. I’m always behind the curve when it comes to trendy food. 🙁 This looks good — definitely something I’d enjoy eating. And making, of course! Thanks.
I hope having the recipe will change your not having tried one yet! And I have learned plenty about foods I do not know on your blog, you are are not that behind 🙂
That’s such a fun creation, Evelyne.
Thank you Angie 🙂
I would never think of this (I don’t eat ramen noodles) but I have to admit it looks good and I am going to try it!
Thanks Elizabeth and hope you try, maybe with another noodle if you prefer.
Oh, I love this recipe! So Japanese, so Western, so much fun!
Thanks Serina, it is a really fun one 🙂
That’s just genius. I love this idea. I’m always looking for new ways to stir up the norm. I’m going to have to try this now.
So glad you love the concept Kimberly, let me know how it turns out!
Ramen Burger? Definitely a unique idea and it looks really delicious! Thanks for sharing this!
A must try Nagi, fun and delicious 😀
I love that you still went with ramen without going with ramen… 😉 ha ha ha! I’ve always wondered how a ramen burger tasted, and now I want one even more. This looks fantastic and so super fun.
Thanks Heather! A real ramen is on my bucket list but not enough time this month. Definitely make this burger, so good!
OMG! I heard of this ramen burger, but never thought in trying it…now you got me very curious Evelyne…and yes, I could not imagine biting into it…fork and knife would be just right to dig into this burger.
Thanks for the post…you always amaze me…
Have a great week dear 🙂
Juliana so happy you love this recipe and I really hope you give it a go. Definitely a family pleaser! Thanks for you always amazing comments xoxo
Oooh I really wanted to try a ramen burger but I never thought of making one myself. How clever!
It is super easy and yummy Kristy, hope you try it!
Now this is just fun! 🙂 So delightful. 🙂
Thanks Krista 🙂
This looks delicious and the edamame looks really fresh!
LOL well they were fresh out of the microwave from the freezer. Thanks for stopping by!