A taco truck favorite: This Birria Ramen recipe features tender beef birria and chewy ramen noodles in a spicy birria broth. Top with soft-boiled eggs and lots of garnishes. Settle in, this one is goooood.
Are you a taco truck regular? If so, you’ve probably had (or at least seen) cups of Tapatio instant ramen noodles loaded up with fork tender birria stew being sold right next to the tacos and burritos. It’s a pretty genius mash-up; Mexican birria and Japanese ramen share irresistible comfort-food qualities that when combined can only be described as pure umami bliss.
And while the dehydrated noodle-instant soup package version checks the boxes, making it from scratch is next level. The difference in using fresh ingredients, whole spices, dried chiles is obvious but also making homemade means you can control the spice level and experiment with the flavors; adding different spices like paprika or whole cloves or topping with your favorite garnishes to create the perfect dish. It’s all part of the fun!
What is Birria Ramen?
If you are unfamiliar with birria, it is a famous braised meat dish from Jalisco, Mexico. It has risen in popularity here in the US recently to become one of our favorite Mexican recipes. Traditionally it is made with goat meat but beef is also popular. The meat is slowly cooked with a combination of chiles and spices until it is fall-apart tender then can be served as birria tacos which are usually accompanied with a bowl of the broth it was cooked in, aka birria consomé, for dipping your taco in.
Birria ramen takes that meat and broth and adds ramen noodles and the garnishes typically served with ramen like soft boiled eggs, thinly sliced scallions, and sesame seeds.
Ingredients
- Boneless beef chuck roast
- Dried guajillo chiles
- Chipotle peppers in adobo (see this post for my favorite brands)
- Garlic cloves
- Dried ancho chiles
- Tomatoes
- White onion
- Dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Apple cider vinegar
- Cumin
- Bay leaves
- Cinnamon stick
- Frozen ramen noodles or dried ramen noodles. Look for frozen ramen noodles at your local Asian market.
- For Garnish:
- Eggs
- Lime
- Scallions
- Sesame seeds
- Cilantro
- Minced onion
- Fried garlic
How To Make It!
*The meat needs at least 24 hours to marinate then braises for 5 hours so plan accordingly!
step one
Season beef. Cut chuck roast into large pieces and sprinkle salt and pepper on all sides. Place them in a large oven-safe pot like a Dutch oven. This is the pot you will cook it in so it needs to be big enough to hold the beef and broth. I use my 8-quart Le Creuset Dutch oven. Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
step two
Prep the chiles. Remove the stems and seeds from the ancho and guajillo peppers and rinse them to remove any dirt or dust. Toast the chiles on a comal or dry frying pan until fragrant and darkened in color. Meanwhile bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Add the toasted chiles, the half onion, garlic, and tomatoes. Simmer until the chiles are softened, about 10 minutes. Drain.
step three
Blend. Combine chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes, oregano, chipotles, 1 tsp ground cumin, vinegar, and 1 tbsp of kosher salt in the blender. Blend until smooth.
step four
Marinate. Pour marinade over beef in the pot and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 24-48 hours. This is ideal for maximum flavor, but if you don’t have that long, try to let it marinate for as long as possible, 2 hours minimum.
step five
Roast. Remove beef from the fridge. Heat oven to 350°F. Add 12 cups of water to the pot, cover and roast until meat falls apart when pushed with a fork, about 5 hours.
step six
Prepare garnishes. Peel 4 cloves of garlic and thinly slice. Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and fry, turning frequently until they start to become golden, about 1-2 minutes. Remove them to a paper towel-lined plate with a fork. Watch closely and work quickly so you don’t burn them.
Slice the scallions thinly on the diagonal, chop the cilantro, mince the other half of the onion, and cut the lime into wedges.
step seven
Shred. Remove meat from broth and shred. Keep broth covered at a low simmer on the stove.
step eight
Boil eggs. Place 4-6 eggs in a small saucepan and fill with water. Add a generous pinch of kosher salt and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover and let sit in the hot water 7 minutes for medium boil or 9 minutes for hard boil. Drain and place in an ice bath. Peel eggs once cool enough to handle.
step nine
Cook ramen. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Drop frozen noodles into water and gently push on them until they unravel and become tender, about 1-2 minutes. Drain.
step ten
Serve. Ladle 2 cups of broth into each bowl (avoiding the cinnamon stick and bay leaves). Divide the ramen noodles between the bowls. Add a generous amount of the shredded beef. Cut each egg in half and add to the bowls along with a pinch of cilantro, scallions, sesame seeds, minced onion, a few slices of fried garlic, and a lime wedge. Enjoy!
More Meaty Recipes You’ll Love!
- Red Wine and Garlic Marinated London Broil
- The Best Crispy Instant Pot Carnitas
- Pork Pozole Recipe
- Beef Stir-Fry with Mushrooms (from our sister site, Kate’s Best Recipes)
- Pork Tamales Recipe
- Picadillo
- Vinegar and Spice Baby Back Ribs (again, from Kate’s Best Recipes)
This Ramen Is Bussin’
Or so says my son 🙂 It’s a more labor-intense recipe, but seriously so worth it. Please let me know when you make it by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe) !
Birria Ramen
This Birria Ramen recipe features tender beef birria and chewy ramen noodles in a spicy birria broth. Top with soft-boiled eggs and lots of garnishes.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 6 pieces
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick, preferably canela (Ceylon cinnamon)
- 4 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and rinsed
- 5 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and rinsed
- 12 garlic cloves, divided
- 2 medium tomatoes, cored
- 1 large white onion, divided (one half minced for garnish, the other half uncut for the sauce)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4-6 large eggs
- 1 pound frozen ramen noodles or dehydrated ramen packages
For Garnish
- 3 scallions
- white sesame seeds
- 1 small bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Season meat. Place beef in a large Dutch oven big enough to hold 12+ cups of liquid. I use my 8-quart Le Creuset Dutch oven. Season meat on all sides with 1 tablespoon of the salt and the black pepper. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick to the pot.
- Toast chiles. Heat a comal or a dry frying pan over medium heat. Place the guajillo and ancho chiles on the comal and toast, turning frequently, until they are fragrant and have darkened slightly in color. Watch closely so they don't burn.
- Simmer. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the toasted chiles, the 1/2 onion, 8 cloves of garlic, and the 2 tomatoes. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chiles are soft, about 10 minutes. Drain.
- Blend. Combine dried chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes, the 2 chipotle peppers, vinegar, oregano, and cumin in the blender and blend until smooth.
- Marinate. Pour marinade over beef and turn to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 24-48 hours. The longer you can marinate it, the better.
- Roast. Remove beef from the fridge. Heat oven to 350°F. Add 12 cups of water and the remining tablespoon of kosher salt to the pot, cover and roast until meat is tender and easily falls apart, about 5 hours.
- Prepare garnishes. Peel remaining 4 cloves of garlic and thinly slice. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a small saucepan. Add garlic cloves and fry, turning frequently, until they start to become golden. Remove with a fork to a paper towel-lined plate. Watch carefully so they don't burn. Thinly slice the scallions on the diagnol, chop the cilantro, and cut the lime into wedges.
- Shred. Remove meat from the broth and shred into bite-sized pieces. Keep broth covered and simmering on the stove.
- Boil eggs. Place eggs in a small saucepan. Fill with water and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 7 minutes for medium-boiled or 9 minutes for hard-boiled. Drain and submerge in ice water. Peel.
- Cook ramen. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add frozen noodles and push gently to unravel. Cook until al dente, about 1-2 minutes. Drain.
- Serve. Ladle 2 cups of broth into each bowl, divide the noodles between the bowls, add a generous handful of beef, cut each egg in half and add those. Top with minced onion, a few slices of fried garlic, a pinch of sesame seeds, some cilantro, scallions, and a lime wedge.
Notes
The meat needs to marinate for at least 24 hours, so plan ahead.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 912Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 412mgSodium: 2191mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 5gSugar: 8gProtein: 75g
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Wow! This is a bit labor intensive and I have never marinaded anything for 48 hours, but Wow! So worth it! Amazing flavor!!!
My only question is would you recommend freezing this?
Hey Christina! I’m so excited you tried it and loved it. You can absolutely freeze the meat and broth but I don’t recommend freezing the noodles. The meat and broth will be good for up to 3 months in the freezer.