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Turn Pasta into Makeshift Ramen with Baking Soda


If you want fresh ramen, you can make your own, but if you're in no mood to roll out pasta, grab a pack of Angel Hair and some baking soda. You'll get the flavor and texture of fresh ramen without resorting to packaged.

Boil water with baking soda and salt, add the pasta, and make sure the water doesn't reduce—Serious Eats says otherwise it'll taste like ammonia. Done right, the pasta comes out springy and yellow, with the taste and texture of fresh ramen noodles. It won't fool an ardent ramen lover, but it's good enough to save a trip to your local ramen shop or Asian market.

The type of broth you're using for your ramen dictates how much baking soda to add:

If you have a delicate broth, it's better to err on the side of less baking soda, using 2 teaspoons per quart of water. But when you have a full-flavored broth, go ahead and use 1 full tablespoon of baking soda per quart of water. You'll get slightly better results, and won't be able to taste the baking soda once the noodles are in the soup.

Serious Eats recommends using angel-hair pasta for the best results, but you can also try spaghetti. However, linguine's broad shape was unpleasant. Whether it's ramen or pasta-ramen, remember, slurping is the best way to eat it.

Turn Your Pasta Into Ramen With Baking Soda | Serious Eats