BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

Well, this recipe is somewhat embarrassing. I tested it out at night for dinner and...

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

Well, this recipe is somewhat embarrassing. I tested it out at night for dinner and it worked fabulously – seriously, probably my best “ramen” yet (and I’ve made this miso mushroom zucchini noodle ramen which I’m obsessed with!)

The next morning, I went to recreate it and I realized that I had everything but the pork tenderloin, since I had used it the night before. It was too late to run out to the grocery store (girl’s been busy – stay tuned!!) and I had no backup ingredients for other recipes.

So, what did I do? Defrost some boneless pork chops I had in the freezer.

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

Long story short: the recipe calls for pork tenderloin (because that’s how I originally made the recipe), but you’ll see some pork chops here in the pictures.

I’m so bummed, because the BBQ pork tenderloin is so much more moist and absorbed the marinade much more beautifully, but, heck, beggars can’t be choosers – and the most important part is the recipe, which is flawless!

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

Speaking of flawless (this is a forced segue), I saw Aladdin last night with my mother and my sister. My mother is home for the week (up from Florida, where she stays December – March with my dad), and we decided to go to a show.

I don’t know if I’d recommend Aladdin if you’re not into Disney movies, because it’s very Disney-esque BUT I will say, the genie put on an incredible performance, as did the evil sultan’s henchman (he was seriously the funniest actor I’ve ever seen!)

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

The set design was beautiful, the wardrobe was exotically stunning and the music was, well, perfect – keep in mind, I’m a big Disney movie fan (I blame it on being born in 1987 and grew up watching all the classics – on VHS.)

Back to my “flawless” comment – princess Jasmine had a gorgeous voice and her face was amazing – she really looked like a princess, it was incredible!

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

Anyway, let’s get to the ramen: the BBQ pork steals the show, because of its marinade: it’s crucial that you give the meat at least 2 hours to soak in the marinade and if you have the time, soak it overnight.

The turnip noodles absorb the flavors of the simple broth (just chicken stock + soy sauce + flavorings from scallions, garlic and ginger) while the snap peas and mushrooms give it a bit more oomph. This bowl of ramen is fun to eat, filling and won’t leave you feeling like you do when you drag yourself out of a Japanese restaurant, after a huge bowl of it.

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

I call this “ramen” basically because it’s traditionally a type of noodle that’s served in a meat or fish broth with soy sauce or miso paste. So, the broth is ramen-esque, but the noodles are of course, spiralized vegetables instead of its carb-laden original.

Feel free to add any other toppings to this, as there’s no right or wrong way to build your ramen noodle bowl – try seaweed, corn, bok choy or even spinach!

What’s your favorite type of ramen?

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Inspiralized

BBQ Pork Turnip Noodle “Ramen” for Two

Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • For the pork:
  • 1 large garlic clove minced
  • 1/2 inch fresh ginger
  • 1 scallion diced
  • ½ pound pork tenderloin ask butcher
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1.5 tablespoons dry sherry
  • 1/4 teaspoon Chinese Five-Spice
  • 1/2 tablespoon honey
  • For the ramen:
  • 3 scallions diced + 1 scallion diced for garnish
  • 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
  • 2 garlic cloves halved
  • ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 large egg
  • 1.5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1.5 oz champignon mushrooms
  • 2-2.5 oz snap peas
  • 1 large turnip or 2 medium turnips Blade C, noodles trimmed
  • 1 medium carrot peeled, Blade C, noodles trimmed
  • cilantro leaves to garnish

Instructions

  • In a Ziploc bag or shallow dish, mix the garlic, ginger, green onions, soy sauce, sherry, Chinese Five-Spice, ½ tablespoon of the honey, and pork. Seal the bag or cover the pan and marinate, refrigerated for at least 2 hours. Shake the bag to mix up the marinade occasionally.
  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a cast iron skillet (or oven-safe skillet) into the oven as you set it to preheat to heat for about 15 minutes. Once heated, remove with oven mitts and add in the pork, place back in the oven and let cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, baste with any pan juices and then let cook for another 10-15 minutes. The pork is done when the internal temperature is 140-145 degrees. Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let rest for a least 10 minutes before you slice it thinly.
  • While pork roasts, hard boil the eggs: in a small pot, add in the eggs and cover with about ½-1” of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and let cook for 12 minutes. Run under cold water gently and then once ready to handle, peel eggs and halve.
  • While pork roasts and eggs boil, place a large pot over medium-high heat and add in olive oil. Once heated, add in the scallions, ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Then, pour in the chicken stock, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer, covered for about 10 minutes. Then, add in the soy sauce and mushrooms, letting cook for 1-2 minutes. Then, add the snap peas and turnip noodles and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until noodles are cooked to al dente or your preference.
  • Using pasta tongs, carefully transfer the noodles to two serving bowls and ladle over with the broth mixture. Top with the sliced barbecue pork and half an egg each. Garnish with carrot noodles and then cilantro, if desired.
with love, Ali

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comments

  • OMG - I just LOVE your site and all your recipes!! You've turned me into a crazy lady with my spiralizer; literally can't get enough of it! And people look at me like I'm crazy, but I still don't care!!! :-) I saw Aladdin when it first came out - I loved it. (I am one of those once or twice a year Walt Disney visitor freaks and bleed Mickey and Minnie!!), but nonetheless it totally surpassed my expectations. I was actually dreading to go see it right up to the time we sat in the seats, I think mainly because I LOVED Mary Poppins and was BEYOND blown away after seeing Lion King - I couldn't imagine another show doing any of that, but Aladdin stole my heart! Actually going again this summer!
  • Not a pork eater. Will chicken work I suppose?
    • Yes, definitely! The bowl is for inspiration! Top it with anything you'd like.
  • Sounds great! Do you add any of the marinade to the cast iron skillet with meat? Or do you discard it? Thanks!
    • If the pork doesn't have enough moisture, feel free to add a bit more marinade, definitely!
  • This looks so delicious..
  • Does this make 2 or 4 servings? The top of the recipe says serves 2 but then when you discuss plating it says 4 serving bowls. If it is for 4, there is only one egg in the list of ingredients.
  • I convinced my boyfriend to do a month of clean/paleo-ish eating, and have been pouring (seriously, all the way back to the page 70s) through your blog for our dinner menus. You've quickly become my new favorite blogger/person in general. If you see someone enthusiastically buying veggies she can't pronounce at the Union Sq Market say "Hey!" because that's probably me. SO, that said, here's a stupid question... I stocked up on meat to freeze to save $$, but am pretty bad about remembering to fridge defrost, or even when I do, I get screwed because a giant chicken breast will take a day longer than I expected. I spent so much on bulk meat, then end up spending even more when I realize something's still half frozen and I have to last minute shop anyway. It's an epic failure. So, how did you quickly and safely defrost this pork for this post? I keep Googling quick tips, but there are so many contradicting articles. I want my chap and I to eat healthier, but I don't want to accidentally poison him in the process...
  • Totally into Disney, and totally into this ramen!! I always end up taking 3/4 of the noodles out of my ramen bowls, but what I really should be doing is making it this way instead....Beautiful.
  • What are the orange noodles? It looks like spiralized carrots in the picture but I don't see that listed in the ingredients. It is the white turnips, not rutabagas you used, right?
    • Here, let me help her...they are carrots and they're the next to last on the ingredient list ;)
      • It is quite possible that when she posted her comment that the carrot wasn't on the list. Ali reads people's comments and adjusts the recipes if something was missing. I wouldn't be too hard on her.
  • This is more a general question for all spiralized-noodles, but is there any way to soften them more to be more similar to pasta-noodles? I love that they soak and take in flavors of the dish, but I'd like them to be less crunchy. I've tried cooking longer but am afraid I'll cook them too much that they'd fall apart.
    • I'd love to know too!!
    • If you microwave your veggie noodles for about 2 minutes, they will be very much like al dente pasta noodles. At least that is what's worked at my house...
  • This looks so good! I still haven't busted out my spiralizer I got for Christmas. I've been waiting for the right inspiration & this may be it!
  • How do you get your carrots to spiralize? Mine never seem to work. :(
    • You need to use larger carrots, something the spiralizer can grab onto firmly ;)
    • Yes, what Laura said. Get the largest carrots that you can get.
  • When you say noodles trimmed what do you mean?
    • I can help...when you spiralize any veggie, the resulting strands are quite long...she suggests that you "trim" them to a more manageable length. I simply grab a clump and cut them with scissors...nothing needs to be uniform, it's just a way to make the strands smaller!
  • Well, Ali, I think you've finally convinced me to try something with turnips (if I can find turnips - they, along with rutabagas and persimmons have been MIA in our local groceries). This recipe sounds absolutely delicious! And the nutritional profile is spectacular.
  • This is outstanding. BUT....I poured the marinade into the hot skillet with the pork. The tenderloin cooked beautifully but I ended up with a really messy pan that had to be soaked overnight and scrubbed. Probably due to the sugar in the honey that burned. I either need to omit the honey in the marinade or place only the tenderloin sans marinade into the smokin' hot skillet. I will definitely make this one again. Looking forward to your cookbook.
  • Made it tonight exactly to recipe except used mirin and rice vinegar instead of sherry. And I used shallots and scallions. Absolutely delicious. I roasted 2 whole tenderloins so I have its left for other meals. Great recipe.
  • I made this for my wife and we both fell in love with it. Simple and easy to make and full of flavor. I have made more than 20 recipes from the Inspiralized web page and haven't had one that we didn't like. I must admit that we are following a grain free way of life so there are recipes that I don't make. We also stay away from the potato recipes. I went out and preordered the cook book because Ali Maffucci's recipes are amazing.
  • We made this the other night and it was a home run. But what really knocked this out of the park was the marinade. Wow! Incredible flavor. We will be re-using this marinade recipe with lots of other pork dishes (we eat a lot of pork I guess). Thank you!
  • This recipe turned out really well for me--I used big, hearty porkchops and they retained great flavor after marinating overnight. I can see how the thinner chops might not work as well as tenderloin.
  • I made this dish for my family. My husband who had a heart attack last year and ended up a double bypass along with a pacemaker, who is overly picky loved this dish. I received a spiralizer for Christmas and quickly got on line to see what I could find that my family would eat. This was one that I knew I had to try and I was right, my family just loved it.
    • We're so happy to hear this!!
  • This was SO GOOD. There is a ramen shop in my neighborhood that only serves one thing: ramen with slices of pork in a rich garlicky pork broth. It's incredible, but a meal without veggies doesn't feel like a meal. So I tried this recipe, but instead of using chicken stock, I trimmed the bones from the pork chops and simmered them with some onion and a lot of garlic. SO TASTY!!!