The noodles typically served in ramen are made with wheat, so they won’t be gluten free. Ramen dishes also often include soya sauce, which can also often contain wheat.
Ramen is a hearty noodle soup from Japan. Different regions of Japan have their own versions of the dish, but most are at essence a broth based on animal stock or bones into which a variety of other ingredients are cooked, including noodles.
If you are looking for alternatives to typical wheat ramen noodles, the good news is that there are plenty of workarounds that will go well in a noodle soup. For a start, it is possible to find gluten free ramen noodles, made with alternative cereal or grains such as millet, brown rice flour, potatoes or tapioca.
Other gluten free ramen noodle alternatives include rice noodles, which are very common in Thai, Vietnamese and some Chinese cuisine. Glass noodles, often known as cellophane noodles, are also naturally gluten free as they are made from a mixture of mung bean, tapioca, potato and sweet potato. Thin spaghetti-like soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour, which is a gluten free cereal, and shirataki noodles are made from something called konjac starch, produced from a type of Japanese root vegetable.
Finally, from Korean cuisine there are noodles made from the seaweed kelp, and you can also find recipes to make noodles out of vegetables such as courgette.
If all else fails, a ramen bowl can be made work with European pasta, such as egg tagliatelle, which can be found in gluten free versions, especially from Schär.
Spaghetti is another alternative, and has become a popular option among Japanese people living abroad and finding it hard to source ramen noodles. A life hack which is very popular in cooking videos online is to add baking soda to the boiling water before adding the spaghetti – a trick that makes the classic Italian pasta take on a flavour more reminiscent of Asian ramen noodles.
If you want to have a little squidgy fun in the kitchen, then why not try making your own noodles that you can then add to a ramen soup or serve with a pasta sauce – whatever takes your fancy! This homemade noodles recipe for gluten free ‘pici’ is perfect for pasta dough beginners and the result is a deliciously fat spaghetti or noodle for you to cook and enjoy in many different ways.
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