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This time of year, we’re eating more soup than ever. From Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup to Thai Coconut Soup and everything in between, there’s no better time to get down with a warm and steamy bowl of soup. Ramen, in particular, is a cold-weather dish that is just so comforting in the winter, especially when you’re feeling a little under the weather. But making ramen means you need ramen noodles, which not everyone has on hand at all times.
That’s where this science-based trick comes in. We’re sharing how to turn a regular box of spaghetti pasta into a bowl of chewy, bouncy ramen-style noodles. Not only is this great for—no surprise here—a bowl of ramen, but it’s also a great hack for any noodle-based soup you may want to freeze or store in the fridge. That’s because this trick turns your pasta into stronger, more resilient noodles that can hold up better than durum wheat noodles can. Learn how below!
The 1-Ingredient Hack to Turn Your Spaghetti into Chewy Ramen-Style Noodles
While ramen and pasta noodles may look similar, take a bite and you’ll realize they are indeed quite different. Fresh ramen noodles have a bouncier, chewier bite and a glossier appearance than its pasta counterpart. That’s because, while both noodles are made with wheat flour, ramen noodles are made with an alkaline water solution that transforms the dish.
Typically, kansui—a mixture of potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate—is dissolved into the water that makes the ramen noodle dough. Adding kansui to the water makes it an alkaline solution, or a solution with a high pH level.
How Does the Alkaline Solution Impact Noodles
The alkaline solution does a few things to change dough from the inside out. First, it changes how the gluten proteins within the wheat flour interact with one another. According to a study shared on Food Research International, kansui “improves the elasticity and extensibility of gluten.” This is what gives ramen noodles its undeniable springiness and elasticity.
It also affects how the starches gelatinize in the dough. A study called “Effects of ‘Kansui’ (Alkaline solution) on Physical Property of Noodles” states that “the addition of kansui resulted in fluidity of gluten.” The higher gelatinization influences the final noodle texture, making it chewier and firmer with a lesser chance of turning “mushy” like overcooked spaghetti can get.
If you ever noticed a yellow hue to ramen noodles, that’s due to its alkaline nature as well. Unlike pasta noodles that get its hue from egg yolks, ramen noodles can become more yellow, thanks to the interaction between the alkaline solution and dough’s flavonoid compounds, according to The Japanese Food Lab. This process also gives ramen its classic “eggy” or “sulfuric” scent some diners pick up on.
How to Mimic This Process at Home
Now, you can order kansui in powder or water form online if you love the texture of ramen noodles, and want to use it in several applications. But if you want to enjoy noodle soup on occasion, just using staple pantry ingredients, there’s an easier way to make it happen—and you probably have the ingredients sitting in your pantry.
Christopher Kimball, founder of Milk Street, shared this video on social media demonstrating how to alkalize your cooking water so you can use store-bought spaghetti noodles and still have a ramen-like result.
“Here’s a really quick way to transform spaghetti into ramen,” he says in the video. “You cook it in water that has baking soda in it, and what that does is help the proteins connect in the pasta, giving it a toothier, more springier texture.” Kimball goes on to say that you can cook the noodles as normal, or even longer, courtesy of the strengthening solution in the cooking water.
But unlike pasta noodles, these DIY ramen noodles must be thoroughly rinsed after cooking, otherwise you’re going to have a mouthful of metallic-tasting noodles.
Kimball says that for every 10 ounces of spaghetti, add four tablespoons of baking soda to two quarts of water. Will it perfectly transform store bought pasta into artisan ramen noodles? No. But it will result in a chewier, bouncier bite that you’d expect to have in a bowl of ramen.
“My mom has been doing this for over 40 years,” said one Instagram user. Another added: “It’s a great hack! I’ve used it when I didn’t have ramen but wanted the chewiness of one.”
So next time you’re craving a comforting bowl of chewy noodle soup—but don’t want to make an extra stop at the grocery store—give this DIY ramen noodle hack a go and see how it works for you!
