Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to upgrade instant noodles with a high protein ground beef stir fry and aromatic sauce. The end result will be noodle bowls with 35g protein and just 480 calories each. It will only take about 30 minutes from start to finish thanks to a few convenience ingredients. Time well spent!
Ingredients and Alternatives
This is recipe number eight in a series using Trader Joe’s squiggly knife cut style noodles. These noodles are probably my favorite instant noodles of all time. They come with a soy and sesame sauce packet that I like to mix with other flavors to elevate dishes like creamy kimchi noodles or teriyaki chicken noodles.
There are plenty of alternatives if you don’t frequent Trader Joe’s, however. Any instant noodles will work in this recipe, and you can replace the sauce packets with plain ol’ soy sauce or coconut aminos and toasted sesame oil. I’ve included more specific recommendations in the notes section of the recipe card.
Beyond the noodles and sauce, you’ll need some ginger, bok choy, and green onion. I love that Trader Joe’s has pre-washed bok choy.
If you’re not a fan of bok choy or can’t find it in your grocery store, swap it for some cabbage and maybe some leafy greens like spinach or kale. The white part of bok choy is nice and crunchy, while the green parts wilt like other leafy greens.
I’ve also used TJ’s Cruciferous Crunch and coleslaw mix to make steak noodles and honey garlic noodles, respectively. That’s a great way to add some crunch and cruciferous veggie flavor without any knife work at all.
Making the Stir Fry and Noodles
It’s as simple as browning a pound of extra lean ground beef, adding some fresh ginger and scallion whites, and finally adding the sauce and bok choy for a few minutes.
There will be lots of crunch, fragrant flavors, and umami beef.
Around the time the sauce goes in with the cooked beef and aromatics, you can start cooking the noodles in boiling water. The noodles only cook for four minutes before they’re drained and combined with the beef stir fry.
Be sure to reserve about a cup of the water so you can use it to bring the two together. The starchy water makes a smooth sauce that evenly coats all the ingredients. Just use a tablespoon or two at a time and add slowly. I typically use between 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup for most noodle dishes like this one.
Tips for Serving and Storing Leftovers
You’ll have the scallion greens already sliced. All that’s left to add is maybe a teaspoon or two of extra chili crunch and a toasted sesame seed sprinkle.
I’ve divided the recipe into four servings of about twelve ounces. Each serving has 480 calories, 35g protein, 54g carbs, and 14g fat. Feel free to extrapolate those numbers to get the totals in case you’d like to make smaller/larger servings.
While I’ve not tested these noodles from frozen, I thought they reheated well out of the refrigerator. I just microwaved a serving for about 3 minutes, stirring around halfway through.
I could see this recipe working well as a double batch for meal prep. You could even make the stir fry on its own and prepare the noodles fresh when serving later.
That’s all the notes I have for you. I hope you enjoy these noodles and come back to upgrade more instant noodles with me again. Until then, stay rooted (like ginger). – Mason
Spicy Ginger Noodles
Ingredients
- 3 packs (95g each) Trader Joe's Knife Cut Squiggly Noodles or comparable instant noodles
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- 2 heads (5 oz each) Bok Choy
- 4 Green Onions
- 1 oz Peeled Ginger about a 4" piece of ginger
- 1 pound Extra Lean Ground Beef or your choice of mince
For the Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Crunchy Chili Onion or your choice of chili oil
- 3 Sauce Packets from the Noodles see notes*
Instructions
- Prep. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles. Thinly slice the bok choy and green onions (separate the white and green parts), cut the ginger into matchsticks, and mix the sauce ingredients together.
- Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 2-3 minutes until a nicely browned crust forms on one side. Flip the beef and push to one side of the pan.
- In the other half of the pan, add the other teaspoon of oil followed by the ginger and white parts of the green onion. Cook until fragrant before breaking the beef apart and mixing everything together. Fully cook the beef before adding the sauce and bok choy. Stir everything together and cook until the bok choy begins to wilt, about 2 minutes.
- Cook the noodles for 4 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup of water from the noodles and drain the rest. Toss the noodles with the stir fry, using the reserved water as needed to thin the sauce and bring everything together.
- Garnish with the remaining sliced green onion and extra crunchy chili onion, if desired.
