What to Serve With Ramen: 15 Best Side Dishes

Elevate your ramen experience by pairing it with delightful side dishes. Try gyoza, filled with savory meat and veggies, or enjoy the light crunch of tempura. Add a invigorating seaweed salad rich in vitamins or tangy pickled vegetables for a vibrant contrast. Edamame, boiled and sprinkled with sea salt, offers a nutritious, satisfying bite. Each of these adds unique flavors and textures to complement your ramen perfectly. There are many more exciting options to explore, ensuring your ramen meal is both delicious and fulfilling. Discover more to enhance your culinary adventure.

Gyoza

delicious japanese dumplings recipe

Why not enhance your ramen experience with the delicious and savory addition of gyoza?

These delightful dumplings are typically filled with a mix of ground meat, vegetables, and seasonings, offering a variety of gyoza fillings to satisfy different tastes.

Pair them with flavorful dipping sauces like soy sauce, vinegar, or chili oil, and you have a perfect companion to your noodle dish.

Tempura

light and crispy batter

Tempura, with its light and crispy batter, serves as an excellent counterpart to the rich and savory flavors of ramen. Achieving the ideal batter consistency is essential, ensuring each piece is airy and delicate.

Tempura pairs wonderfully with various dipping sauces, enhancing the overall dining experience. Whether it's shrimp, vegetables, or even mushrooms, tempura adds a delightful crunch to your ramen meal.

Seaweed Salad

japanese cuisine delicacy choice

Seaweed salad, with its revitalizing and umami-rich profile, is an excellent accompaniment to ramen. This dish offers numerous nutritional benefits, being rich in vitamins and minerals.

Preparation tips include using fresh seaweed and dressing it with sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice vinegar for added flavor. It's invigorating, and balances the hearty nature of ramen perfectly, making your meal more enjoyable.

Pickled Vegetables

crisp tangy flavorful treats

Pickled vegetables bring a tangy and crisp contrast to the rich, savory flavors of ramen. The fermentation benefits, such as improved digestion and rich probiotics, make this side dish both tasty and healthy.

Homemade pickling allows you to customize the flavors to your liking, whether you prefer a mild or bold taste. These vibrant veggies add an invigorating crunch to every bite.

Edamame

soybean appetizer in pods

Complementing the tangy crunch of pickled vegetables, edamame offers a nutritious and satisfying side dish for ramen lovers.

Edamame nutrition includes high protein, fiber, and essential vitamins.

For easy edamame preparation, simply boil the pods in salted water for a few minutes until tender.

Sprinkling with sea salt enhances the natural flavor, making it a delightful addition to your ramen meal.

Takoyaki

delicious octopus filled japanese snack

Why not add the savory delight of takoyaki to your ramen meal? Featuring crispy octopus-filled balls that offer a burst of umami flavor. These delicious bites are made with a smooth batter consistency, ensuring a light, fluffy texture.

The octopus filling provides a unique taste that complements the ramen perfectly, making each bite a delightful combination of flavors and textures.

Japanese Omelette

egg roll with seaweed

Another excellent side dish to enhance your ramen experience is the Japanese omelette, known as tamagoyaki, which offers a delicate sweetness and a tender, layered texture.

Preparation tips include using a square pan for even layers and rolling each layer while still hot.

Nutritional benefits include high protein content and essential vitamins, making it a delicious and healthy addition to your meal.

Rice Balls

tasty japanese snack choice

Rice balls, or onigiri, serve as a versatile and satisfying side dish that pairs beautifully with a steaming bowl of ramen. They come in various flavor variations, from simple salt-seasoned rice to fillings like tuna or pickled plum.

Preparation techniques are straightforward: shape rice into a ball or triangle, add your chosen filling, and wrap it in a sheet of nori.

Kimchi

fermented korean cabbage dish

A quintessential Korean side dish, kimchi adds a tangy and spicy contrast to the savory flavors of ramen. Its traditional preparation includes fermenting vegetables like cabbage with chili peppers and garlic, resulting in a dish rich in probiotics.

These probiotics offer significant health benefits, such as aiding digestion and boosting the immune system, making kimchi both a delicious and nutritious accompaniment to your meal.

Cucumber Salad

refreshing summer side dish

In addition to kimchi, an invigorating cucumber salad offers a crisp and cooling balance to the robust flavors of ramen. With its light and revitalizing flavor profile, cucumber salad enhances the dining experience.

It also provides numerous nutritional benefits, including hydration and essential vitamins. This delightful side dish is simple to prepare, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a healthy accompaniment.

Steamed Bun

delicious chinese street food

Steamed buns offer a fluffy and savory complement to a hearty bowl of ramen, enhancing the overall dining experience with their delicate texture and rich fillings.

Filling options range from pork belly to vegetables, catering to diverse tastes.

Paired with dipping sauces like hoisin or soy, these buns provide a delightful contrast that elevates the flavors of your meal.

Spring Rolls

delicious vietnamese cuisine option

Spring rolls, with their crisp exterior and fresh, flavorful fillings, offer a delightful contrast to the soft, savory steamed buns.

These versatile appetizers are perfect vegetarian options and can be paired with various dipping sauces to enhance their taste.

The combination of crunchy vegetables and light wrappers makes them an invigorating complement to the rich, hearty flavors of ramen.

Miso Soup

comforting bowl of warmth

Often regarded as a quintessential Japanese starter, miso soup provides a warm and umami-rich complement to a bowl of ramen.

With various miso varieties such as white, yellow, and red, the soup benefits from diverse flavors and depth.

Rich in probiotics and nutrients, miso soup not only enhances the dining experience but also contributes to a balanced, nutritious meal.

Tsukemono

pickled japanese vegetable delicacy

Tsukemono, or Japanese pickled vegetables, offer a crisp and tangy contrast to the rich flavors of ramen. These Japanese pickles, often made from fermented vegetables like cucumbers, daikon radish, and eggplant, add an invigorating crunch.

The fermentation process enhances their unique taste, making them a delightful and healthy complement to your ramen experience. Enjoy the vibrant flavors they bring to your meal.

Are the Best Side Dishes for Beef Tips and Egg Noodles also suitable for Ramen?

When it comes to finding the best side dishes for beef tips, egg noodles are a popular choice. However, these sides may not be suitable for ramen, as the flavors and textures of the dishes may not complement each other. It’s best to consider other options when serving ramen.

Chicken Karaage

fried japanese chicken dish

Chicken Karaage is a Japanese-style fried chicken that offers a savory and crunchy accompaniment to a steaming bowl of ramen.

Marinated in a Japanese marinade, the chicken pieces are then coated and fried to achieve a crispy texture.

This delicious side dish adds a delightful contrast to the soft noodles, creating a balanced and satisfying meal that is both comforting and flavorful.