Turn Spaghetti into Ramen with Baking Soda

Want some delicious ramen but don’t have the right noodles? Not a problem when you can turn spaghetti into ramen!

Authentic ramen noodles have this wonderfully chewy, springy texture that other types of pasta, like linguini, angel hair, and spaghetti just don’t have.

But, with a little food science, using ingredients you already have at home, you can turn just about any “regular” dry pasta like spaghetti into ramen noodles.

What’s Special About Ramen Noodles?

With traditional ramen noodles, an alkaline ingredient is added directly to the noodle dough before it’s even formed or cooked. This gives the noodles their distinctive springy texture.

Since dry pasta, like spaghetti, doesn’t contain this alkaline ingredient, it’s added to the cooking liquid for the pasta to absorb as it rehydrates. Thus changing its texture in the process.

The alkaline ingredient used in ramen dough isn’t easy to find in the United States, so baking soda is taking its place. Baking soda is bitter, so be sure to accurately measure the half-teaspoon needed for this recipe and the four cups of water. If you get the ratio wrong, it’s possible you’ll be able to taste the baking soda in the final product, especially if your sauce or broth flavor isn’t strong.

How To Turn Spaghetti Into Ramen Noodles

To turn spaghetti into ramen-style noodles, begin by bringing the four cups of water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan.

Add the baking soda and salt and stir to combine with the water. The mixture will immediately foam for a few seconds, but not enough to come over the saucepan.

Let this come back up to a rolling boil, then break the spaghetti in half and add it to the saucepan. Now, the reason I decided to break the noodles in half is to save water and cooking time. The long spaghetti really should be cooked in a large stock pot or Dutch oven so that the pasta is submerged in the cooking liquid. With a medium saucepan, it won’t fit until it begins to soften enough to bend and fit. You absolutely can still keep them whole with this small quantity of water. You’ll just need to stay with it and coax it fully into the saucepan once it’s soft enough to bend.

You’ll notice this mixture doesn’t smell like regular spaghetti (which pretty much has no smell at all) when you drain it. Some have described it as being minerally or toasted, others can’t smell it at all, while others found it unpleasant. Regardless, the odor doesn’t affect the taste of the noodle after it’s been mixed with a robust broth or sauce.

Drain the noodles as you would with any pasta. Then serve warm or cold with your favorite broth for a Ramen Noodle Bowl or with your favorite sauce and ingredients.

Podcast Episode: Making Ramen With Spaghetti