Creamy Buldak Chicken Ramen (15 Minutes, Heat Optional)
Creamy noodles, shredded chicken and as much heat as you actually want. This bowl starts with plain ramen and uses bottled Buldak sauce a little at a time, so the whole packet of spice never has to decide dinner for you.
This creamy Buldak chicken ramen comes from Eat Different, my cookbook for neurodivergent adults. It uses fully cooked chicken, a quick milk-and-cream-cheese sauce and broccoli that can stay beside the noodles if you prefer.
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The recipe · serves 2
Creamy Buldak Chicken Ramen
From Eat Different by Alice Boone · Creamy Buldak Chicken Ramen in the book.
- Hands-on
- 10 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Serves
- 2
Times are estimates. Hands-on time is included in the total.
Tools: Saucepan, spoon, colander, food thermometer
Texture and flavor: Creamy noodles and tender chicken. Choose your own heat.
Ingredients
- 4 oz plain dry ramen noodles, seasoning discarded
- 1 cup frozen small broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 cup fully cooked shredded chicken
- 1/4–1 tsp bottled Buldak hot sauce, optional
- 1 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced, optional
How to make it
- Cook the noodles. Cook the noodles in boiling water as the package directs. Add the broccoli for the final 3 minutes, or cook it separately according to its package directions. Save 1/2 cup cooking water before draining.
- Make the creamy sauce. Over medium-low heat, stir the milk and cream cheese until smooth. Add the fully cooked chicken, soy sauce and 1/4 tsp Buldak sauce, or leave the hot sauce out. Heat the chicken to 165°F (74°C), checking with a food thermometer.
- Bring the bowl together. Fold in the drained noodles and broccoli, or leave the broccoli beside the noodles. Loosen the sauce with saved cooking water, a spoonful at a time. Taste before adding more Buldak sauce. Top with the optional scallion.
Make it work for you
Easier: Use leftover cooked chicken within its safe storage limit. This recipe starts with fully cooked chicken, not raw chicken.
Sensory swap: Leave the broccoli separate. Milk does not make a hot sauce mild for everyone; keep the Buldak sauce optional.
Storage: Refrigerate in a shallow, covered container within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Keep the refrigerator at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 2 days, or sooner if the cooked chicken has a shorter remaining storage limit. Reheat to 165°F (74°C) with a splash of water.
Ingredients and allergens: Contains milk and soy; ramen and soy sauce commonly contain wheat. Check noodle, chicken and hot-sauce labels for their ingredients, allergens and cross-contact information.
Which Buldak do I need?
For this version, use plain dry ramen and bottled Buldak hot sauce. If your noodles came with a seasoning packet, leave that packet out. The ingredient list is built around the measured soy sauce and optional bottled hot sauce.
It is a creamy chicken ramen recipe with adjustable Buldak heat, rather than a method that uses an entire Buldak noodle seasoning packet. Start with 1/4 teaspoon of the bottled sauce, taste, and only add more if you want it.
Making the noodles your way
Can I make this without the hot sauce?
Yes. The sauce is optional in the book. Leave it out for creamy chicken noodles with soy sauce. You can put the bottle on the table if different people want different amounts.
How do I keep the sauce loose?
Save the 1/2 cup of noodle cooking water before draining. Add it a spoonful at a time when you fold the noodles into the sauce. You do not have to use all of it.
Can the broccoli stay separate?
Absolutely. Cook it separately by the package directions and serve it beside the noodles. You still get the same meal without every texture sharing the same forkful.
More food that fits your day
Find your next doable meal in Eat Different.
Eat Different has 60 recipes built around real energy, texture preferences and familiar foods. This bowl is from “More plate adventures,” where a familiar base can make room for something different. There are no-cook meals and comfort favorites in the book, too.
See the book and editions →Try another recipe from the book
Read about safe foods and changing food preferences.
Recipe source: Eat Different by Alice Boone, 68-page landscape edition, page 59. Food handling: USDA: Handling leftovers safely · USDA: Safe reheating.