Quick Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen for Two

This Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen is quick and easy to make. This recipe makes the perfect amount for dinner for 2 and is so delicious you will want to make it again and again! It’s packed with so much flavor, you will think you are eating restaurant ramen in the comfort of your own home!

Instant Pot Ramen

You guys… I finally did it, I caved in and got an Instant Pot on Black Friday!

Actually… It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but when it came I couldn’t contain my excitement… Merry Early Christmas too me 🙂

And, you guys, I am officially, 100% hooked! Drinking that Instant Pot Kool-Aid that I have been avoiding for the past 18 month, ha!

I really don’t know why I was so anti-Instant Pot. Maybe because of all the buttons and functions. Or maybe because of everyone’s high praises that it can do it all. I think I just didn’t want to be let down. But that did not happen at ALL, it has far exceeded my expectations!

Now that I have been graced with it’s presence there are going to be so many Instant Pot recipes coming to the blog in 2019, LOOK OUT!

Pork Belly Ramen

It’s almost like magic… Instant Pot Magic. You put that lid on and it does things you can’t see or hear and then voila, perfectly cooked pork belly!

This Quick Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen for Two may look intimidating, but it really is quite easy! You can make the whole thing in the Instant Pot in less than an hour! And, what is quite possibly my favorite part about cooking with the Instant Pot, clean up is a breeze, you don’t use multiple pots and pans, just 1 bowl, a cutting board and the Instant Pot.

Glazed Pork Belly

How to Make Perfect Pork Belly

 

Pork Belly can be tough to get right, it can take hours to get it to that perfect, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. But following this recipe, using the Instant Pot, you can get it into that perfect state in just 25 minutes!

The pork belly is cooked in the beef broth with onions, garlic, ginger and dried shiitake mushrooms. This broth will then serve as the broth for your ramen – it is so flavorful, you will want to be making this Quick Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen for Two again and again!

After cooking the pork belly at high pressure you will use the sauté function to caramelize it in a brown sugar soy glaze that is to die for!

 

 

Pork Belly Ramen Bowl

 

How to Make Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen

 

To start with you will brown the pork belly in the Instant Pot on “sauté mode – high”. Then you will add the onions and then ginger and garlic. Sautéing everything together first helps to release more of the flavors which gives you that delicious ramen broth. 

Switch off the Instant Pot to “pressure cook – high” and add the beef broth and dried shiitake mushrooms. Pressure cook for 25 minutes, then remove the broth from the pot and separate out the pork belly. Slice the pork belly and add it back to the pot on “sauté mode – high” to caramelize. Set the glazed pork belly aside. 

Add the broth back to the pot and bring it to a boil. Add in the ramen noodles to cook. Once the ramen noodles are cooked you are ready to assemble your bowls! 

Divide the broth and noodles into 2 large soup bowls. Add the pork belly slices on top. Additional toppings for your ramen include slices of green onion and these Japanese Style Soft Boiled Eggs from Serious Eats. I highly recommend adding both toppings to round out your bowl! The soft boiled eggs can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. 

homemade ramen

 

Ramen Noodles never looked so good, amiright? These are the same noodles you microwaved in your college dorm, but you can hardly recognize them 🙂

Don’t have an Instant Pot, yet? I recommend this one in the 6-quart size.

Print
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Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen


  • Author: Laura Nockett
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 2 Servings 1x

Description

This Quick Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen for Two is so easy and delicious you will want to make it again and again! Packed with so much flavor, you will think you are eating restaurant ramen, but in the comfort of your own home!


Ingredients

Scale

1 pound pork belly

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup white onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp ginger, minced

1 1oz package dried shiitake mushrooms

4 cups beef broth, low sodium

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 cups water

1 package Ramen Noodles, flavor packet discarded

1/4 cup green onions, chopped (optional)

2 Japanese marinated soft boiled eggs (optional)


Instructions

Set Instant Pot to “sauté mode – high”

Pat pork belly dry with a paper towel and sprinkle generously with salt

Add pork belly to Instant Pot, brown on 1 side for 3-4 minutes

Add onions

Flip pork belly, brown on the other side 2-3 minutes

Add garlic and ginger, cook 2 more minutes

Hit “cancel” and then “pressure cook – high” and set for 25 minutes

Before closing the lid, add dried shiitake mushrooms and beef broth

Lock lid and switch pressure release button to “sealing”

When the Instant Pot beeps, you may either fast release or slow release the pressure

Once the pressure is released and you can open the lid, remove the pork belly and set aside on a cutting board

Pour the remaining broth into a medium sized bowl and set aside

Switch Instant Pot back to “sauté mode – high”

Slice pork belly into 1/2 inch slices

Add pork belly slices to back to Instant Pot with soy sauce and brown sugar

Work with a wooden spoon, being careful not to break up the pork belly and not to burn the sugar, slowly turn the pork belly so all pieces become evenly coated in the sugar mixture, this will take 3-4 minutes

Remove glazed pork belly slices, set aside

Immediately add the water to the instant pot so the remaining sugar in the pot doesn’t burn

Strain out any large pieces of fat that may have floated to the top of the broth

Add broth back to Instant Pot and bring to a boil

Add the noodles from a packed of Ramen Noodles, do not add the flavor packet

Boil for 3 minutes until noodles are cooked

Split broth into 2 large bowls for serving

Add half of the pork belly slices to each bowl

Garnish with green onions and a sliced soft-boiled egg (optional)

Enjoy  immediately*

Notes

*If you want to make ahead, store the broth and the pork separately and wait to cook the noodles until you are ready to serve.

  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Category: Ramen
  • Method: Instant Pot

Keywords: #instantpotramen, #homemaderamen, #porkbellyramen, #instantpotrecipes

If you make this Quick Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen for Two, let me know how you like it! Leave a comment here and/or give it a star rating! If you snap a photo I’d love to see it – share it with me over on Instagram, tag me @sprinklesandseasalt!

 

pin it for later: 

Instant Pot Pork Belly Ramen for Two

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Looking for more delicious Instant Pot Recipes? Check these out!

Instant Pot Pineapple BBQ Jackfruit

Instant Pot Mascarpone Cheesecake

Easy Instant Pot French Onion Soup

30 Minute Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs

Instant Pot Vegetarian Jackfruit Enchiladas

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Leave a Comment

Recipe rating

  1. I cant wait to try this one!! I got my IP for christmas and am so happy to jump on the train also!

  2. Anonymous said:

    Thanks for this! You were right, that brown sugar/soy sauce coating Is amazing!

    • So glad you liked it!

    • Amanda Jimenez said:

      made this last night on a whim and omg!!!!!! It’S so good and even more so goOd because it’s easy (i know that sentence DOESN’T make sense). Now i want to invite all my friends over And make it for them. I added bOk choy at the end and a soft cooked egg!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!

      • Laura said:

        Haha I totally get what you mean! So glad you liked it!

  3. Kelly said:

    This looks delicious and so easy! Towards the end, Do you EMPTY the IP of the water before adding the broth or combine both liquids?

  4. Merisenda Alatorre said:

    Do you saute the white onion with the ginger and garlic?

    • You add them a little earlier in the process before you flip the pork, but yes, ultimately they all get sautéd together!

  5. Sio said:

    Where is the recipe? I’d love to make it but there’s nothing on this page…

    • Hi Sio – Sorry about that! I was having technical difficulties with my site yesterday, the recipe is back now!

  6. Meghan said:

    So good! Even in the dead heat of summer my husband and I were happily slurping noodles. I used 2 packs of noodles because we’re noodle fiends. Perfect with beer.

  7. Eddie said:

    Thanks Laura, simple and delicious! Making a variation with udon noodles and seaweed with a side of rice.

  8. Ashley said:

    I made this for dinner last night and everyone loved it, even my picky 5 year old son. the pork belly turned out amazing. the only things I did differently were not using mushrooms. (I would have if only i was eating it however, my fiance and son both don’t like them)

    my only advice or thing I would do differently next time is add some small shopped carrots. I will also store the leftovers of broth, pork, and noodles all in separate containers because the leftovers did not taste as well.

    • Ashley! I’m so glad to hear your family loved this recipe! I love the idea of adding carrots too, that would be delish! Totally agree about the leftovers! Thanks for sharing!

  9. STELLA said:

    I RANDOMLY PURCHASED PORK BELLY BECAUSE EVERYTHING ELSE WAS SOLD OUT DURING THIS COVID PANDEMIC, AND HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! IT WAS SUPER EASY TO MAKE, AND OH SO DELICIOUS! CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

    • Laura said:

      This makes me so happy, thanks for letting me know! Glad you loved it!

  10. Eldina said:

    I mAde this today and it was so delicious.

    My husband that “knows his soups” was blown awaY and my kids that dont wAnt to try anything new asked for seconds

    So simple to make and i had most INGREDIENTS at home

    • Laura said:

      So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!

  11. Taylor said:

    Do you think this recipe would Work in a crockpot instead of insta pot?

    • Laura said:

      Hi Taylor,

      You could cook the pork belly in the crock pot if you adjust the cooking time. However you would need to brown it before cooking in a frying pan and also caramelize it in a frying pan in the sauce after it is cooked. And you would need to cook the noodles separately in a pot on the stove top.

  12. Kendra Hopper said:

    Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try- I’ve got a 750g piece of pork belly- do I still cook for 25 mins or more?

    • Laura said:

      Hi Kendra! I have not tried with a larger piece of pork belly, I would suggest you cut it down to 1 pound to ensure the recipe comes out as expected. If you really want to try with the larger piece I would increase the cook time to 30 minutes, but a problem you may run into is that it will be too large for your pot.

  13. J Allen said:

    This is an amazing recipe sometimes I just make the pork with rice and veg

  14. Mrswilliams said:

    would it be ok to use fresh shiitake mushrooms?

    • Laura said:

      If you are going to use fresh add them when you add the noodles and boil for 3 minutes instead of pressure cooking them. It won’t give as much mushroom flavor to your broth, but it will make sure they do not get overcooked.

  15. Mollie said:

    I am so looking forward to making this! Can you please tell me if I can add sake to the broth? I am not sure if alcohol can be added to the instant pot. Thank you!

    • Laura said:

      Hi Mollie, I don’t see why not! I think it would add great flavor!

  16. joline said:

    I had to make this differently based on what we had on hand (because Covid and pork belly is really hard to find here). i used up some bacon we had in the fridge. I ended up sauteing that with onions, ginger and garlic. I added the broth and the mushrooms and sealed the IP for 4 minutes. Did A QR, then added soy sauce, and brown sugar and water, and then the ramen noodles (2 packs). topped with chives. This ended up being AMazing. I hope one day to have this with the actual ingredients, but until covid dissipates, i just need to get creative! but, this was amazing!!!!

    • Laura said:

      Your version sounds AMAZING! Thanks for leaving a review!

  17. Ruth said:

    I made this tonight exactly per the recipe, only difference is I used Hime Japanese Ramen noodles instead of those in a soup packet. It was super flavorful and wonderful, but honestly a little salty for me. Is there anything I can do to cut down on the sodium a little more without losing the flavor? I am not usually one to dismiss salt, either, so it’s very strange!

    • Laura said:

      Hi Ruth, I recommend using low sodium soy sauce to cut down on salt!

  18. Michelle said:

    Good morning. My daughter is begging for us to make this recipe. But i would need to double it for 4-5 of us. What adjustments would you make?

    • Laura said:

      Hi Michelle,

      You should be able to double it pretty easily. Double the pork belly and brown it in 2 batches. When you add everything to the pot to pressure cook add just 4 cups beef broth plus 2 cups of water. When it finishes you will need to caramelize the pork belly in multiple batches. Then when you boil the broth to cook the noodles add an additional 4 cups of beef broth (it will take longer to come to a boil, but it should fit fine in the pot) and then add 2 packages of ramen noodles!

  19. Sam said:

    hi!! Im sooo excited to make this recipe. I bought all the Ingredients last night, the only thing was the store had precut porK belly slices (they aren’t that tHick) Im New to thE instant pot game so i was wondering How Cooking the slices would differ for the reciep. I would assume the intial “sautE” of 2-3 mins would be slightly Less since it would cooK faster. But would it still need the full 25 mins for the pressure cooker part? Thanks So Much 🙂

    • Laura said:

      Hi Sam, yay! I’m excited for you to try it! You are right, it likely won’t need quite as much time on sauté mode, but I would leave the pressure cook time as is. Part of what makes it so delicious is that the pork belly flavors the broth, it also gets more tender the longer you cook it so I would keep it at 25 minutes!

      • Sam said:

        Thanks laura for the quick response and Advise! It came out beyond excellent !!!!!!

        • Laura said:

          I’m so glad!

  20. carrie said:

    Can the recipe be doubled? I’d love to make it for my family. 2 lb pork would still be 25 minutes to cook? Thank.

    • Laura said:

      Hi Carrie, I think you could double it! The cook time would remain the same, the only issue with doubling is the size of the Instant Pot, you may not be able to double the broth without hitting the “max” fill level on the pot. But you could always heat up some additional broth on the side and add it at the end.

      • Lorrie Koenings said:

        I accidentally used too much water. So the taste of just the broth is weak. And since I’ve added too much water i have too muich broth. How would I add more taste instead of using more beef broth? Would red or white miso work?

        • Laura said:

          I’m not sure since I haven’t tried it, but I think miso would help add flavor.

          • LORRIe said:

            I actually didn’t need to add much because it sat overnight. So the flavors infused themselves overnight!

          • Laura said:

            Great!

  21. Derek said:

    This was EXCELLENT! I tweaked it a bit by adding 1/3 cup white miso and 2 tablespoons gochujang. It really added a nice depth of flavor in the broth. While the mushrooms add flavor they are not APPEALING to eat so I would eliminate them in the final dish. I will make this tons of times in the future!

    • Laura said:

      So glad you liked it!

  22. Elle said:

    Omg this was soooo good! I subbed Soy sauce for coconut aminos and brown sugar for coconut sugar.

    • Laura said:

      Elle! Thanks for letting me know, I’m so glad you liked it! Also great to know those substitutes worked out well 🙂

  23. Ja’Meelia Bridges said:

    How do i make it without an insta pot or crock pot? I have a crock pot but how long would i cook it for?

  24. Kemie said:

    Thanks for the recipe! Came out perfectly except that the eggs were still cold after adding it at the end. They were marinating in the fridge until the end. What should I do instead? Also, do you remove the pork belly fat or eat it?