Birria Ramen with Melted Cheese and Jammy Egg

This birria ramen takes everything you love about birria – the rich, chile-spiked consommé, the tender shredded beef – and piles it onto springy ramen noodles. A blanket of melted Oaxaca cheese and a jammy soft-boiled egg make it a bowl that's both comforting and exciting.

The consommé is deeply savory with a gentle heat, and the cheese pulls into long, glorious strands with every bite. It's a fusion dish that feels both familiar and brand new.

Birria ramen is the kind of dish that makes you want to cancel your plans and stay home. It starts with a slow-simmered consommé, made by braising beef chuck with dried chiles, tomatoes, and warm spices until the meat is fork-tender. That consommé becomes the broth for fresh ramen noodles, which soak up all those deep, smoky flavors.

The beef is shredded and piled on top, then hidden under a blanket of melted Oaxaca cheese that stretches with every chopstick pull. A soft-boiled egg with a glossy, jammy yolk adds richness, and a handful of cilantro brings a fresh finish.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

The consommé is the heart of this dish. By searing the beef first and then simmering it with dried chiles and aromatics, you build layers of flavor that infuse the broth.

The chiles are toasted and rehydrated, then blended and strained, which gives the consommé a silky texture and a deep, brick-red color. The beef chuck, cooked low and slow, becomes tender enough to shred, and that shredding happens right in the consommé, so every piece is coated in that rich sauce.

Using fresh ramen noodles is key – they cook in just two minutes and have a springy, chewy texture that holds up to the heavy consommé. The Oaxaca cheese, with its mild, milky flavor and excellent melt, creates that signature stretch that makes every bite fun.

The soft-boiled egg adds a creamy, luxurious element, and the cilantro cuts through the richness. Each component works together to create a bowl that's balanced, satisfying, and utterly slurp-worthy.

Notes and substitutions

For the beef, choose a well-marbled cut like chuck or short ribs – it will become tender and flavorful during the long simmer. If you can't find Oaxaca cheese, mozzarella or Monterey Jack are good substitutes, though they won't have quite the same stringy quality. Dried guajillo and ancho chiles are available in most supermarkets; if you can't find them, use New Mexico chiles or a combination of ancho and pasilla.

Fresh ramen noodles are usually sold in the refrigerated section of Asian markets or well-stocked grocery stores. If you can only find dried ramen, cook according to package directions, but be careful not to overcook. The consommé can be made a day ahead – it actually tastes even better the next day. Just reheat gently and add the noodles fresh when serving.

• Oaxaca cheese: mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• fresh ramen noodles: dried ramen noodles or udon noodles
• beef chuck: beef short ribs or brisket
• guajillo chiles: dried New Mexico chiles or ancho chiles

Equipment

• Large pot or Dutch oven
• Blender
• Fine-mesh strainer
• Large pot for noodles
• Kitchen torch (optional)
• Tongs
• Slotted spoon