Cumin Chicken Charred Tomato Ramen
Cumin gets overlooked in favor of flashier spices, but when you toast it and coat chicken thighs in it before grilling them until the skin gets crispy and the spice forms a crust, it becomes this earthy, smoky thing that tastes like street food from some place you have never been but desperately want to visit. Charred tomatoes bring this sweet-acidic punch that happens when their sugars caramelize and their skins blister into submission, and they collapse into the broth creating these little flavor bombs that burst in your mouth. This is the kind of bowl that feels like it should be eaten standing up at a folding table under string lights, the kind where the smoke from the grill is part of the experience and you do not care that your fingers smell like cumin for the next two days. It is street food energy channeled through ramen noodles, unpretentious and unapologetic.
Cumin coats the bird—tomatoes blister and burst—street smoke meets the bowl.
Let Me Tell You...
My first encounter with cumin chicken happened at a Xinjiang restaurant in Flushing where the menu was entirely in Chinese and the cook worked a charcoal grill right in the dining room, filling the whole place with smoke that probably violated every fire code in New York.
The chicken came out on metal skewers, absolutely covered in cumin and chili flakes, charred to the point where you could not tell where the spice ended and the char began.
That first bite was all smoke and earth and a kind of aggressive deliciousness that made me understand why people were willing to eat in a restaurant that felt more like controlled chaos than fine dining.
I spent months trying to recreate that flavor without a charcoal grill or a ventilation system that could handle indoor smoke.
The breakthrough came when I realized that the magic was not just in the grilling but in the quantity of cumin, in not being afraid to use what felt like way too much.
I started coating chicken thighs in a paste made from toasted cumin, garlic, oil, and salt, then cooking them in a screaming hot cast iron pan until they developed that dark, spice-crusted exterior.
The apartment would fill with smoke and the neighbors would give me looks, but it was worth it because that crust tasted exactly like the street food I was chasing.
The charred tomato component came from watching a street vendor in Mexico City who would throw whole tomatoes directly onto his grill alongside the meat, letting them blister and char until they looked almost black.
When he pulled them off and crushed them into salsa, those tomatoes had this concentrated sweetness and smokiness that elevated everything they touched.
I started doing the same thing with cherry tomatoes, cooking them in the same pan as the chicken so they would soak up all those cumin-flavored drippings, their skins splitting and their insides turning jammy and intense.
This bowl became my answer to craving street food when it was too cold or too late to actually go find it.
There is something deeply satisfying about creating that smoky, aggressive flavor profile at home, about filling your kitchen with the kind of smells that make you hungry before you even start eating.
Every time I make this, I think about that restaurant in Flushing and how the best food often comes from places that care more about flavor than comfort, that prioritize the eating experience over everything else.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons whole cumin seeds (or 2 tablespoons ground cumin)
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (vegetable or canola), divided
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and crushed (optional)
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced (whites and greens separated)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 fresh red or green chilies, sliced
- Lime wedges, for serving
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- Chili flakes, for garnish
Preparation
- If using whole cumin seeds, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Let cool, then grind coarsely in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ground cumin, 2 tablespoons of oil, half the minced garlic, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat thoroughly in the spice mixture.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or grill pan over high heat until smoking hot. Add the spice-coated chicken pieces in a single layer, leaving space between each piece.
- Cook the chicken without moving for 4-5 minutes until a dark crust forms on the bottom. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes until charred on all sides and cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- In the same skillet (without wiping it clean), add the cherry tomatoes. Cook over high heat for 4-5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes are blistered, charred, and starting to burst. Remove and set aside.
- Cook the ramen noodles according to package directions (usually 3-4 minutes). Drain, rinse briefly, and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Divide the cooked noodles among serving bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles.
- Top each bowl with cumin-grilled chicken pieces and charred tomatoes. Garnish with scallion greens, fresh cilantro, sliced chilies, crushed Sichuan peppercorns if using, and chili flakes.
- Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side and any optional toppings. Squeeze lime over the bowl before eating for brightness.