Ramen Street Tacos
The taco is one of the most adaptable food formats in existence. You fold a warm corn tortilla around almost anything that has been cooked correctly and you have a taco, and the history of the taco is largely the history of people cooking things correctly and then folding corn tortillas around them. This bowl, or more accurately this plate, puts ramen noodles and quick carnitas-style pork into corn tortillas in the tradition of Mexico City street tacos: no sour cream, no lettuce, no cheese, just the meat, the noodle, the diced white onion, the cilantro, the salsa, and the lime. The noodles coil inside the tortilla and add a chew that the meat alone wouldn't provide, and the combination is ridiculous in the best possible sense of that word.
Noodles fold in corn—carnitas and lime complete—the taco was ready
Let Me Tell You...
The idea for putting ramen noodles in a taco is either brilliant or unnecessary depending on how serious you are about tacos, and the answer is that it's both of those things and neither of them matters because you eat it and it's good.
The noodles add something that street tacos usually address with double tortillas, which is substance, a reason for the taco to have structure and weight rather than being two thin discs of corn barely holding together around a pile of meat.
The ramen provides that structure while also absorbing the pork fat and the lime and the salsa in a way that transforms it into something with no obvious antecedent.
This is non-negotiable for street tacos.
Warm them directly on the gas flame or in a dry cast iron pan until they get a few dark spots.
The carnitas method here is a shortened version of the traditional preparation, which involves simmering pork shoulder in lard and citrus for hours until the fat renders and the exterior crisps.
This version uses pork shoulder cut into chunks and cooked fast in a seasoned pan, which produces something that is definitionally not carnitas but is functionally similar in a thirty-minute window.
If you have actual leftover carnitas, use them.
The result will be better by a significant margin.
Street taco carnitas should have crispy edges, not just tender meat.
The double tortilla is the correct street taco format: two small corn tortillas stacked, which provides structural integrity and a buffer against the moisture of the filling.
Each noodle-and-carnitas taco needs both layers or it will fall apart at the moment you least want it to.
The double layer absorbs moisture without becoming soggy and keeps the taco structurally sound until the last bite.
Eight tacos serves two to four people depending on how enthusiastic those people are, which is a variable nobody can predict at the planning stage.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dried ramen noodles (1 brick, seasoning packet discarded)
- 1.25 lbs pork shoulder, cut into 1.5-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (plus more for serving)
- 16 small corn tortillas (2 per taco)
- 1/2 white onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- Salsa verde or salsa roja, for serving
Preparation
- Season pork cubes with cumin, garlic powder, oregano, smoked paprika, and salt. Toss to coat.
- Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add pork in a single layer without crowding (work in batches). Sear for 3-4 minutes without moving, until deeply browned. Flip and sear 2 more minutes. Return all pork to pan.
- Add orange juice and lime juice to the pan. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and pork begins to crisp again in its own fat. Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop into small pieces. Optional: broil on a sheet pan 2-3 minutes for extra crispiness.
- Cook ramen noodles in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Drain well and toss with a small drizzle of oil.
- Warm tortillas directly over a gas flame for 30 seconds per side until slightly charred, or in a dry cast iron pan. Stack 2 tortillas per taco.
- Fill each double tortilla with a small tangle of noodles and a generous spoonful of carnitas. Top with diced onion and cilantro. Serve with salsa, extra lime, and optional toppings.