Japan · Japanese cuisine (Tokyo-style ramen)
Shoyu ramen
A bowl of thin springy noodles in a clear amber chicken broth seasoned with a soy tare, topped with tender chashu pork, a jammy seasoned egg, bamboo shoots, spring onion and nori: the classic soy-sauce ramen.
Cookhuddle Editorial Cookhuddle | Japan
Editorial selection: recipes cross-checked against several documentary sources. They have not been tested in our kitchen: follow the precautions given and adapt times to your own oven.
original Original text, written in English.
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- Servings
- 4
- Preparation
- 40 min
- Cooking
- 150 min
- Resting
- 240 min
- Total
- 430 min
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Cuisine / tradition: Japanese cuisine (Tokyo-style ramen) (JP) — declared by the author
- Main dish
- Soup
- Slow-cooked
Ingredients
For 4 servings
- 1.4 kg chicken wings or bone-in thighs, for the broth
- 3 l cold water, for the broth
- 1 piece leek (or 3 spring onions)
- 20 g fresh ginger, in 6 slices
- 4 clove garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 120 ml dark soy sauce (koikuchi), for the tare
- 60 ml mirin, for the tare
- 30 ml sake, for the tare
- 1 tsp sugar, for the tare
- 1 piece piece of kombu (5 cm), for the tare
- 600 g pork belly, rolled and tied, for the chashu
- 150 ml soy sauce, for the chashu and eggs
- 150 ml mirin, for the chashu and eggs
- 100 ml sake, for the chashu
- 40 g sugar, for the chashu
- 300 ml water, for the chashu
- 3 slice slices of fresh ginger, for the chashu
- 2 clove garlic cloves, crushed, for the chashu
- 4 piece eggs, for the ajitama
- 480 g fresh thin straight ramen noodles
- 100 g menma (seasoned bamboo shoots)
- 4 piece sheets of nori
- 4 piece spring onions, thinly sliced
- 4 slice narutomaki (fish cake), optional
Method
- Step 1. Broth: blanch the chicken in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and rinse. Put it back in the pot with the 3 litres of cold water, the leek, the ginger and the garlic. Bring slowly to a bare simmer (85 to 90 °C), skim, and cook for 2 hours, skimming every 30 minutes. Do not let it boil. Strain; you should have about 1.6 litres.⏱ 120 min
- Step 2. Chashu: put the pork belly in a snug pot with the 150 ml soy sauce, 150 ml mirin, 100 ml sake, the sugar, the ginger slices, the garlic cloves and 300 ml of water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook very gently for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until tender, turning every 20 minutes. Let it cool in its liquid and keep that liquid.⏱ 90 min
- Step 3. Ajitama: lower the eggs into boiling water and cook for 6 minutes (6 minutes 30 seconds for large eggs straight from the fridge). Cool immediately in iced water and peel. Marinate them in a bag with 100 ml of the chashu liquid for 4 to 5 hours, or up to 2 days for a deeper flavour.⏱ 6 min
- Step 4. Tare: in a small saucepan combine the 120 ml dark soy sauce, 60 ml mirin, 30 ml sake, the sugar and the kombu. Warm gently for 5 minutes without boiling, then remove the kombu. You will have about 190 ml, enough for 4 bowls.⏱ 5 min
- Step 5. Warm the bowls with boiling water. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to the boil. Slice the chashu and halve the ajitama.
- Step 6. Pour about 45 ml of tare into each warm bowl and add 350 ml of the hot, clear broth. Cook the noodles for 1 to 2 minutes, until just tender, drain well and divide between the bowls.⏱ 2 min
- Step 7. Top each bowl with 2 slices of chashu, half an ajitama, 3 or 4 pieces of menma, a slice of narutomaki and the spring onions, and lean a sheet of nori on the edge of the bowl. Serve at once.
Story and cultural note
Shoyu, soy-sauce, is one of the basic styles of ramen, with a clear, amber chicken broth seasoned with a tare, the concentrated seasoning added to the bowl before the broth, here based on soy sauce, mirin and sake. The classic toppings are chashu, a seasoned half-boiled egg (ajitama), menma (seasoned bamboo shoots), naruto fish cake, nori and spring onions, and the noodles are thin and straight with the kansui that gives them their spring. Sources describe the tare and the broth as separate preparations that can be made days ahead.
Tips for success
Keep the broth below a simmer and skim it often: this keeps it clear. The tare is very salty, so season each bowl with it before the broth and taste. Warm the bowls and serve at once, as the noodles keep absorbing broth. The tare, the broth, the chashu and the eggs can all be made a day or two ahead.
Serving and presentation
Serve in deep, pre-warmed bowls, with the noodles folded in the centre, the toppings arranged around them and the nori leaning on the rim, with the tip just touching the broth.
Diet and allergens
Information declared by the author. CookHuddle does not verify or certify it. If you have an allergy, check the ingredients yourself.
DietDairy-freeNut-free
ContainsGluten (cereals)EggsSoyFish
