When you want to cook to impress, few dinners can top homemade ramen. That being said, we’re not going to lie: making ramen from scratch requires time, patience, and a fair amount of effort. It can be a multi-day affair, and if you simply don’t have time for it, it can seem very intimidating. Our shoyu ramen recipe calls for making four important components: dashi and tare for the soup base, and nitamago and chashu as showstopping toppings. You can certainly eat a decent bowl of noodles without one or two of these players, but man oh man, magic happens when they all come together in one bite. Trust us: Your patience will be thoroughly rewarded after one spoonful of this homemade ramen. Here’s everything you need to know:
How to make homemade ramen:
— Dashi. This is simple, clear stock usually made with kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried fish shavings, aka bonito flakes). Making this takes just minutes because we don’t want to over-extract the intense flavors of these umami-rich ingredients, but if you need an even quicker version, many stores today carry an instant powder variety called Hon Dashi: Just add it to hot broth or water, and you’re good to go.
— Tare. Called the soul of ramen by some, tare is essentially a flavored, concentrated soy sauce. We will be making this once and using it three different ways: as braising liquid for the pork belly, as marinade for the eggs, and as seasoning for the soup.— Nitamago. There is nothing more awe-inspiring than an egg done well. In this case, the eggs are soft-boiled, peeled, and left to chill in our tare marinade overnight, for 6 to 12 hours.
— Chashu.This is braised pork belly, aka a little slice of heaven for my non-kosher friends. Seared then cooked gently and slowly in our tare mix, it might quite possibly be the most melt-in-your-mouth pork experience you’ll ever have. Pork belly with skin on is the best cut to use, but if you can’t find that at your local butcher, pork shoulder will do just fine.
— La-yu. This ingredient is a bonus for my garlic-loving spice heads and it’s totally optional. Inspired by my favorite ramen condiment, found at Chuko in Brooklyn, this is a take on Japanese chili oil with savory pieces of garlic confit gummies and tiny pops of sesame. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better!
Variations.
While we love this recipe as is, feel free to experiment to make it your own! Craving a meatless ramen? Try out our vegan ramen recipe, loaded with roasted veggies. When it comes to the toppings, go as crazy as you’d like. In addition to all of our toppings here, feel free to add on some sriracha, soy sauce, mirin, sesame seeds, or any veggies your heart desires.
Storage.
This recipe makes enough broth and toppings for 4 servings and keeps well in the fridge for a week, so if you're cooking for one, it's the perfect thing to make on a Sunday and heat up throughout the week.
Made this homemade ramen? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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- Yields:
- 4 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 30 mins
- Total Time:
- 6 hrs 30 mins
Ingredients
For chicken dashi (stock)
- 8 c.
low-sodium chicken broth
- 16
dried shiitake mushrooms
- 30 g
kombu (kelp),about a 10" square piece
- 20 g
dried bonito flakes (about 2 c. loosely packed)
For tare and chashu (marinade and pork)
- 1 1/4 c.
low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/4 c.
mirin
- 1/2 c.
sake
- 1 1/2 c.
water
- 1/4 c.
granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp.
packed brown sugar
- 1
2" piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 3
cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3
green onions, halved
- 1 lb.
pork belly, skin on, cut into 2"-wide strips
For nitamago (marinated eggs)
- 4
cold large eggs
- 2 1/2 c.
reserved chashu-tare liquid
For garlic la-yu (chili oil)
- 8
cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 c.
canola oil
- 1 Tbsp.
ground chili or 1 1/2 tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp.
sesame seeds
For each serving
- 4 oz.
fresh ramen noodles
- 1 1/2 c.
chicken dashi
- 2
reserved shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 3 Tbsp.
or moretare, to taste
- 2
slices chashu
- 1
nitamago, halved
- 1
green onion, white and light green parts only, very thinly sliced
- 2 tsp.
la-yu
Nori (optional)
Directions
Make dashi (stock)
- Step1In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring chicken broth to a bare simmer. Remove from heat and let cool 2 minutes. Add in mushrooms andkombu (kelp) and let steep 5 minutes. Then, add in bonito and let steep 5 more minutes. Strain and save solids for nitamago process and serving.
- Step2Store dashi chilled, up to 1 week.
Make tare and chashu (marinade and pork)
- Step1In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring all ingredients except pork to a low simmer and reduce heat to low.
- Step2Meanwhile, in another medium pot over medium heat, bring pork and 6 cups water to a low simmer. Drain immediately and gently rinse pork.
- Step3Place pork in tare pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and continue to cook on lowuntil tender, turning pork occasionally, about 1 hour 20 minutes.
- Step4Let cool for 20 minutes, then strain and reserve liquid for serving. Refrigerate pork and remaining liquid separately. Slice pork before serving, lightly torched, if desired.
Make nitamago (marinated eggs)
- Step1In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring 6 cups water to a rolling boil. Carefully prick rounded bottoms of each egg with a pin. Gently lower eggs into pot with a slotted spoon, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer eggs for 6 minutes. Drain.
- Step2Transfer eggs to an ice bath and let rest for 5 minutes. Thoroughly crack eggshells very gently, knocking one egg against another, then return to ice bath for 10 more minutes. Peel carefully.
- Step3Place eggs in a medium bowl and pour reserved pork-marinade liquid over. Weigh down eggs with reserved spent kombu (kelp) to fully immerse in liquid. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, up to 12 hours.
Make garlic la-yu (chili oil)
- Step1In a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat, simmer garlic in oil until tender and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 15minutes. Keep the heat level low enough to avoid frying the garlic.
- Step2Remove from heat and immediately stir in chili. Let rest 2 minutes, then stir in sesame.
- Step3Once completely cool, store refrigerated in a closed container for up to 2 weeks.
To serve
- Step1 In a pot of salted boiling water, cook ramen, stirring with tongs or chopsticks until al dente, about 1 minute. (If using instant ramen, discard seasoning packet andfollow packet instructions to cook until al dente.)Drain well.
- Step2In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm dashi and shiitake until barely simmering. Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat. Set shiitake aside.
- Step3Add dashi, tare, and noodles to serving bowl. Top with chashu, nitamago, shiitake, green onion, a drizzle of la-yu, and nori, if using.
