Love noodle soup? Then you’ll want my recipe for a flavourful, restaurant-style homemade Japanese shoyu ramen! This delightful chicken ramen soup broth is so jam-packed with umami goodness that you’ll want the whole pot to yourself. I like to serve it with my homemade chashu pork belly, but you can add any protein of your choice. For a clear broth, be sure to use a gentle simmer and scoop off any froth throughout the cooking.
WATCH THIS RECIPE
Shoyu Ramen
PREP TIME
15 minutes
COOK TIME
4 hours 30 minutes
SERVES
Makes enough for about 6 serves
Ingredients
2kg (4.4 lb) chicken wings
2 carrots, cut into small pieces
2 x 20cm (8inch) pieces kombu*
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
6 spring onions (scallions), plus extra finely sliced to serve
1 head of garlic, halved
4cm (1.57 inch) piece ginger, sliced
¼ cup soy sauce
cooked ramen noodles, to serve
chashu pork, to serve (optional – you can use any type of protein or vegetables that you like)
medium-soft boiled eggs, to serve
12 cups of water
Tare (seasoning sauce):
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin*
Steps
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Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
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Cut the chicken wings through their joints into smaller pieces. Spread the wings and carrots out in a large roasting tin and cook for 45-60 minutes in the oven or until golden brown.
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Transfer the roasting tin to your stovetop. Turn the heat to high and when the roasting juices in the tin start to bubble, add in 2 cups of water. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then transfer all the chicken, carrots and the liquid into a large stock pot.
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Place the stock pot over a high heat and add the kombu, shitake, 6 spring onions, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Top up with 10 cups of water. Bring the stock to a simmer then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 3 hours, skimming the surface every so often.
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In the meantime, make the tare by mixing the ingredients in a small bowl.
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Remove and reserve the shiitake mushrooms. Remove and discard the chicken and aromatics. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve. Pour the broth into a clean saucepan. Taste and season with the tare according to your tastes (I added almost all of the tare to mine, but it will depend on the saltiness of your soy sauce and how much your broth reduced).
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To serve, place noodles in serving bowls. Ladle over the soup broth. Top with chashu pork or your choice of topping. Slice the reserved shiitake mushrooms (discard the stems). Add the mushroom slices to the bowl. Add half an egg and sprinkle over the spring onion.
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Notes:
– Kombu is a firm dried seaweed that you can buy from any Asian or Japanese grocery store.
– Mirin is a type of Japanese cooking rice wine (it has less alcohol than sake but is sweeter). It’s available in the Asian aisle of some major supermarkets or from an Asian grocery store.
What is shoyu ramen?
Shoyu ramen is a type of ramen that has a broth made out of soy sauce. Ramen is a popular dish in Japan, with shoyu ramen being one of the most popular iterations of the dish. ‘Shoyu’ in Japanese translates to soy sauce in English and it has a deep umami broth. Shoyu ramen is known for its sweet, salty broth, and array of toppings. Shoyu ramen is often topped with Chashu Pork and Soy Sauce Eggs.
What is the difference between tonkotsu and shoyu ramen?
Tonkotsu ramen is a style of ramen that is made with a pork bone broth, whereas shoyu ramen is made with soy sauce. Both are delicious, but shoyu ramen can be vegetarian (depending on toppings and other broth ingredients) whereas tonkotsu ramen is not suitable for vegetarians.
What is the difference between shoyu and miso ramen?
Similarly to the difference between tonkotsu ramen and shoyu ramen, the main difference between miso ramen and shoyu ramen is again the ingredients in the broth. Both these broths are generally suitable for vegetarians, however shoyu ramen is flavoured with soy sauce, and miso ramen is flavoured with miso paste.
What does shoyu ramen taste like?
Shoyu ramen has a delicious salty, umami flavour with sweet undertones. It’s super rich, comforting and full of umami, making it a top hit in the ramen world.
Yaaas so good!
Just finished making this. The broth is amazing. Now waiting until tomorrow to have some good ramen as breakfast!!