Craving a delicious bowl of ramen? You don’t need to spend hours at the stove or rely on takeout. With my simple recipe, you can whip up a delightful bowl of shoyu ramen in around 15 minutes! This version keeps the traditional flavors that will be sure to satisfy your tastebuds and warm up your soul. Enjoy!
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🍜What is Shoyu Ramen?
Shoyu ramen is a classic Japanese ramen variety that features a soy sauce-based broth. Shoyu means soy sauce in Japanese, and it gives the broth a rich, savory, and slightly tangy flavor profile. The broth is typically made with a combination of dashi (Japanese soup stock), chicken or pork broth, and then infused with soy sauce to add depth and umami.
Shoyu ramen has a clear, brownish broth and is commonly served with toppings like chashu (braised pork belly), ajitama (seasoned soft-boiled egg), menma (fermented bamboo shoots), green onions, and nori (seaweed). Typically the noodles used are medium-thickness and slightly wavy, called chijiremen, though any type of ramen noodles can go well with the soup.
💖Why You'll Love this Recipe
Shoyu ramen is popular because of its well-balanced and versatile flavor. The soy sauce-based broth is lighter than tonkotsu but still packed with umami and richness. It's a crowd-pleaser and one you can find at any ramen shop around the world. Here are some of the reasons why you'll love my recipe:
- Traditional: It has all the iconic ingredients and toppings that you would expect from an authentic bowl of shoyu ramen.
- Fast: Making ramen from scratch requires simmering the broth for a very long time, which can be an all-day affair. But this recipe takes a fraction of the time while still giving the soup that depth and rich flavor.
- Affordability: Nowadays, a bowl of ramen can set you back about $20, at least where I live. I get that we pay for the labor and convenience but if you don't mind putting in just a little bit of work, then you'll be saving a lot of money!
🥚Key Ingredients
Tare (Base Sauce)
- Soy sauce (shoyu): Stick to Japanese soy sauce since the flavor profile will give you the most authentic result. I personally like to use usukuchi (lighter colored) shoyu in order to keep the broth from getting too dark.
- Chicken bouillon powder: The instant chicken broth maker that allows this recipe to be so quick.
- Lard: This is a key ingredient in order to add some fat content to our soup. All ramen soups have fat that comes naturally from simmering the meat and bones. But rather than spending hours boiling meat, we mimic it by adding a bit of lard, which gives the soup more richness and overall depth to the flavor.
Soup Base
- Dashi stock: Homemade awase dashi made from kombu (dried kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) is ideal but if you're in a time crunch, you can use Hondashi powder and mix it in with water.
- Watch this video to learn how to make awase dashi.
Koumi Abura (Aromatic Oil)
- Have you ever wondered what the little packet of oil is that comes with some instant cup noodles? That's koumi abura, which is an aromatic oil used in ramen to enhance it's flavor and richness. But we'll be making ours from scratch, which is extremely simple but elevates the overall taste of the soup tremendously.
Ramen Noodles
- The standard noodles to use for shoyu ramen is called chijiremen. They're medium-thickness and wavy which helps absorb more of the broth while eating. You can find them at Japanese markets and they often come fresh, frozen, or dried.
Toppings
- Chashu Pork: This is one of favorite ramen toppings regardless of what style of ramen it is. However, making it does take a bit of time so when I'm in a hurry I simply cook some thin slices of pork belly rather than thick-cut chashu. You can also make this ahead of time (up to 3 days in advance) or buy pre-cooked versions from Japanese markets.
- Soft-Boiled Egg: You can't call it an official ramen recipe without some soft-boiled egg right? I like to keep mine at a medium-soft yolk but you can easily cook it to your own preference. You can also take it a step further and make ajitsuke tamago ("ajitama" for short), which is when you marinate the egg in soy sauce, sake, and sugar.
🥬Other Optional Ingredients
I add a few other items in this recipe besides the key ingredients listed above, but most of them are traditional and seen as a standard for shoyu ramen. However, you can customize your ramen any way you'd like. I mean, that's the beauty of cooking at home right? Here are some other ingredients that you may enjoy:
- Spinach or bok choy: Adds texture and balance to the overall dish.
- Deli ham: Quick and easy way to add protein to any bowl of ramen.
- Corn: Adds a hint of sweetness. Goes well with butter.
- Butter (slice): Melts into the broth, making it extra rich and creamy.
- Ground pork or chicken: Simple alternative to chashu. Stir fry with soy sauce, mirin, garlic, and ginger to give it authentic flavor.
- Fried garlic: Adds bold flavor and texture.
- Mushrooms: Versatile vegetable option (shiitake, wood ear, enoki, etc).
- Chili oil: For a little kick.
🪄Tips and Tricks
- Use good quality noodles. There's nothing wrong with using the $.40 cent packs of noodles from your local market, but the better the noodles, the better the bowl of ramen will be.
- Don't skip the fat. The lard is used in order to mimic the natural fat content that all ramen broths have. Without it, the soup won't be as rich and will lose a lot of it's umami and overall depth.
- Don't forget the aromatic oil. Will the ramen taste good without it? Yes, however the koumi abura takes it to another level. Trust me, it's worth the extra work.
- Chashu is not required. Although it's one of my favorites, there's nothing wrong with using a simpler/faster alternative. I've used everything from imitation crab meat to bacon as my main protein and it all tastes great!
✍️Final Thoughts
There's nothing quite like authentic Japanese ramen, made by the amazing chefs that work so hard, simmering the broth for hours, perhaps even days. But honestly, who has time for that at home? That's why this recipe is the next best thing, and making ramen at home can be a very rewarding experience. With only a bit of effort, you can create a bowl that will be sure to satisfy your ramen cravings. Give this recipe a try, and let me know in the comments how you like it!
🤔Common Questions
Yes and no. You can use a vegetarian dashi stock with kombu and shiitake mushrooms (instead of katsuobushi), however the main components of authentic shoyu ramen broth is pork and chicken. So without it, it's very difficult to get that rich, savory flavor of the soup. Instead, you can add miso to the broth which would add a ton of umami and flavor but would be considered miso ramen rather than shoyu ramen.
There are plenty of options! Some of my favorites are gyoza (Japanese dumplings), karaage (Japanese fried chicken), tsukemono (pickled vegetables), fried rice, onigiri (Japanese rice balls), or a simple side salad.
Beer... Japanese beer to be exact. But that's an obvious one. Sake can pair nicely as well, but stick to a dry, umami-forward bottle. A junmai or honjozo are typically better options with heavy soy sauce flavored dishes. Dry white wine with some acidity can complement shoyu ramen as well.
Shoyu Ramen (Simple Recipe)
VIDEO
EQUIPMENT
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Small sauce pan
- 2 Medium pots
- 1 Serving bowl
INGREDIENTS
Soup Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 4 teaspoon Chicken bouillon powder
- 2 teaspoon Mirin
- 4-6 teaspoon Lard
- 2 cups Dashi stock
- 2 cups Water
Koumi Abura (Aromatic Oil) Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 4-6 Green onion
- 4-5 cloves Garlic
- 2-3 inches Ginger
- 1-2 teaspoon Sesame oil
Noodles
- 2 servings Ramen noodles
Toppings
- 2 Egg (large)
- Menma Fermented bamboo shoots
- 4 slices Naruto Japanese fish cake
- 1 sheet Nori Dried seaweed
Chashu Ingredients
- 1 lb Pork belly (thick cut)
Chashu Braising Liquid
- 3 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Sake
- 2-3 cloves Garlic sliced
- 1-2 inches Ginger sliced
- 1-2 Green onion
INSTRUCTIONS
Chashu (Can be made in advance)
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat.
- Once heated, add a small drizzle of neutral oil and start browning the pork belly on all sides until it has a nice golden-brown color and light crisp (couple minutes per side). Then set aside.
- Add braising liquid ingredients into a medium pot and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the browned pork belly and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once the liquid is boiling, turn it down to a light simmer (about medium-low) and place an otoshibuta (drop lid) on top. If you don't have a drop lid, you can easily make one from aluminum foil by shaping it into a circle slightly smaller than the pot and cutting a hole in the center.
- Simmer the pork belly for about 45-60 minutes, flipping it halfway through. Keep an eye on the liquid level and add water if it's evaporating too quickly.
- After simmering, take out the pork belly and let it cool. Once it's cooled enough to handle, slice it crosswise into about ½-inch thick pieces. Set aside until ramen is ready to be topped.
- If you plan to keep the chashu for later use, transfer into an airtight container or Ziploc bag and add the remaining braising liquid in with it. This will add more flavor and help keep the chashu moist when stored in the refrigerator.
Soft-Boiled Egg
- Bring a small pot of water to a light boil. Make sure to have enough water where the egg is fully submerged.
- Once it starts to boil, carefully add the egg into the pot.
- Boil the egg for about 6½-7 minutes for a soft yolk. Keeping the water at a low boil (where the egg is NOT bouncing around).
- After boiling the egg, transfer immediately into an ice bath in order to stop the cooking.
- Once cooled, peel carefully and set aside until ramen is ready to be topped.
Koumi Abura (Aromatic Oil)
- Dice the green onion crosswise, separating the white parts from the green. We'll use the white section for our koumi abura and keep the green part for garnish.
- Julienne slice the ginger and garlic into thin strips.
- Add vegetable oil into a small pot or pan and heat over medium heat.
- Add diced green onion (white part), ginger, and garlic into the oil and cook for a few minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add sesame oil and mix it all together.
- Strain into a heat-safe bowl and set aside until ramen is ready to be topped.
Soup
- Add all ingredients into a medium/large pot and give it a quick stir.
- Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Once it starts to lightly boil, turn the heat down to low and keep warm until ready to serve.
Noodles
- Cook noodles according to packaging. Make sure to have everything else ready and time the noodles so that it finishes right before serving. Noodles will stick together when left out to cool.
Plating/Serving
- Pour hot soup into serving bowl.
- Add noodles into bowl (ideally immediately after they're done cooking).
- Add toppings: chashu, menma, naruto, soft-boiled egg (cut in half), green onion (green part), and nori.
- Drizzle some koumi abura (aromatic oil).
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