Shoyu Ramen – 醤油ラメーン

My homemade shoyu ramen is packed with the slurp-worthy umami of my favorite ramen shop. But I can make it at home for a fraction of the cost. And the soy sauce based broth is crazy satisfying whether I use springy fresh ramen noodles or just scavenge a brick of dry ramen from my snack pantry. Ready in just 25 minutes from start to finish!

When I’m making ramen at home, I try to keep it quick and easy. I leave the complex stuff like tonkotsu broth (that takes literal days to make) to the ramen kings at Ippudo. So when I created this simple shoyu ramen recipe, I was expecting good – but I got great instead.

Ben and I were both frankly a little surprised by the nuanced flavor of the ramen broth. I developed it with a simple combination of soy sauce, sake, mirin and dashi. It’s packed with earthy umami, dry sweetness and saline notes. Once I added a little garlic and ginger for aromatics, I knew I had a broth that I had to share. FYI, I slurped two huge servings of shoyu ramen that day, then sat down at the computer to write this post.

Ingredients

Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full recipe steps and measurements.

• Fresh Ramen Noodles: I use fresh or fresh/frozen ramen noodles when possible. They’re springy and perfectly chewy. But I try not to get too hung up on the ‘fresh’ aspect too much. Sometimes the perfect noodles are whatever I’ve got handy. Packaged dried ramen noodles can be delicious. And, in a pinch, a par-fried, dehydrated block of noodles I salvaged from a 25¢ packet of Top Ramen will do just fine. There’s absolutely no shame in keeping things cheap and cheerful when it comes to making homemade ramen.

Soup Base

• Sesame oil: Sesame oil is delightfully toasty and nutty.
• Garlic and Ginger: My favorite aromatics.
• Soy Sauce: I use Japanese soy sauce (shoyu) for big time umami.
• Cooking Sake: While I use cooking sake most times, I’ve also use drinking sake when making Japanese ramen at home. Cooking sake contains added salt.
• Dashi: Dashi is a delicate briny sea stock made with kombu and katsuobushi (bonito flakes. I like to make my own homemade dashi. But I sometimes rehydrate instant powdered dashi.
• Mirin: Mirin is a Japanese rice wine I rely on for mild sweetness.
• Ramen Water: This is just reserved pasta water I extract from the pot just before draining my cooked noodles.

Topping Suggestions

• Ramen egg: Aside from chashu pork, ramen eggs are one of the most well known ramen toppings. While optional, I almost always use these custardy, jammy seasoned eggs.
• Menma: Pickled bamboo.
• Dry Nori Sheets: Nori is an edible seaweed, dried and pressed into thin sheets.
• Chopped Green Onion: AKA: chopped scallions.
• Ground White Pepper: Woody, floral and sharp.

How To Make It

1. Make the soup base. In a soup pot over medium high heat, sauté garlic and ginger in sesame oil until fragrant. Then add the soy sauce, sake, dashi and mirin. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
2. Cook the ramen noodles and reserve pasta water. In a separate pot, boil your noodles according to the instructions on the package. Just before draining, be sure to reserve 1 cup of the noodle water. Add the hot water to the shoyu soup base and stir.
3. Drain the noodles. Divide the cooked noodles evenly between two bowls.
4. Assemble and serve. Pour soup into bowls and add desired toppings. Serve immediately.

What to Serve With Shoyu Ramen

One of my favorite things about going to a Japanese ramen-ya (ramen shop) is choosing a teishoku (meal set). Think of teishoku as a value-meal that comes with a main dish, a couple of sides and a drink. While a huge steaming bowl of ramen is obviously the main dish, here are a few of my favorite sides for ramen in Japan.

• Yakimeshi – Japanese Fried Rice
• Gyoza with Japanese Dumpling Sauce
• Shiraae – Mashed Tofu Salad
• Seaweed Salad (Kaisou Salada)
• Edamame With Soy and Sesame Sauce

Frequently Asked Questions

Other simple and delicious Japanese recipes:

Japanese curry, omurice, nasu dengaku, baked chicken katsu, spicy tuna roll, okonomiyaki, onigiri, kani salad.

Did you like this ramen recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!

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