Learn how to make authentic shoyu ramen at home! This ramen noodle guide answers all your questions about shoyu and makes you a Japanese cooking pro in no time. Not to mention, you get to learn how to make it on your own! Now, this is not your typical college ramen – this is a bowl of hearty and comforting noodle soup that you’ll want to make every day for lunch or dinner.
Are you a big fan of ramen noodle soup? And, I’m not talking about the kind you get in a styrofoam cup that costs a dollar. No- I’m talking about those big, hearty bowls of fresh ramen noodles with homemade broth at your local ramen shop. The ones topped with sprouts, bok choy, ramen eggs, and pork chashu.
If you are, then this recipe for shoyu ramen is perfect for you!
Why You Will Love Shoyu Ramen
This ramen noodle bowl is filled with texture, nutrition, and the best comfort food of all – noodles. So many people love this dish because it has the ever-popular umami flavor of soy sauce drizzled in it.
This soup is also a quick and easy way to fix a lunch that will nourish you and keep you full until your next meal.
What is Shoyu Ramen?
Ramen noodles is one of those types of food that is synonymous with college life. You don’t need to know how to cook because all you do is boil the noodles and add the flavor pack.
But, this is not your college ramen. This recipe is a grown-up bowl of hearty soup!
In Japanese, shoyu means soy sauce. So this shoyu ramen is a recipe with a soy sauce-tasting broth.
In order to elevate this recipe and make it nutritious, I’ll show you all the different vegetables and types of meat that you can add to it, and some tips that will make it taste even more robust with the most aromatic broth you ever experienced!
Ingredients Needed To Make Shoyu Ramen
For this recipe, I used authentic Japanese ingredients in the ramen. Here is a bit more information about what I used so you can use the same ones.
Ramen Noodles
Use a packet of ramen noodles with the oil and seasoning packet. The noodles are very affordable and easy to find at any supermarket.
You can also make your own ramen noodles from scratch!
Broth
Since you are using the oil and seasoning packet that comes with the ramen noodles, you don’t have to worry about making a homemade broth. That’s what makes this recipe so incredibly easy.
Ramen Toppings
Popular and typical ramen toppings are:
- Chashu sliced pork
- Soft boiled egg (or miso egg)
- Naruto (pinwheel fish cake)
- Menma (bamboo shoots)
- Corn
- Bean sprouts
- Sliced scallions
Of course, you can be creative and use whatever you like or you have in your fridge and pantry. All toppings need to be thinly sliced and ready before you start to cook the noodles!
Chashu
Chashu is also known as Ramen pork, Cha siu, or Chinese BBQ pork. You can buy ready-made Chashu or if you would like to make your own, follow my popular recipe here.
Seaweed and Bean Sprouts
People usually add these two things at the very end, right before they eat it. You can find nori online and it’s always best to buy bean sprouts fresh.
Soft-Boiled Egg
You can make a soft-boiled egg, or a Japanese-like seasoned egg called “Ajitsuke Tamago.” I shared a post called miso-marinated egg (miso egg) if you would like to try that.
Menma
Menma is a Japanese condiment that is made from lacto-fermented bamboo shoots also known as “Shinachiku.” You can buy these bamboo shoots in a jar from Japanese grocery stores. If you cannot access this ingredient, you can replace this with young corn or something else.
Naruto (Pinwheel Fish Cake)
These are fish cakes so they are not sold online. The best place to find them is at your local Asian or Japanese marketplace.
Tips For Making The Best Ramen Soup
Even though this is a super-easy recipe, here are some tips that will make sure that your soup comes out perfectly every single time.
Serve It Fresh
Ramen is definitely not a food that you can make ahead and eat the next day. When you cook noodles al dente, it needs to be served and eaten immediately, otherwise the noodles soak up the soup, which changes the texture of the noodles and makes them stretch.
Watch How Long You Cook the Noodles
For the above reason, although this recipe is easy, the timing of making the soup and cooking noodles is critical. For example, this Nisshin brand noodle takes about 4 minutes to cook. So while you are cooking noodles for 4 minutes, you need to open the soup sachet and make soup so that it is ready.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shoyu Ramen
Ramen noodle is made from wheat flour, salt, water and kansui (alkaline mineral water). People often think that the yellowish colour is from using egg in the noodle. However, alkaline mineral water makes the noodle look yellowish and also makes the noodle firm.
There are four main types of ramen in terms of base broth and noodle soup flavour; Shoyu (soy sauce), Shio (salt), Miso, and Tonkotsu (Pork bone broth). Shoyu and Shio are light and clear soups whereas Miso and Tonkotsu are much heavier and cloudier soups.
Certain areas of Japan have their own specialty Ramen. The prefecture I am from in Japan is called Wakayama, which is famous for Shoyu Ramen. When I go back to Japan, I eat at least one bowl of Ramen at a restaurant, or at home. I am going to share how my family back in Japan cook it at home.
Well, the short answer is NO. If you make fresh noodles, and making your own broth from scratch, it will be worth the effort, but it is time-consuming and it will be difficult for the first-timers. Japanese people know how to find shortcuts. We buy ready-made packets of ramen and soup from supermarkets. And, the good news is I saw Nisshin brand (my favourite) ramen packets at a local Coles (Australian supermarket)!
You can buy them from Asian or Japanese grocery stores. The local Japanese grocery stores (in Brisbane) stock many different brands of dry noodle packets as well as fresh noodles and frozen noodles. You can also purchase concentrated soup broth sachets in different flavours as well. If you can not access any local stores, try online in stores such as Amazon.
Nissin – Raoh Japanese Instant Ramen Noodles Soy Sauce
Ramen Recipes To Try
If you love this shoyu ramen recipe, try some of these other recipes as well:
Stay Connected
If you liked my recipe for Shoyu Ramen, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!
Shoyu Ramen
Ingredients
- 1 packet of Ramen noodle *1
- 1 slice of Pork Chashu
- 2 slices of Naruto pinwheel Fish cake
- 2 tbsp corn kernel or 20g
- 4-5 Menma bamboo shoots
- ½ soft boiled egg
- 10 g or one handful of bean sprouts
- 1 tsp Sliced scallions
- A nori sheet
- 250 ml or 1 cup of boiling water
Instructions
- Prepare toppings. Slice the naruto fish cake, scallions, and cut the soft boiled egg in half. Cook corn and remove kernels. Wash and trim the bean sprouts. Set all toppings aside.
- Bring water to boil in a large pot.
- Open the packet, remove noodle and put into the boiling water.
- Cook the noodle for 4 minutes to al dente.
- While the noodle is being cooked, empty the seasoning packet and the oil packet to a ramen bowl. *2
- Add the noodles to the water and leave to cook for as many minutes as written on the packet.
- Boil 1 cup of water in a kettle and pour it into the ramen bowl.
- Stir the boiling water to dissolve the seasoning and oil and set aside.
- When the noodle is cooked to al dente, drain the cooking water.
- Add the noodles to the bowls of soup.
- Top with Chashu pork, soft boiled egg, naruto the fish cake, Menma the bamboo shoots, corn kernels, bean sprouts and sliced scallions.
- Stick nori seaweed sheet on the side of the noodle bowl.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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