How to Make Shoyu Ramen
Master restaurant-quality Shoyu ramen at home by crafting a savory soy tare, rich aromatic broth, springy alkaline noodles, and jammy marinated soft-boiled eggs.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Large stockpot
- ✓ Medium saucepan
- ✓ Fine-mesh noodle strainer
- ✓ Chef's knife and cutting board
- ✓ Tongs or cooking chopsticks
- ✓ Deep ramen bowls
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Fresh or dried ramen noodles
- ✓ Rich chicken or pork bone stock
- ✓ Large eggs
- ✓ Soy sauce, mirin, and sake
- ✓ Fresh ginger and garlic
- ✓ Scallions, sesame oil, and nori sheets
- ✓ Chashu pork belly slices or braised meat
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Handle boiling water with extreme care when lowering and retrieving eggs and noodles.
- • Ensure hot broths and oils are simmered on stable burners to prevent dangerous splashing.
- • Allow marinated eggs to cool thoroughly in an ice bath before peeling to avoid burns and tearing.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Boil and Marinate Jammy Ramen Eggs
Bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil and gently lower cold eggs in with a slotted spoon. Boil for exactly 6 minutes and 30 seconds, then immediately transfer them into an ice-water bath for 10 minutes. Peel carefully and submerge in an equal mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and water.
- • Eggshells peel away cleanly without damaging the soft whites
- • Yolks remain deep orange and viscous when sliced
- • Overcooking the eggs past 7 minutes, resulting in a chalky, hard yolk
- • Skipping the ice bath, which prevents easy peeling
Simmer the Shoyu Tare Seasoning Base
Combine 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup mirin, 2 tablespoons sake, a smashed garlic clove, and a slice of fresh ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a brief simmer for 3 to 5 minutes to burn off the harsh alcohol and meld the flavors. Remove from heat, discard the solids, and set the concentrated tare aside.
- • Liquid reduces slightly and coats the back of a spoon with a dark gloss
- • Strong alcohol scent dissipates into a sweet, savory aroma
- • Boiling too violently, which scorches the soy sauce and leaves a bitter taste
Heat and Infuse the Aromatic Broth
Pour your bone stock into a large stockpot and add scallion greens, crushed garlic, and sliced ginger. Bring the broth to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat for at least 20 minutes to extract the aromatics. Keep the soup piping hot on low heat until the final assembly.
- • Small fat droplets shimmer evenly across the surface of the broth
- • Steam rises steadily without aggressive boiling bubbles
- • Allowing the broth to cool down before assembly, resulting in lukewarm ramen
Prep Toppings and Warm the Bowls
Thinly slice the white and green portions of scallions, cut nori sheets into rectangles, and halve your marinated eggs with a taut string or sharp knife. Pour hot tap water into your ceramic ramen bowls to preheat them, then pour it out right before assembly. Sear your chashu pork slices in a dry skillet for 1 minute per side until fragrant.
- • Pork edges show slight caramelization and rendered fat
- • Ramen bowls feel warm to the touch
- • Plating into cold bowls, which rapidly drops the temperature of the finished soup
Cook and Drain the Noodles
Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rapid rolling boil and drop in the noodles, stirring vigorously to separate the strands. Cook fresh noodles for 60 to 90 seconds (or dried noodles per packet instructions) until springy with a slight bite. Lift the noodles out using a mesh strainer and shake aggressively downward several times to shed all excess cooking water.
- • Noodles are translucent, bouncy, and distinct without clumping
- • No residual cloudy water drips from the mesh strainer
- • Failing to shake off excess water, which directly dilutes the ramen broth
Assemble and Plate the Ramen Bowl
Ladle 2 to 3 tablespoons of hot tare and a teaspoon of sesame oil into the bottom of each warmed bowl. Pour in 350ml of boiling broth and stir gently, then fold the drained noodles into the center using chopsticks. Arrange the chashu, halved egg, scallions, and nori sheets neatly around the noodles and serve immediately.
- • Broth has a rich, uniform color with aromatic oil glistening on top
- • Noodles sit neatly folded beneath clearly visible, vibrant toppings
- • Letting the assembled bowl sit before eating, causing noodles to bloat and soften
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by HowToBasic — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Mirin? Dry white wine mixed with 1/2 tsp sugar per tablespoon
- No Sake? Dry white wine or Chinese Shaoxing cooking wine
- No Ramen noodle basket (Tebo)? Standard stainless steel fine-mesh colander
- No Chashu pork? Pan-seared thick-cut bacon, pork belly slices, or seasoned chicken thigh