Why waste time lining up or looking for a restaurant just to get a hot bowl of shoyu ramen when you can do it easily at the comforts of your home? Learn how you can easily recreate your own shoyu ramen recipe as you read further.
How To Make Shoyu Ramen Broth
Understanding Shoyu Ramen
Shoyu would translate as soy sauce in Japan, thus, shoyu ramen is a ramen made with soy sauce based broth. Its ramen broth has high umami flavors along with a tangy strong taste too. A shoyu ramen bowl consists of sprint noodles and an array of toppings.
The use of soy sauce on its broth gives the shoyu ramen an edge over other types of ramen. The soy gives the ramen broth a deep, complex, and highly umami flavor. Shoyu ramen noodles are good for the soul and their broth can be very comforting, especially in cold weather.
Shoyu ramen has a clear brown color. When compared to tonkotsu, it is less heavy and brighter than miso. Having said that, there are other types of ramen other than shoyu ramen. The four main different types of ramen are Miso, Tonkotsu, Shio, and Shoyu. They are all made from chicken or pork bones, dashi or seafood broth poured over fresh ramen noodles. Their distinguishing factor and what would set them apart will be the addition of the tare and the kind of flavors that will be more outstanding in the dish.
Shoyu ramen is made from a broth by boiling down chicken or pork bones. To give the broth a little more depth and enhance its flavor, dried sardines, kelp, and dashi are also added along with the soy sauce tare seasoning.
Another type of ramen that is also famous is the tonkotsu ramen. It is also the creamiest and richest variety of ramen. Its pork broth is made by boiling pork bones for longer hours until all essential components, including the meat and gelatin and goodness simply melts right off. The result would be a pale colored cloudy tonkotsu broth along with the dissolved pork bones that can be enhanced by adding pork fat and chicken broth.
Made from fermented soybean paste, miso ramen has a thick, deep and complex flavor profile. This kind of ramen is perfect for a cold-weather due to its bold taste. One of the reasons why miso ramen could be a favorite in a cold environment is because it is created in Hokkaido. This place has harsh winters that give life to this type of ramen, as a bowl of hearty ramen can be cozy.
Shio ramen is said to be inspired by Chinese-style noodle soups. It is also the oldest kind of ramen made from chicken broth. Shio ramen is also lighter and clearer than the other kinds of ramen and its broth can be enhanced with other kinds of meat like pork. This ramen is popular in Hakodate, a southern city in the Hokkaido area.
What Are The Essential Components of a Ramen Bowl?
If you are planning to create some homemade Shoyu ramen, here are some tips to consider. Getting the right ingredients are essential to make some great ramen broth for you and your family to enjoy.
Noodles
Getting the right noodles would be at the top list to have an incredible bowl of ramen. Ramen noodles can change how you will eat and enjoy your ramen noodle soup. Having the wrong noodles may provide a sub-par ramen experience. For that reason, always look for fresh ramen noodles instead of getting the dried version.
The traditional ramen fresh noodles are usually long and springy. Yet, they can also be straight or wavy, thin or thick. For the shoyu ramen, the noodles being used are those curly kinds. These noodles should be served al dente rather than overcooking. Having mushy ramen noodles on your shoyu ramen would be a not-so-good experience to have.
Shoyu Broth
Ramen broth has two major components: stock and tare. In shoyu ramen, its broth is the star due to the addition of soy sauce that truly defines a bowl of Shoyu. Shoyu broth is made by boiling down pork bones and chicken bones for several hours. Some people that don’t have time to wait for the ramen broth to be ready can also have a short cut.
To achieve the much-needed layering and complex flavoring to your Shoyu dish, you can add several components to the ramen broth. You can use chicken broth, dashi, and other seasonings like ginger and garlic along with dried sardines and kombu or dried seaweed.
Toppings
This part is the easiest and fun to get for your hot bowl of ramen. There are varieties of toppings that you can use and the options are endless. From meats, vegetables, and eggs, to finishing touches like seasoned oils (such as chili oil) and sprinkled spice blends (like garlic and ginger) for extra flavor and crunch.
Some of the best ramen toppings that you can combine to the hot broth and ramen noodles would be cashu pork/pork belly, soft-boiled egg, chili oil, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, dried shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, nori seaweed/kelp, bamboo shoots, fish cake, chashu, menma fermented bamboo shoots, green onion, and bonito flakes. You may not be able to use all of them on just a bowl of ramen, but you can combine as much as you want depending on your preferences.
Shoyu Ramen Recipe (Step-By-Step)
Before we dive in for the complete procedure on how you can make your own homemade ramen broth, let us carefully understand the essential ingredients and some cooking tips.
For the water, it is ideal to use filtered water to achieve a great broth for your ramen bowls. For one of the toppings, use a dried Kombu. This edible sea kelp / seaweed is essential for ramen dishes and can be easily found in an Asian market or in the Asian food section at many large supermarkets.
If you don’t know what bonito flakes are, it is also called Katsobushi which is a simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna. If you want a pork broth, use a homemade Pork Bone Broth. Same goes with chicken Broth. Since soy sauce would make or break the broth, use a good quality Japanese soy sauce or tamari for a gluten free version.
Use unseasoned rice vinegar as well. Mirin: or sake will also be great to use on your ramen broth. You can steep the kombu dashi and katsuobushi in water to create a common dashi where dried shiitake mushrooms are used as another typical ingredient.
- For the ingredients of this homemade ramen broth recipe, you will need the following:
2 of cups water - ¼ ounce of dried kombu
- ¼ ounce of dried bonito flakes or
- 2 cups pork broth (preferably homemade Pork Bone Broth or pork shoulder broth that is low sodium)
- 2 cups chicken broth (preferable low sodium homemade Chicken stock)
- 6 tablespoons of soy sauce (you can use more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon of unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
Procedure For This Shoyu Ramen Recipe:
- Prepare the bowls out in a warm place. Get your desired toppings (soft-boiled eggs, vegetables and meats) and garnishes for them to be ready for use once the broth is made.
- In a large pot, pour some water and bring it to boil for the noodles. Just cook them according to the noodle packaging directions.
- On another medium saucepan, combine water and kombu and bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and put in the bonito flakes. Let it steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain out and discard solids using a fine mesh strainer. You can also store them for another use. Put the liquid (dashi) back into the saucepan and add the remaining ingredients (pork broth, chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar and mirin). Bring the broth to a simmer. Add more soy sauce if there’s a need to.
- Serve it immediately on ramen bowls with noodles. Add your favorite toppings to the meat broth with noodles. It can be Japanese chili oil, toasted sesame oil/sesame seeds, bok choy, bonito flakes, pork belly, shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, soft-boiled egg, green onion, or other toppings you want for the ramen dishes.