Ramen

★★★★4.8· 412 ratings

·Serves 2

About this Dish

A deeply flavoured noodle soup with rich broth, chashu pork, soft boiled egg and nori — Japan's most iconic comfort food.

History & Origin

Ramen is one of the great ironies of food culture — Japan's most iconic dish is Chinese in origin. Chinese immigrants brought wheat noodles in broth to Japan in the late 19th century. The dish was called shina soba and sold cheaply from street carts. After World War II, American wheat flooded Japan and cheap noodles became a staple. Each region developed its own style: Sapporo became famous for miso ramen, Fukuoka for tonkotsu (pork bone), Tokyo for soy-based shoyu, and Kyoto for a lighter shio (salt) style. The instant noodle, invented by Momofuku Ando in 1958, brought ramen to the world. Today ramen restaurants in Japan are called ramen-ya and often specialise in a single style, perfected over decades. A bowl at a top Tokyo ramen shop requires a queue of hours and a broth that has been simmering for days.

IngredientsServes 2

🦴Pork bones (trotters and neck), 2kg

🐷Pork belly chashu, 500g

🥚Soft boiled ramen eggs (ajitsuke tamago), 4

🍜Fresh ramen noodles, 400g

🧅Spring onions, finely sliced, 4

🌿Nori sheets, 4 pieces

🫙Soy sauce, 3 tbsp

🍶Mirin, 2 tbsp

🧄Black garlic oil (mayu), 2 tsp

🫘Bean sprouts, 100g

Method

Blanch the pork bones in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water. This removes impurities and ensures a clean, clear broth.

Place the bones in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to a vigorous boil. Boil hard for 4 hours, topping up with water as needed. The high heat extracts the collagen and creates the milky tonkotsu broth.

For the chashu, roll the pork belly tightly and tie with kitchen string. Sear in a hot pan until golden on all sides, then braise in soy sauce, mirin and sake for 2 hours until tender. Slice and set aside.

For the ramen eggs, boil eggs for exactly 6 minutes 30 seconds, then transfer to an ice bath. Peel and marinate in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin and water for at least 4 hours.

Season the broth with soy sauce, mirin and salt. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions — they should be al dente.

To serve, place noodles in a bowl, pour over the hot broth, then add chashu slices, a halved marinated egg, nori, spring onions and a drizzle of black garlic oil.

What Makes it Authentic

Use a proper tonkotsu broth made from pork bones boiled for at least 12 hours. Black garlic oil (mayu) is non-negotiable. Never use stock cubes.

Other Types of Ramen