Shoyu Ramen

★★★★4.6· 198 ratings

·Serves 2

About this Dish

Tokyo's original ramen style — a clear, deeply savory soy-sauce broth with springy curly noodles.

History & Origin

Shoyu ramen is considered the oldest and most classic style of ramen, developing in Tokyo in the early 20th century from Chinese-influenced noodle soups sold by street vendors. Its clear brown broth, built on chicken or pork bones lightly simmered rather than boiled hard, seasoned with soy sauce (shoyu) as its defining flavor, became the standard against which other regional ramen styles were later measured. It remains the most traditional order at old-school Tokyo ramen-ya, often served alongside simple toppings like menma, a single chashu slice, and a sheet of nori.

IngredientsServes 2

🍜Curly ramen noodles, 400g

🍶Soy sauce, 80ml

🍷Mirin, 2 tbsp

🦴Chicken carcass or pork bones, 1.5kg

🫚Ginger, sliced, 30g

🧅Spring onion whites, 2

🎍Menma (fermented bamboo shoots), a handful

🥩Chashu pork slices, 4

🌊Nori sheet, 1, halved

🥚Marinated soft boiled egg, 2

Method

Blanch the chicken carcass or pork bones in boiling water for 5 minutes, then rinse clean.

Simmer the bones gently (not a hard boil) with ginger and spring onion whites for 3-4 hours, skimming occasionally, until you have a clear, light brown broth.

Make the tare by combining soy sauce and mirin in a small pan, warming gently to blend.

Cook the curly noodles according to packet instructions until springy.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of tare into each bowl, then ladle over the hot clear broth to combine.

Add the noodles, top with chashu, menma, nori and a marinated egg.

What Makes it Authentic

The broth should be clear and light brown, not cloudy, meaning the bones are simmered gently rather than boiled hard. Soy sauce is the dominant seasoning, layered into a tare (concentrated seasoning base) rather than poured in directly.

Other Types of Ramen