How to Make Delicious and Easy Ramen at Home
Ramen is one of the most popular foods worldwide according to our recent study of the most tagged foods on Instagram. More than 10 million people have tagged ramen on their Instagram posts, ranking 15th globally and ahead of heavyweights donuts, curry or spaghetti (sorry Italy).
The popularity of ramen reaches much further than Japan, which has a cuisine more varied than you might expect. Ramen is no different, and there are many versions of the dish such as Shoyu ramen (oldest Japanese ramen), teriyaki stir-fry ramen, pork ramen, and chicken ramen.
The taste of ramen is usually described as a light and salty and it has a clear broth and thin curly noodles. Ramen is a must-eat food on cold, rainy days as it warms you up with its warmth, its delicious look and irresistible flavor.
Fortunately, Ramen is not a restaurant-only dish and it can be made easily at home, which is good news if you get a sudden craving for it. Make delicious and easy ramen at home by following these steps:
1. Prepare the Ingredients
For making your own version of ramen at home, you can use seafood, chicken, pork, beef, or any meat of your choice. Great ramen is composed of a flavorful broth, fresh vegetables, fresh noodles, a soft-cooked egg, and your choice of meat. In less than an hour, you can serve up a steaming bowl of traditional Japanese-inspired ramen.
To capture the flavor and aroma of authentic Japanese ramen, it’s important to choose the best ingredients. Here are some tips when choosing ingredients for homemade ramen:
- The soup base ingredients: You can make a healthy and delicious soup base by preparing garlic, shitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and ginger. You’ll also need freshly ground black pepper, kosher salt, mirin, unsalted butter, sesame or vegetable oil, and chicken, pork, or beef stock.
- The topping: For the topping, you can use tender leftover roast meat or cook some specially for your dish (see instructions below), slices of soft-boiled egg, and fresh spring onions.
- Use rice noodles for your homemade ramen: When choosing noodles for perfect ramen, always consider the texture. Fresh rice noodles have the perfect bite. Conveniently, you can buy rice noodles in the supermarket or online.
2. Cook the Meat
If you don’t have any leftover seafood or roast chicken, pork, or beef, you can roasting some in the oven. Here’s how:
- Use salt and pepper to season the chicken breast, pork, or beef tenderloin.
- Use a large skillet and melt the butter over medium heat.
- Cook the meat until it turns golden brown.
- Place the skillet in the oven. Roast the meat for about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Cook the Ramen Broth
The ramen broth is your soup base, so you want it to taste perfect. Here’s how to cook the ramen broth:
- Heat the sesame or vegetable oil in a large pot over a medium heat until it shimmers. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook until soft.
- Next, add the mirin and soy sauce, and stir.
- Add the stock, cover, and allow the broth to boil.
- Remove the cover, and let it simmer for five minutes.
- Add the dried shitake mushrooms.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Season the broth with salt.
4. Boil The Eggs
Soft-boiled eggs are the go-to topping for ramen. Here’s how you can cook the perfect soft-boiled eggs for your homemade ramen:
- Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs.
- Bring to a boil.
- Place the eggs into the boiling water.
- Let simmer for seven minutes to achieve a slightly runny yolk. If you prefer a soft, set yoke, cook the eggs for eight minutes.
5. Cook the Ramen Noodles
After cooking the eggs, you can now add the fresh ramen noodles to the pot of boiling water. Choose fast, fresh, homemade Asian noodles for faster cooking. Allow two to three minutes to cook the ramen noodles until soft.
If you’re looking for a super-easy way to cook restaurant-grade teriyaki ramen at home, you can buy ramen kits that contain fresh, pre-cooked ramen noodles and teriyaki sauce. You just need to follow the instructions on the back of the ramen kit and then add meat and vegetables. In just 15 minutes, you can serve delicious ramen noodles.
6. Assemble Your Homemade Ramen Bowls
Your homemade serving aesthetics should also look amazing. After cooking your homemade ramen, it’s time to assemble your ramen bowls. Here’s how:
- Slice the meat into the preferred thickness.
- Divide the noodles into large bowls.
- Add the sliced roast meat and pour in the ramen broth.
- Add the soft-boiled eggs and other toppings.
- Serve immediately.
You can now make delicious and easy ramen in the comfort of your own home. It’s easy to cook your version of ramen using seafood, chicken, pork, or beef by following the tips above. If you’re looking for easy-to-cook ramen in 15 minutes or less, you can use ramen kits for stress-free cooking.
Whether you choose to cook the soup base or use an easy-to-use ramen noodle kit that comes with ready-made sauce, they will both give you delicious and easy ramen without a lengthy process. This means that you and your loved ones can enjoy cooking and eating homemade ramen whenever you like.