If you’re an Asian kid like me – or have good taste 😉 – you probably grew up on Cup Noodles, Shin, Sapporo, Ichiran (these are packaged ramen companies incase you aren’t familiar with them).
While I still enjoy packaged ramen, nothing beats the authentic flavors you find in restaurants. There are certain ramen spots in Japan that I dearly miss and can never fully replicate at home, no matter how hard I try. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to create a delicious, restaurant-quality bowl of ramen in your own kitchen.
How to Make Dashi: Japanese Cooking Stock
Dashi is an essential ingredient in many types of ramen. It’s a light Japanese broth made from ingredients like kombu (dried kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), forming the savory, umami-rich base for many Japanese soups and sauces.
Here are 3 different ways to make it:
1. Dashi from Scratch: Traditional dashi, made by simmering kombu (dried kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), is considered the best method. Soak the kombu in water, heat just below boiling, and add katsuobushi. This method is ideal for dishes with the purest flavor.
2. Dashi Packets (pictured): Dashi packets, resembling tea bags, contain dried kombu, katsuobushi, and sometimes shiitake mushrooms or dried sardines. Just simmer the packet in water for a few minutes for a quick and flavorful broth.
I love these dashi packets from Kayanoya.
3. Instant Dashi (Hondashi): Instant dashi, often called hondashi, is a granulated or powdered form of dashi. Just a spoonful dissolved in hot water creates a quick and flavorful stock.
This option is convenient and ideal for busy days. I recommend instant dashi as the easiest experience for beginners.
I use this instant dashi from Ajinomoto most frequently.
What Type of Noodles Should I Use?
Packaged ramen noodles are typically made from wheat flour, water, salt, and kansui (a type of alkaline mineral water), which gives them their characteristic chewy texture and yellow color; they come in various forms, including instant noodles that are precooked and dried or fresh noodles that need to be boiled before use.
Here is a link to the ramen noodles I used and would recommend using!
Miso Ramen
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Description
Miso ramen is a Japanese noodle soup flavored with miso paste, offering a rich, savory broth often complemented by toppings like pork, vegetables, and a soft-boiled egg.
Ingredients
- 5 cups dashi
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp gochujang (optional; for spice)
- 2 servings ramen noodles
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- To a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat, add your broth, garlic, ginger, and hondashi. Allow to come to a simmer. Add in soy sauce, miso paste, and gochujang until well combined.
- In a large pot, fill with enough water to cook the ramen noodles. Bring to a boil, and add in the ramen noodles. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, or until noodles are cooked all the way through.
- Divide the cooked noodles into serving bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles.
- Add your desired toppings. Some popular options: sliced green onions, soft-boiled eggs (visit my link here to learn how to cook them – I have an easy recipe to air fry them as well!), sliced cooked chicken or pork, nori seaweed, sliced bamboo shoots, corn kernels, spinach, mushrooms, etc.
- To cook my chicken, I simply cooked 1 chicken thigh (per serving) for 5 minutes on high heat on each side, with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce added after flipping twice (2 tablespoons total).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
What are the main types of Ramen bases? Like besides miso what types are there?
Hi Felix – there’s so many! Soy sauce, shio (salt), tonkotsu, curry… all are so good in my opinion!
The miso base felt rich without needing a ton of broth simmering time.
I’m so glad to hear! Thanks for sharing, Selena! 🙂