Shoyu Ramen (Tokyo-Style Soy Sauce Ramen from Scratch)

About This Recipe

Shoyu (soy sauce) ramen is the style most associated with Tokyo ramen shops — a clear, amber-coloured broth seasoned with a soy-based tare (concentrated seasoning sauce), typically based on chicken and dashi. Unlike the rich, opaque tonkotsu broth, shoyu ramen broth is delicate and savoury, letting the complexity of the tare and toppings come through. Toppings are central to ramen identity: chashu (braised pork belly), ajitsuke tamago (marinated soft-boiled eggs), menma (bamboo shoots), nori, narutomaki fish cake, spring onion. Making ramen from scratch is a weekend project — the broth requires hours of simmering — but the result is a bowl of exceptional quality that no instant noodle can approximate. Rooted in the everyday cooking of Japanese kitchens, Shoyu Ramen (Tokyo-Style Soy Sauce Ramen from Scratch) balances technique and tradition: the Broth is treated with care, drawing on time-honoured ratios that locals have refined across generations. The dish carries an unmistakable sensory signature — aromas that fill the kitchen as it cooks, layered textures that reveal themselves bite by bite, and a depth of flavour that comes from patient seasoning rather than shortcuts. Whether served as a weeknight dinner or as the centrepiece of a celebratory table, it reflects a regional pantry where local produce, seasoning habits and cooking vessels shape the final result. Home cooks who make this dish often note how forgiving it is once the core method is understood, and how a few small choices — the freshness of the Broth, the order of additions, the resting time at the end — separate a good version from a memorable one. This recipe walks through those choices so the dish arrives with the character it has on its home turf.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• Broth
• 1.5 kgchicken carcasses or wings
• 30 gkombu (dried kelp)
• 15 gkatsuobushi (bonito flakes)
• 3 litreswater
• 1onion, halved and charred
• 4 cmginger, sliced
• 4 clovesgarlic
• Shoyu Tare (seasoning sauce)
• 100 mlsoy sauce
• 30 mlmirin
• 20 mlsake
• Chashu Pork
• 500 gpork belly, skin-on, rolled and tied
• 100 mlsoy sauce
• 50 mlsake
• 50 mlmirin
• 2 tbspcaster sugar
• Toppings and noodles
• 4 portionsfresh ramen noodles (or dried, cooked per packet)
• 4eggs, soft-boiled and marinated in leftover chashu liquid
• 4 sheetsnori
• 4 tbspsliced spring onion
• 2 tspsesame oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dashi base

   Soak kombu in 3 litres cold water for 30 minutes. Heat gently to 60°C, hold for 20 minutes, then remove kombu. Bring to 85°C, add katsuobushi, turn off heat, steep 5 minutes, then strain. This is your dashi base.

2. 2

   Build the broth

   Blanch chicken in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain and rinse. Char onion in a dry pan until blackened on the cut side. Combine chicken, charred onion, ginger, garlic and dashi in a large pot. Simmer gently (not boiling — keep at 85–90°C) for 3 hours, skimming regularly. Strain through a fine sieve.

3. 3

   Make the tare

   Combine soy, mirin and sake in a small pan. Bring to a simmer, cook for 2 minutes. Cool and reserve.

4. 4

   Make chashu pork

   Sear pork belly roll on all sides in a hot pan until golden. Transfer to a small pot, add soy, sake, mirin, sugar and 200ml water. Simmer partially covered for 2 hours, turning occasionally, until very tender. Cool in the liquid. Slice 1 cm thick to serve. Reserve cooking liquid for egg marinade.

5. 5

   Marinate eggs

   Soft-boil eggs for 6.5 minutes, cool in ice water, peel. Marinate in 100ml of the cooled chashu liquid + 100ml water for at least 2 hours (up to 24 hours for deeper colour).

6. 6

   Assemble

   For each bowl: heat 400ml broth, season with 25–30ml tare. Cook noodles per packet, drain, add to bowl. Ladle hot seasoned broth over. Arrange 2–3 slices chashu, a halved marinated egg, nori and spring onion. Finish with a few drops of sesame oil.

Variations

• •

  Shio ramen: replace shoyu tare with a salt-based tare (salt, sake, konbu dashi) for the most delicate, pale ramen style.

• •

  Tsukemen (dipping ramen): serve thick noodles and concentrated broth separately — diners dip noodles into the hot broth.

• •

  Vegetarian shoyu ramen: build broth from kombu, dried shiitake, and vegetable stock. Use soy tare. Top with roasted tofu, corn and bamboo shoots.

• •

  Vegetarian: replace the main protein with mushrooms, paneer, tofu or hearty beans for a meat-free version.

• •

  Spicier: add fresh chilli, a chilli paste or a pinch of cayenne with the aromatics for a warmer profile.

Storage

Broth freezes perfectly for 3 months. Chashu keeps refrigerated for 5 days, frozen 2 months. Always assemble fresh — pre-assembled ramen becomes soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions