Shoyu Ramen Recipe: How to Make Homemade Shoyu Ramen
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Mar 13, 2024 • 2 min read
Shoyu ramen gets its umami flavor from soy sauce and dashi stock. Learn how to make homemade shoyu ramen.
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What Is Shoyu Ramen?
Shoyu ramen is a ramen noodle dish flavored with shoyu, the Japanese word for soy sauce. Shoyu is one of four types of tare (seasoning) used to flavor ramen broth in Japan—the other three are shio ramen (salt ramen), miso ramen (fermented soybean paste ramen), and tonkotsu ramen, made with pork bone broth.
Japanese ramen starts with a soup base made from chicken or pork bones, seafood, or dashi, and the tare is typically added later so that one stock can yield multiple flavors. This also allows the chefs at ramen shops to control the seasoning for each bowl of ramen.
Shio Ramen vs. Shoyu Ramen: What’s the Difference?
Shio (salt) and shoyu (soy sauce) are common ramen broth seasonings that add saltiness to the ramen noodle soup. Ramen broth seasoned with shio will have a mild flavor compared to ramen with shoyu, which adds a more complex, umami flavor to the broth.
8 Classic Ramen Toppings
A bowl of ramen is made complete with toppings. Some favorites include:
- 1. Chashu: Fatty pork belly or loin simmered in soy sauce and mirin (rice wine) until tender.
- 2. Green onions: Thinly slice green onions, also known as scallions.
- 3. Soft-boiled eggs: Hard boil eggs, marinate them in soy sauce, and sliced each one in half.
- 4. Bean sprouts: Blanch or stir-fry this crunchy vegetable before adding to the ramen broth.
- 5. Sesame seeds: For a nutty flavor, add sesame seeds or sesame oil.
- 6. Shiitake mushrooms: To achieve an umami flavor to ramen soup, add shiitake mushrooms. (Dried shiitakes can also be used as part of a dashi soup base.)
- 7. Bok choy: Quarter this leafy cabbage before adding it to the ramen broth.
- 8. Nori: Add thin sheets of dried seaweed to the ramen.
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Classic Shoyu Ramen Recipe
makes
prep time
15 mintotal time
35 mincook time
20 minIngredients
For the soup base:
For the shoyu tare:
For the ramen toppings and assembly:
- 1
Make the dashi. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring kombu and 2 cups of water to a simmer.
- 2
Remove from the heat and take out the kombu.
- 3
Return the pot to the heat and add the katsuobushi.
- 4
Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and set aside, covered, for 10 minutes.
- 5
Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain out the liquid. This is your dashi stock.
- 6
In a medium saucepan, combine dashi stock and chicken stock over low heat to keep warm.
- 7
Make the shoyu tare. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, heat sesame oil until shimmering.
- 8
Add the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- 9
Add the soy sauce and mirin and remove from the heat.
- 10
Add the shoyu tare to the dashi chicken stock one spoonful at a time until it tastes well seasoned.
- 11
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook the ramen noodles in boiling water according to package directions. When the noodles are al dente, remove the noodles from the water and drain well.
- 12
Divide noodles over two bowls and ladle the soup base over the noodles.
- 13
Top the bowls with menma, chashu, and narutomaki.
- 14
Place the nori sheet in between the egg half and the side of the bowl.
- 15
Garnish with green onions, sesame oil, and shichimi togarashi or chili oil, if using.