I might have cracked the code to Japanese ramen

Last month I took a road trip to Sendai and passed through Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima on the way. A bowl of ramen I had there really stuck with me:

Besides the rich umami of the pork-bone broth, there was a clear umami from fish and seafood. The layering of these two kinds of umami took the flavor experience to a new level.

So I decided—I’m going to make a bowl of ramen (broth) myself too!

In Japanese cuisine, ramen is one of the few dishes that are labor-intensive, ingredient-heavy, and time-consuming. In Japan, almost no one makes ramen at home; people usually go to a shop or buy instant ramen.

Even many ramen shops buy ready-made noodles; only shops that make their own will proudly hang a sign that says “house-made noodles.”

The craft of ramen has become so refined that even Japanese people aren’t quite sure what the “la” in “ラーメン” is supposed to mean anymore.

If you DIY every step, you’ll probably be busy for a whole week. You can refer to 《Complete Tonkotsu Ramen Recipe》.

What I’m sharing here is a simple home version.

The core of Japanese ramen is the broth. You can buy ready-made noodles, and toppings are up to you. As long as the broth works, your ramen is more than halfway there.

Stock

The ramen broth is built on a stock; add seasoning powder or a seasoning sauce to finish.

There are many schools of stock, broadly divided into “land” and “sea”—using chicken, beef, pork bones, etc., or fish, shrimp, shellfish, kelp, etc., respectively.

Meat-based stock method:

Start the ingredients in cold water and bring to a boil, then remove and rinse. Return to the pot with fresh water, ginger, and cooking wine; simmer for at least an hour, then strain and set aside.

I personally add a bit of Sichuan peppercorn to reduce any off-odors. You can also add the vegetable “trio”—onion, celery, and carrot—as well as scallion and garlic. Along with bones, you can add some meat to braise too.

In short, the more varied the ingredients, the more layered the final stock will taste.

That’s cooking for you: the same dish can have a bare-bones version and a professional version.

The more steps you keep, the closer you get to restaurant flavors; how far you go depends on your circumstances and patience.

Seafood stock is relatively simple:

Soak dried kombu and dried shiitake until softened, then heat to a boil; add mirin, sake, and any kind of dashi; turn off the heat after about 2 minutes, otherwise it will turn bitter; finally add katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and steep for 5 minutes.

If you don’t have these Japanese seasonings, you can substitute with cooking wine + sugar + a little soy sauce. The exact ratios aren’t important.

Beyond that, you can add dried small fish, dried shrimp, shrimp heads, dried scallops (conpoy), dried flounder powder, etc.—anything that boosts seafood umami.

Many people feel they’ve followed all the steps yet the flavor is still a bit lacking—often because these “small extras” were left out.

I recommend mixing the two stocks at a 3:1 ratio; that’s exactly how the ramen I had in Fukushima was made.

Seasoning sauce

The simplest salt-based ramen really just needs salt added to the stock.

If you want to be more particular, make a seasoning sauce:

Soy sauce, sugar, Sichuan peppercorn, star anise, fried garlic, mirin or cooking wine—simmer together until slightly syrupy.

There’s no fixed formula; it mainly provides saltiness and color while adding depth.

Toppings

Take some of the sauce from the previous step, dilute with water, and soak the meat used when making the stock for a few hours to make a simple braised topping.

You can also use ready-sliced meat and cook it briefly before serving. Same goes for vegetables.

Assembly

The final step is assembly.

Cook the noodles and various toppings in the pot.

Put a spoonful of lard and an appropriate amount of seasoning sauce in the bowl, add the stock, then add the noodles and toppings, and your bowl of ramen is done.

Japanese ramen is really just different combinations of these steps. Adjust the ratios to your liking to find what suits your taste best.

If I had to sum up the core secret of ramen broth, it would be:

Layer as many sources of umami as possible.

Do that, and this bowl of broth just won’t go wrong.