Chicken Broth Ramen from Scratch
shared by Nibblore Kitchen
This homemade ramen pairs a clear, slow-simmered chicken broth with a savory soy tare, springy noodles, and simple toppings. Keeping the broth at a gentle simmer preserves its clean flavor, while seasoning each bowl separately gives you precise control over the final balance. It is an ideal weekend project, and the broth can be prepared ahead. • A quiet simmer is essential: hard boiling emulsifies fat and impurities into the broth, making it cloudy and heavy. • Warm the serving bowls with boiling water, then empty and dry them just before assembling so the ramen stays hot. • Taste the tare with the broth rather than by itself; it is intentionally concentrated and salty. • Cook the noodles only when every topping is ready because fresh ramen softens quickly in hot broth. • Use all chicken wings if backs are unavailable; their skin and joints provide enough gelatin for a full-bodied broth. • Dry ramen noodles can replace fresh noodles; use 360 g and cook according to the package directions. • Spinach or tender napa cabbage can replace the baby bok choy. • For a less sweet seasoning, replace the mirin with 45 ml sake, 15 ml water, and 1 additional teaspoon sugar. Refrigerate strained broth, tare, chicken, eggs, and vegetables in separate airtight containers for up to 4 days; chill the broth promptly and remove any solidified surface fat if desired. Freeze the broth for up to 3 months. Reheat broth to a full simmer, warm the chicken in it briefly, and cook fresh noodles only when serving; assembled ramen does not freeze or reheat well.
- Total time
- 275 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Keep this recipe in your family cookbook — free forever.
Save recipeIngredients
- 1.8 kgchicken wings and backs
- 3 lcold water, plus more for cooking noodles and eggs
- 1 mediumyellow onion, quartered with skin removed
- 1 headgarlic, halved crosswise
- 40 gfresh ginger, sliced
- 4 wholescallions
- 10 gdried kombu
- 120 mlJapanese soy sauce
- 60 mlmirin
- 30 mlsake
- 2 tspgranulated sugar
- 4 largeeggs
- 600 gfresh ramen noodles
- 250 gbaby bok choy, halved lengthwise
- 240 gcooked chicken thigh meat, thinly sliced
- 3 scallionsthinly sliced for serving
- 2 tsptoasted sesame oil
- 1 sheetnori, cut into 4 rectangles
Instructions
- 1Place the chicken wings and backs in an 8-liter stockpot and cover with the 3 liters cold water. Bring slowly to a bare simmer over medium heat, about 20 minutes. Skim off the gray foam and excess surface fat for 5 minutes; do not allow the broth to boil vigorously.
- 2Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and whole scallions. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer with occasional small bubbles. Cook uncovered for 3 hours, skimming as needed and adding a little hot water only if the chicken becomes exposed.
- 3Turn off the heat, add the kombu, and steep for 20 minutes. Remove the kombu, then strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot without pressing on the solids. Discard the solids. You should have roughly 2 liters of broth; add water if necessary, or simmer briefly to reduce if there is substantially more.
- 4While the broth simmers, combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 3 minutes, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove the soy tare from the heat and set aside.
- 5Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Lower in the eggs and cook for 7 minutes for softly set yolks. Transfer immediately to ice water for 10 minutes, peel, and halve lengthwise.
- 6Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil. Blanch the bok choy until bright green and just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Lift it out with tongs, drain well, and reserve while keeping the water at a boil for the noodles.
- 7Bring the strained broth to a steaming simmer over medium heat. Put 2 tablespoons of soy tare and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil into each of four warmed, deep bowls. Add 450 ml hot broth to each bowl and stir; taste carefully and add up to 1 additional tablespoon tare per bowl if a saltier broth is desired.
- 8Loosen the ramen noodles and cook them in the boiling water according to their package timing, usually 1 1/2 to 3 minutes for fresh noodles. Stir during the first 30 seconds to prevent sticking. Drain thoroughly without rinsing and divide immediately among the seasoned bowls.
- 9Arrange the sliced chicken, bok choy, egg halves, sliced scallions, and nori over the noodles. Serve at once while the broth is piping hot and the noodles remain springy.