How to Make Spicy Shoyu Ramen

Spicy shoyu ramen offers a burst of delicious flavours all in one bowl. This simple, homemade ramen recipe features noodles topped with a soft-boiled ramen egg, tender chashu, fish cake (Naruto Maki), nori, pickled bamboo shoots (Menma), and other ingredients set in a spicy broth.

Shoyu is a term meaning soy sauce and simply refers to the soy sauce-based broth that the ramen is served in. While each ingredient is important, the key component in this recipe is the spicy chili bean paste or ‘toubanjiang’. The dashi base is what gives the broth its original depth, and then condiments like chicken stock, soy sauce, sesame oil, sake, and chili bean paste help enhance the flavour further. Both salt and sugar are added to help balance the flavours and create a rich and tasty soup.

Avoid soggy noodles when making spicy shoyu ramen. Ideally, you want your noodles cooked al dente. The noodles used in this dish are usually the curly, springy type but you can use nearly any type of ramen noodles you’d prefer.

HOW TO MAKE SPICY SHOYU RAMEN

Satisfy your ramen craving with a spicy, soy sauce-based soup topped with boiled egg, fish cake, spring onion, seaweed, and other tasty additions. Easily make this dish as hot or as mild as you’d like by adding more or less toubanjiang.

INGREDIENTS

• 150g fresh noodles or 90g dry ramen noodles
• 10ml sesame oil (roasted)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• ½ piece of ginger (minced)
• 5ml toubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste)
• 240ml chicken broth
• 240ml dashi (Tip: use kombu dashi for a vegan version)
• 20ml soy sauce
• 5ml sake
• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of sugar

TOPPING

• 2 slices chashu
• ½ soft-boiled egg
• 2 slices narutomaki (fish cakes)
• 15g menma (fermented bamboo shoots)
• ½ spring onion
• ¼ sheet nori (seaweed)
• Shiraga negi
• Korean chili thread (optional garnish)
• White pepper powder
• La-yu (Japanese chili oil) (optional garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare your preferred ramen toppings so that you can serve your hot ramen immediately.

2. Heat sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant. Add the toubanjiang and combine.

3. Add the remaining soup ingredients, including the chicken broth, dashi, sake, soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Optional: If you want clear soup, strain the soup through a cheesecloth. Return the soup to the pot.

5. Allow the soup to continue simmering until it is ready to serve.

6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add a small amount of hot water to the serving bowl to warm it up. Drain any excess water from the serving bowl.

7. Loosen up the noodles and add them to the boiling water. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Once they are done cooking, drain the water.

8. Place the cooked noodles in a serving bowl. Pour the soup into the bowl and add your prepared toppings.

9. To prepare shiraga negi for garnishing, cut off the green part of a negi (long-green onion) and cut the white part into 5cm pieces. Make an incision lengthways and remove the soft green core. Open and stack the white part of the negi, then cut the white part into thin strips. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes and drain well.

Serve immediately.