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    Recipes » Soup » Asian Soups

    Miso Ramen Broth

    Published: Oct 21, 2021 · Modified: Oct 25, 2021 by Marissa Stevens · 10 Comments

    Quick Meals

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe
    ladling miso ramen broth into a Japanese bowl.

    With this simple recipe, you can make ramen shop worthy Miso Ramen Broth even on a busy weeknight. An ultra simple dashi melds with fresh ginger and a blend of red and white miso pastes to infuse an incredible depth of flavor into every spoonful. From there, you have endless options for building your ultimate ramen bowl with this step-by-step guide.

    ladling miso ramen broth into a Japanese bowl.

    Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning that comes in many varieties (red miso paste and white miso paste are the most common). It's a thick, salty paste made from fermented soybeans with deeply complex flavors: sweet, savory (umami), and earthy, depending on the ingredients used and how they were fermented. It's the magic ingredient in this wildly flavorful broth.

    Jump to:
    • Miso Ramen Broth Ingredients
    • What is ramen broth made of?
    • Weeknight Easy with a Simplified Method
    • What You'll Need to Make a Miso Ramen Bowl
    • How to Build a Ramen Bowl
    • How to Make Miso Ramen Broth
    • Miso Ramen Broth
    • 💬 Comments

    Miso Ramen Broth Ingredients

    Miso Ramen Broth Ingredients on a white marble board.
    • Water: ideally filtered water
    • Dried Kombu: Look for this dried, eidble sea kelp / seaweed in an Asian market or in the Asian food section of many large supermarkets.
    • Katsobushi: also called bonito flakes (simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna)
    • Pork Broth: ideally homemade Pork Bone Broth
    • Chicken Broth: ideally homemade Chicken Broth
    • Red Miso Paste / White Miso Paste: Look for this in Asian markets or the the refrigerated section of your local grocery store. A little goes a long way and the tubs have a long refrigerator life.
    • Ginger: fresh ginger

    There are several components to a bowl of ramen like the ones you'll find at ramen shops all over in Japan and, more recently, in the United States (and not the 10 for $1 variety a lot of us ate in college): stock, tare, noodles, and toppings / garnishes. First, let's talk about stock.

    What is ramen broth made of?

    Ramen broth is a combination of stock and tare. Stock is the foundation of ramen broth and comes from a combination of sources. Typically one or more varieties made from chicken, beef or pork bones long simmered in water combined with dashi.

    Dashi is a broad name referring to a variety of fish stocks, but the most common is made from kombu (thick, dried sea kelp / seaweed) and katsuobushi (simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna that is shaved and dried into paper thin flakes - also called bonito flakes). Dried shiitake mushrooms are also a common addition as are dried sardines called niboshi. There are instant varieties of dashi (like hondashi), but they often contain preservatives and MSG.

    Tare is the bold layer of seasoning in a ramen bowl with an endless variety of optional ingredients including miso, mirin, soy sauce, salt and vinegar.  

    Weeknight Easy with a Simplified Method

    Many miso ramen recipes direct you to make a large quantity of dashi, which lasts just a few days in the refrigerator and, at most, a few months in the freezer. But the ingredients to make dashi will keep for a long time in your pantry, if stored in a well sealed container in a cool dry place. Opened bonito flakes for 6 months to 1 year and dried seaweed / kelp even longer, when stored properly. 

    This simplified method is weeknight easy because it includes all of the miso ramen broth elements at once: the meat broths, the dashi and the tare ingredients. So that you can make just enough Miso Ramen Broth (or Shoyu Ramen Broth) for one meal or double or triple the recipe if you want leftovers. And it's easy to adjust the flavors to suit your tastes and to keep all of the recipe ingredients on hand to make a fresh batch whenever a craving strikes.

    What You'll Need to Make a Miso Ramen Bowl

    Broth: You'll need dashi (see recipe in this post) and two types of broth, which you can buy at the grocery store or, better yet, make your own with these easy recipes: Homemade Chicken Broth and Pork Bone Broth (you could also use Beef Bone Broth). You'll also need both red and white miso pastes and fresh ginger.

    Homemade Chicken Broth
    Homemade Chicken Broth
    Homemade Pork Bone Broth in glass quart canning jars.
    Pork Bone Broth
    Beef Bone Broth
    Homemade Ramen Noodles

    Ramen Noodles: Ideally, Homemade Ramen Noodles, but you can also buy them either fresh or dried. You'll want 4 to 5-ounces of fresh noodles or 2 ½ to 3-ounces of dried per serving.

    Toppings: Your options here are endless and include meats, vegetables, eggs, and finishing touches like seasoned oils and sprinkles for added spice and crunch! \

    Chashu Pork served on a black plate with a serving fork
    Chashu Pork

    Chashu Pork is a quintessential ramen topping and very easy to make. With this recipe, there is no rolling required and just 10 minutes of prep. 

    Crispy Pork Belly

    Slices of crispy Pork Belly are another option (one that I use in my easy Pork Belly Ramen recipe). 

    soy sauce eggs sliced in half on a black plate.

    Soy Sauce Eggs require just 4 everyday ingredients and 5 minutes of prep. They need several hours to marinate, and are even better after pickling overnight, so plan on making them a day in advance.

    Vegetables - Steamed, Blanched or Stir-Fried, mix and match to suit what sounds good or what you have on hand: chopped spring onions or green onions, spinach, bean sprouts, fresh corn kernels, snap peas or snow peas, mushrooms, chard, bok choy, broccoli or cauliflower, carrots

    Finishing Touches: For Spicy Miso Ramen, add 2 tablespoons of chili oil or more to taste. You can also drizzle with toasted sesame oil, add strips of nori, and/or sprinkled with sesame seeds, furikake or togarashi seasonings.

    How to Build a Ramen Bowl

    1. Have bowls ready to fill, ideally somewhere warm.
    2. Cook and/or heat desired toppings (vegetables and meats) so they're ready to add to the bowl and have garnishes prepared and eggs peeled and cut in half if using.
    3. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the noodles (you can also use this to blanch vegetables if you like).
    4. While the noodle water comes to boil, heat broth in a separate pan to simmer.
    5. Drop fresh ramen noodles into boiling water to cook for 2 minutes (dried ramen noodles for 4 minutes).
    6. Ladle broth into bowls (~12 ounces / 1 ½-cups per bowl).
    7. Drain noodles well and divide among bowls.
    8. Arrange hot garnishes like Chashu Pork and cooked vegetables near the side of the bowl and nestle in egg halves.
    9. Drizzle with seasoned oil around the bowl if using.
    10. Finish with sprinkled seasonings, finely sliced green onion and/or nori if desired and serve immediately.

    How to Make Miso Ramen Broth

    Combine water and kombu in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.

    • dried kombu in water in a stainless steel pan.
    • boiling dried kombu in saucepan.

    Remove from heat and stir in bonito flakes; let stand 5 minutes. Strain out and discard solids.

    • stirring katsobushi into hot water and kombu.
    • straining katsobushi and kombu out of dashi.

    Return liquid (dashi) to saucepan and add ginger and pork and chicken broths. Place white and red miso pastes in a mesh sieve and use the back of a spoon to work it into the broth (a handy trick for dissolving it quickly). Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. Serve or let cool and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

    • pressing miso through sieve with a spoon
    • Miso Ramen Broth in saucepan.
    • Miso Ramen Broth simmering in saucepan.
    ladling miso ramen broth into a Japanese bowl.

    Miso Ramen Broth

    Marissa Stevens
    A quick and easy recipe for making one of the most cherished and complexly flavored ramen broths.
    5 from 2 votes
    Save Recipe Saved! Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Steeping Time 5 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Soup
    Cuisine Asian
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 71 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 cups water
    • ¼ ounce dried kombu 7g (recipe note #2)
    • ¼ ounce dried bonito flakes 7g, or a lightly rounded, loosely filled ½ cup dry measure (also called shaved katsobushi - recipe note #2)
    • 2 cups pork broth low-sodium, ideally homemade Pork Bone Broth
    • 2 cups chicken broth low-sodium, ideally homemade Chicken Broth
    • 3 tablespoons red miso paste or more to taste
    • 3 tablespoons white miso paste or more to taste
    • 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

    Instructions
     

    • In a medium saucepan, combine cold water and kombu; bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in bonito flakes; let stand 5 minutes. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain out and discard solids (or reserve for a second use).
    • Return liquid (dashi) to saucepan and add pork broth, chicken broth and ginger. Add both miso pastes to a sieve and set just below the surface of the broth; use the back of a spoon to work the miso through the sieve, dispersing it into the broth. Cook and stir over medium heat, until mixture comes to a simmer. Serve immediately (see post for assembling a miso ramen bowl) or cool and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

    Notes

    1. You can find bonito flakes (shaved katsuobushi: simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna) and dried kombu online and in the Asian food section of many large grocery stores.
    2. For spicy miso ramen broth add 2 tablespoons or more of sichuan chili oil / chili crisp.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 71kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 1826mgPotassium: 266mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 29IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword comfort food, cravings, gluten free
    Tried this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag me on Instagram at @pinchandswirl or leave me a comment and rating below.
    « Pork Bone Broth
    Shoyu Ramen Broth »

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Kim says

      December 18, 2021 at 4:38 pm

      I could not find the Kombu or Katsobushi at my grocery store, but they did have Dashi Stock Powder. How much of that prepared should I use? 2 cups?

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        December 18, 2021 at 5:15 pm

        Hi Kim! Yes, exactly. Follow the directions on the package to make 2 cups in place of step 1 of the recipe.

        Reply
    2. David @ Spiced says

      October 22, 2021 at 5:01 am

      5 stars
      We don't really have any good ramen shops in our area. Laura's been talking about them recently, but I've never thought about trying to replicate it at home. Great idea with the ramen broth here! Putting this on the menu ASAP!

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        October 25, 2021 at 9:03 am

        I love to hear that, David!

        Reply
    3. Valentina says

      October 21, 2021 at 6:03 pm

      One thing I love about your site, in addition to the great recipes, is that it's such a great cooking resource -- for all of the ingredients that go into recipes, that we might want to make ourselves, from scratch. This miso broth is a perfect example. Love it. 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        October 25, 2021 at 9:04 am

        I'll live for a month on that compliment, Valentina. Thank you.

        Reply
    4. Katherine | Love In My Oven says

      October 21, 2021 at 2:25 pm

      5 stars
      Your post was so informative Marissa! What a flavorful broth, I usually crave ramen weekly during the winter months. Your recipe definitely has me craving it now!

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        October 25, 2021 at 9:04 am

        I'd love to serve you a bowl myself, Katherine!

        Reply
    5. angiesrecipes says

      October 21, 2021 at 6:05 am

      Not a ramen fan, but I love miso!

      Reply
      • Marissa Stevens says

        October 25, 2021 at 9:04 am

        I bet you'd like this broth alone then, just for sipping.

        Reply

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