Shoyu Ramen Broth

Skip the ramen shop and make this weeknight easy Shoyu Ramen Broth at home instead. For years, I assumed proper ramen was strictly restaurant territory, something that required simmering bones for days and specialized equipment I didn’t have. Then one particularly cold evening, with a craving that takeout wouldn’t satisfy, I decided to experiment. What started as a compromise turned into a revelation: this deeply savory broth comes together in just 20 minutes, but tastes like it’s been developing flavors all day.

The secret is building layers of umami with pantry ingredients that do the heavy lifting for you. Bonito flakes and kombu create that distinctive dashi base, while the combination of pork and chicken broths adds body without hours of simmering. The first time I served it, my husband took a spoonful and looked up with genuine surprise. “This is homemade?” Now I keep small containers of this broth in the freezer, ready for those nights when nothing but a steaming bowl of ramen will do.

“I’ve made this a couple of times. It’s perfect! I usually sous vide some pork loin chops and use that as a protein. With a handful of veggies this is a great ramen recipe.”

matt

Shoyu Ramen Broth Ingredients

• Water: Filtered water gives you the cleanest base flavor for the broth.
• Dried Kombu: This edible sea kelp is the foundation of authentic dashi. Look for sheets with a light dusting of white powder – that’s natural umami.
• Bonito Flakes (Katsuobushi): These paper-thin shavings of dried, smoked skipjack tuna add complex smoky depth. They should look like delicate wood shavings with a pinkish-brown color.
• Pork Broth: It can be hard to find a store-bought version, but it’s easy to make Homemade Pork Bone Broth with pork bones from your local butcher and it makes a noticeable difference in the final flavor.
• Chicken Broth: The combination of pork and chicken broths creates more complexity than either alone. Homemade chicken broth adds a lighter, cleaner flavor that balances the richness of the pork, but a good store-bought version works too.
• Soy Sauce: Japanese-style soy sauce (shoyu) has a rounder flavor than Chinese varieties. For a gluten-free option, use tamari.
• Rice Vinegar: Use unseasoned rice vinegar, as the seasoned version contains sugar and salt. Just a small amount adds brightness without making the broth taste vinegary.
• Mirin: This sweet rice wine adds subtle sweetness and umami. True mirin (hon-mirin) contains alcohol, while some grocery store versions are just sweetened rice vinegar. In a pinch, sake with a small pinch of sugar works as a substitute.

How is ramen broth made?

Ramen broth has two major components: stock and tare. The stock includes both animal broth made from bones (chicken, beef, pork or a combination) and dashi, which is fish stock. Steeping 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) in water is the most common dashi (dried shiitake mushrooms are another typical ingredient).

While stock creates the complex but subtle foundation of broth, tare is the bold seasoning element. It’s made with a variety of ingredient combinations of: miso, mirin, soy sauce, salt and vinegar (among many others). I’ve found that balancing these two elements – the delicate stock and punchy tare – is what separates good ramen from truly memorable bowls.

A Quick and Easy Method

Many shoyu ramen broth recipes have you steep a large quantity of dashi, which only lasts a few days in the refrigerator and no more than 3 months in the freezer. The more convenient way is to store dashi ingredients in your pantry. When stored in a cool dry place in a well sealed container, opened bonito flakes will last for 6 months to 1 year and dried seaweed / kelp will keep even longer. 

And this quick and easy method incorporates all of the necessary elements at once: the meat broths, the dashi, and the tare ingredients. So you can make just enough Shoyu Ramen Broth (or Miso Ramen Broth) for one meal (or make more if you want leftovers), because you’ll always have the ingredients on hand. This approach has saved me countless times when the craving hits but I don’t want to wait hours – perfect for making my favorite Shoyu Ramen Recipe or my weeknight-easy Homemade Ramen recipe.

Essential Ramen Bowl Components

Broth: You’ll need dashi (included in this recipe) and two varieties of meat broth, which you can buy or, ideally, make your own with these easy recipes: Homemade Chicken Broth and Pork Bone Broth (Beef Bone Broth would also be delicious!). 

Toppings: Your options are infinite when it comes to ramen toppings. From meats, vegetables, and eggs, to finishing touches like seasoned oils and sprinkled spice blends for extra flavor and crunch!  

Vegetables: Blanched, steamed or stir-fried vegetables are a welcome addition to ramen bowls. Follow your cravings to let what you have on hand guide you. Try mushrooms, snap peas, spring onion or green onion (scallions), spinach, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, chard, bok choy, and more.

Aromatics: You can add grated fresh ginger or minced garlic for added flavor depth.

Finishing Touches: chili oil, toasted sesame oil, nori seaweed, furikake or Shichimi Togarashi seasonings

How to Make Shoyu Ramen Broth

Bring cold water and kombu to simmer in a medium saucepan.

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

Return liquid (dashi) to saucepan and add pork broth, chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar and mirin; bring to simmer. Serve.