I can’t make ramen without thinking of my dad. As a young adult my dad lived in Korea, and though ramen is a traditional Japanese dish, he still gained a fondness for it over there. Growing up my dad would make packages of instant top ramen and crack an egg into it. I loved the ramen, but the egg disgusted me. I didn’t know eggs could be good any other way than scrambled or hard boiled. So now I’m all grown up and try to avoid packaged foods. So how can I still enjoy the childhood comfort of ramen? Make it myself of course! Ramen shops in Japan are like hamburger joints in the United States. They are everywhere! It’s a staple food. There are all kinds of ramen. I decided to go with a Shio variety of ramen. Shio ramen is the oldest variety and is based off a chicken stock. Can’t go wrong with a classic! All you have to do to make your own ramen is come up with an Asian style chicken stock and go from there. I utilized the slow cooker to make it incredibly easy. Toss it in the crockpot in the morning, come back at night and whip up the noodles (and we know those literally only take a couple minutes to cook). Talk about an easy dinner! And unlike those instant version, you know exactly what went into this stuff and with the many types of veggie add-ins you could use, you know you are getting something much healthier. I decided to add in some chili oil tableside for that extra kick. Wowzers people. You will be amazed by what ramen noodles really can be!
Ingredients
4 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 onion, large dice
1 cup sliced shitake mushrooms
1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
Leftover Chicken Bones
8 cups water
Ramen Noodles
Chili Oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Veggie and Add-In Options: baby bok choy (pictured), shitake mushrooms (pictured), bamboo shoots, scallions, corn, bean sprouts, boiled egg, chicken
Instructions
1. In a large slow cooker, combine the carrot chunks, onion chunks, shitakes, ginger, garlic, salt, chicken bones, and water. (If you do not have chicken bones on hand you can replace the chicken bones and water with straight canned chicken stock). Cook on high for 8 hours.
2. To make the chili oil, combine the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, strain, and let cool. Set aside until ready to serve.
3. When ready to eat, strain the crockpot contents into a large saucepan so you have a nice broth. Bring the broth to a boil and add in your ramen noodles* Cook until noodles are done (somewhere between 2 and 4 minutes depending on the kind of noodles you buy).
4. Remove the noodles from the broth and put them in a bowl to serve. Top with desired add-ins. When ready to eat, spoon the broth into the bowl and drizzle with chili oil.
*Some stores sell packaged ramen noodles in their Asian section. They look very similar to a package of spaghetti noodles. These are preferred over the instant top ramen as those are flash fried. But, if you can’t find better noodles, the instant top ramen will work. Just discard the enclosed MSG spice packet.
What makes ramen noodles so special? Ramen is an alkaline noodle. It is the opposite of acidity which means it has a higher pH. Chemistry! Something about how the high pH interacts with the gluten of the wheat makes the noodles hold up better in liquids than your standard Western style noodle. It makes ramen perfect for soups. It was developed in China, but has become an absolute staple in Japan.
Are you discarding the carrots, onion, garlic, shitakes, etc. that you used to make the broth? It wasn't clear from the description. Thanks!
Yes, I discard them after I strain them out.
Ramen isn't only a Japanese dish. In fact – the word Ramen comes from Chinese – for "pulled noodles" – in fact, no one really knows where Ramen came from. Koreans also have their own ramen too… so I think it's a little misinformed to say – it's exclusively a traditional Japanese dish. Many people of Chinese and Korean culinary traditions would find that offensive – myself included.
I'm sorry you are offended by ramen. Obviously I know that Korea had their version of ramen since my dad lived there. It is viewed largely as a Japense dish. I don't know many Koreans or Chinese people who would be offended by me saying that. Japan had a ramen shop on almost every corner. This recipe is clearly Japense style. I make Korean style ramen as well. Two different things. Don't be so easily offended. It's food!
Hi Rachel- Thanks for the great recipe; I'm hoping to try it out this weekend. I had a couple of questions about adding chicken to the recipe. Would chicken thighs be the best to use? Also, should I add the chicken at the same time as the bones and vegetables or afterward? Thanks in advance for your help!
Confession: I would probably add cooked chicken at the end, but that is just because I don't particularly care for boiled chicken. However, adding chicken thighs instead of bones would be appropriate and probably even more authentic or traditional. I'd still remove the skin though. Boiled chicken skin is….not particularly appetizing.
Hey Rachel – LOVE this recipe! Would you suggest making the chili oil the way you describe above, or can I use the store-bought chili oil? Cannot WAIT to make this – yum yum!
We love it too! Thanks for taking the time to comment. When it comes to store bought vs. homemade, I almost always choose homemade. That being said, store bought would work 🙂
you didnt say how many ramen packs this requires?
is this meant to serve one person or two?
You'll create about 8 cups of broth. You can use as many or as little noodles as you'd like. I'd say about 1 of the instant ramen packets per 2 cups is about right.
I love this! I want to try this for a winter work day. Great idea. 🙂
Why is chicken in the veggie add-on section?
Hah! Good point. I better change that to veggies and add-ins section.
It says veggie AND add-on section, thats why chicken is listed there.
I really want to try this. What can I say? Dad passed his love of ramen on to me, too!