You can make my delicious Miso Ramen with authentic broth at home in less than 30 minutes! Add optional ramen eggs and chashu (Japanese braised pork belly) or customize it with your favorite toppings. It‘s a piping-hot bowl of soulful goodness that‘s sure to satisfy your ramen cravings.
When you’re in Japan, you will quickly learn that there are 3 basic ramen flavors: shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), and miso (fermented soybean paste).
If you’re wondering about the tonkotsu ramen, that’s actually a type of broth base and the tonkotsu means a pork bone broth. If you’re interested in learning more about ramen, read our Japanese Ramen Guide for Beginners.
Today we’ll make the popular and my favorite, Miso Ramen (味噌ラーメン).
Learn How to Make Miso Ramen at Home
Ramen consists of 3 components: soup, noodles, and toppings. In this post, I’ll go over each topic in detail.
Part 1: Ramen Soup スープ
Although the Japanese enjoy eating ramen at ramen shops, it is common for Japanese moms to make ramen at home. Making good ramen soup from scratch requires a lot of time and effort, so most households use packaged ramen which includes 2-3 servings of fresh noodles and a concentrated soup base.
In this recipe, instead of spending many hours making the ramen soup base, I’ll show you how to make a delicious ramen soup that takes just 15 minutes. Best of all, it tastes much better than the soup base that comes with the package.
In case you’re wondering, the soup for miso ramen is not the “miso soup” made from dashi and miso paste.
Below, I explain the ingredients for Miso Ramen soup. I do not recommend skipping or substituting the following ingredients because each ingredient plays an important role. As a result, you get a rich and intensely savory bowl of miso ramen that will greatly satisfy your cravings.
5 Key Ingredients for Quick Miso Ramen Soup
- Miso
- Doubanjiang (spicy or non-spicy bean paste)
- Sesame seeds and sesame oil
- Homemade or store-bought chicken broth
- White pepper powder
1. Miso
Miso is a Japanese fermented soybean paste, and it’s one of the essential condiments in Japanese cooking. If you are new to miso, I highly recommend taking a look at my Miso pantry page.
Based on the type of miso and the brand that makes it, the flavor of miso varies. In most cases, there is no type or brand that is better or worse, except for your preference. I personally love Hikari Miso® and you will see me using this brand exclusively on my blog.
For miso ramen, use any miso type except for hatcho miso or saikyo miso. My favorite miso is kodawattemasu (see below).
2. Doubanjiang: Spicy or Non-Spicy Bean Paste (Sauce)
The key condiment in this recipe is doubanjiang (豆板醤) or spicy bean paste, a combination of fermented broad beans as the main ingredient, soybeans, and often hot chilies. The salty, savory, umami-rich paste adds an incredible depth and character to the broth that you should not substitute. You can add more if you like your soup to be spicy, but one teaspoon would be enough to give it a good kick.
Non-Spicy Doubanjiang: Did you know that there is NON-SPICY doubanjiang? Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Guandong in China have non-spicy doubanjiang. It has the same savory depth in the paste, but without the heat.
To distinguish the two versions, the Sichuan doubanjiang is called la-doubanjiang (辣豆瓣醬, “la” (辣) meaning ‘hot’ or ‘spicy’).
When the kids were small, I use only non-spicy doubanjiang to make my Mapo Tofu and Miso Ramen. Taiwanese brands like Kangshan (岡山) (above) and Ming Teh (明德) offer the doubanjiang made from fermented broad beans and soybeans, and they usually have both spicy and nonspicy versions.
You can get these Taiwanese brands at a local Chinese grocery store. Amazon does not sell the non-spicy doubanjiang at this time (please let me know if you find one).
- Ming Teh Doubanjiang (non-spicy)
- Kangshan Doubanjiang (non-spicy) – Walmart
- Kangshang Doubanjiang (non-spicy) – Weee!
Doubanjiang Substitute: If you really can’t find doubanjiang, you can use gochujang (Korean chili paste; spicy) or doenjang (Korean soybean paste; non-spicy). However, the ingredients are slightly different and have different flavor profiles.
3. Sesame Seeds and Sesame Oil
Sesame flavor in this recipe is prominent as both sesame seeds and oil make the broth nuttier and richer, adding a nice aroma and flavor to the ramen soup.
Japanese households always have a set of suribachi (mortar) and surikogi (pestle) to grind sesame seeds, but if you don’t have one, you can crush the sesame seeds with a food processor (or a coffee bean grinder).
The type of sesame oil you need is dark roasted sesame oil. It has a deep flavor of sesame and only 1 tablespoon would give plenty of fragrance to the soup.
4. Homemade or Store Bought Chicken Broth
For a richer and more flavorful broth, homemade chicken stock is best. But it’s okay to use store-bought broth to make ramen soup if you don’t have the time.
I like chicken stock from Trader Joe’s. Use less sodium stock and adjust the salt according to your liking. Remember, some chicken stock can be saltier, so you always have to taste your soup before adding salt.
5. White Pepper Powder
I believe white pepper powder is a magical spice in Chinese-style soups and fried rice. Just a few sprinkles of white pepper will elevate the flavor and add a nice kick without the spiciness. You can find white pepper powder in Asian grocery stores or specialty spice shops.
FAQs for Ramen Soup
Do we need to add sugar?
Sugar is not added to sweeten the dish, but it is there to counter the saltiness of miso and doubanjiang (fermented bean paste). Try adding 1 teaspoon at a time and taste the soup before adding more.
Do we need to use sake?
Unless you can’t use it due to religious reasons, I strongly recommend using sake in Japanese cooking. Sake is an essential ingredient such as soy sauce and mirin in Japanese cooking. In this recipe, sake removes the unwanted smell from the meat and adds a subtle sweetness and umami to the soup. The best substitute would be dry sherry and Chinese rice wine.
Part 2: Ramen Noodles 麺
Ramen noodles are made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water, and kansui (かん水, saltwater). Kansui is a type of alkaline mineral water, containing sodium carbonate and usually potassium carbonate, and sometimes a small amount of phosphoric acid. Although the color of the ramen noodles is yellowish, they are not egg noodles.
1. Fresh Noodles
Ideally, fresh ramen noodles are the best. My favorite ramen noodles are from Sun Noodles, and I usually make my own soup instead of the soup base that comes with the package.
Fresh noodles are available in the refrigerated section of Japanese grocery stores and some Asian grocery stores. Some stores may keep the fresh ramen noodles in the freezer, so don’t forget to check both sections.
Fresh gluten-free ramen noodles can be purchased from Kobayashi Seimen. They are made from rice and taste very similar to fresh ramen noodles.
2. Dried Noodles
For those who don’t have access to fresh ramen noodles, you can use dried noodles. I’ve tried HIME Japanese ramen noodles (you can purchase them on Amazon) and they are pretty good.
3 Tips for Cooking Ramen Noodles
There are three important tips I want to share with you when cooking ramen noodles.
- Boil the ramen noodles in a big pot of water.
- Do not salt the water like pasta.
- Ramen noodles cook really fast. So make sure to prepare everything ahead of time. Once the noodles are cooked, you have to serve the ramen fast—in less than 30 seconds!
Part 3: Ramen Toppings トッピング
Choices are yours. Here are 7 toppings I added to this Miso Ramen recipe. Even though you would spend less than 30 minutes preparing the ramen on the day of eating, I do spend one day, usually the previous day, preparing my ramen toppings.
Main Toppings
- Chashu – braised pork belly
- Ramen Egg (Ajitsuke Tamago) – eggs marinated in soy sauce base sauce
- Menma (Seasoned Bamboo Shoots)
- Shiraga Negi – julienned white negi/leeks
- Narutomaki (Japanese fish cakes)
- Sweet corn
- Chopped green onion
- Nori seaweed
Other Topping Ideas:
- Wakame seaweed
- Blanched Bean Sprout (or spicy version)
- Blanched greens (bok choy, spinach, etc.)
- Thinly sliced butter (to make it “miso butter ramen”)
- Or anything you like, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, vegetables such as bean sprouts, garlic chives, etc
Now that you have the template on how to make the best miso ramen at home, it’s time to impress yourself or someone you love with your bowl of ramen goodness. It’s really simple, and dare I say more gratifying than the bowl from your ramen joint!
More Ramen Recipes You’ll Love
- Vegetarian Ramen (with an amazingly rich & creamy broth)
- Spicy Shoyu Ramen
- Tsukemen (Dipping Ramen)
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Miso Ramen
Video
Ingredients
For the Soup Broth
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp ginger (grated)
- 1 shallot
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- ¼ lb ground pork (use meat alternatives or chopped mushrooms for vegan/vegetarian)
- 1 tsp doubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste) (use the spicy or non-spicy type or gluten-free doubanjiang)
- 3 Tbsp miso (most types will work except Saikyo and Hatcho varieties; each type will create a slightly different broth flavor)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 4 cups chicken stock/broth (use vegetable stock for vegan/vegetarian)
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (to taste)
- ¼ tsp white pepper powder
For the Ramen Noodles
- 2 servings fresh ramen noodles (10–12 oz (283–340 g) fresh noodles or 6.3 oz (180 g) dry ramen noodles; for gluten-free, use GF ramen noodles)
For the Toppings (optional)
- Homemade Chashu (Japanese Braised Pork Belly) (make my Chashu at least a day in advance or buy it premade at a Japanese market; skip for vegan/vegetarian)
- Spicy Bean Sprout Salad (or blanched bean sprouts)
- Ramen Egg (Ajitsuke Tamago) (make my Ramen Eggs at least a day in advance; skip for vegan; slice in half lengthwise to serve)
- frozen or canned corn (drained)
- nori (dried laver seaweed) (cut a sheet into quarters)
- green onion/scallion (chopped)
- Shiraga Negi (julienned long green onions)
For the Condiments (optional)
- la-yu (Japanese chili oil) (make my Homemade La-yu)
- pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga)
- white pepper powder
Instructions
Before You Start…
- Prepare the ramen toppings ahead of time—a day in advance for the Homemade Chashu (Japanese Braised Pork Belly) and Ramen Egg (Ajitsuke Tamago)—so they‘re ready to serve with your piping-hot bowl of ramen.
- For toppings, I add chashu, ramen egg, blanched bean sprouts (or Spicy Bean Sprout Salad), frozen or canned corn, Shiraga Negi (julienned long green onions), chopped green onion/scallion, and a sheet of nori (dried laver seaweed). You can find their recipes in the hyperlinks. For the optional condiments, prepare a bottle of la-yu (Japanese chili oil), pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga), and some white pepper powder on the table.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Mince or press 2 cloves garlic (I use a garlic press) and add to a small plate. Then, grate the ginger (I use a ceramic grater) and add ½ tsp ginger (grated) to the plate.
- Mince 1 shallot and add to the plate and set these three prepared ingredients aside.
- Grind 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds, leaving some seeds unground for texture. Set aside.
To Make the Soup Broth
- Preheat a medium pot over medium-low heat. When it‘s hot, add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil. Then, add the garlic, ginger, and shallot.
- With a wooden spatula, stir-fry until fragrant.
- Add ¼ lb ground pork and increase the heat to medium. Cook the meat until it‘s no longer pink.
- Add 1 tsp doubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste) and 3 Tbsp miso. Quickly blend well with the meat before they get burnt.
- Add the ground sesame seeds and 1 Tbsp sugar and mix well.
- Add 1 Tbsp sake and 4 cups chicken stock/broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Taste your soup and add up to 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (if necessary) and ¼ tsp white pepper powder. Tip: Each brand of chicken stock varies in saltiness, so you must taste your soup to decide how much salt to add.
- Your soup broth is now done. Cover with the lid and keep the soup broth simmering while you cook the noodles.
To Prepare the Ramen Noodles
- Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a boil (ramen noodles already include salt in the dough). When the water is boiling, ladle some of the hot water into the individual ramen bowls to warm them up. Meanwhile, gently shake 2 servings fresh ramen noodles with your hand to separate and loosen them up.
- Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. I usually cook the noodles al dente (about 15 seconds less than the suggested cooking time). Before your noodles are done cooking, empty the hot water from the warmed ramen bowls.
- When the noodles are done, quickly pick them up with a mesh sieve and shake out the excess water. Make sure to drain the water well, as you don’t want it to dilute your soup. Serve the noodles into the warmed bowls.
To Serve
- Add the piping-hot ramen soup broth to each bowl.
- Place the toppings of your choice on the ramen noodles and serve immediately. Add the optional condiments to your Miso Ramen and enjoy.
To Store
- You can keep the soup broth in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cook the noodles right before serving.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2011. New video and photos are added in September 2014. The video and images have been updated in May 2019. The post has been republished in February 2022.
This recipe was great! I made the chashu and hit it with a small blow-torch. Really hit the spot on a rainy night.
Hi Spencer,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed the Chashu Miso Ramen!
Thank you for sharing your cooking experience with us!
Just made this ramen recipe tonight and it was awesome!! Shoyu or tonkotsu is usually my “go to” but this miso ramen recipe was so good!! I can’t believe I actually made ramen!!! I had to eat is fast though because it was getting cold lol. Thanks for this recipe Nami. I’m glad I can come on here to find simple and delicious recipes!
Hi Mariko,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We are so glad to hear you enjoyed this Miso ramen!
Yes! Simple and delicious recipes are the best!😋
Hi Nami,
What can i use as a substitution for Sake? Can i use japanese Mirin instead?
Thank you and Stay Safe.
Hi Christine,
Sake and mirin are different. Consider mirin is sake + sugar, so it’s sweeten. If you use mirin, you have to adjust by reducing the sugar, or if there is no sugar in the recipe, you should replace it by water or skipping it (if the sake is used for eliminating the odor of pork/fish etc). You can use Chinese rice wine or dry sherry as sake’s substitute. You can learn more about mirin here https://www.justonecookbook.com/sake-mirin/
I hope this is helpful!
Hi Nami!
I am aware that it has been years since you posted this recipe, so I have no idea if you are still responding to these comments… But I have a question, that I hope you will answer. I have made ramen a few times before, as it is one of my all time favourite japanese dishes and I just noticed that your ramen broth for miso ramen does not contain any dashi? I am neither a chef nor japanese (I’m danish lol), but I had come to the understanding that all ramen broths contain dashi as a standard alongside the chicken/fish/ect stock and the tare? Or is it only some? I can see that your shoyu ramen recipe contains equal parts dashi and stock. Just curious, as I am thinking of making this miso ramen recipe soon 🙂
I love your blog by the way – I have already made your nikuman and yakisoba, and they turned out great!
Hi Michelle! I always respond to all the comments posted on my recipes. Because ramen shops are everywhere in Japan, we don’t really make ramen from scratch at home. So my intention for making ramen at home is basically to make ramen using the ramen noodle package BUT do not use the soup package (as it contains lots of stuff we don’t want to eat).
You can use half dashi or 1/3 dashi if you prefer, but miso is pretty strong flavor and you don’t want to end up with “miso soup” ramen noodles (I’ve seen them online, basically ramen noodles added to miso soup). You really need a strong broth to make it savory flavors, and I don’t want to reduce that savoriness by reducing the chicken stock here.
This soup stock is “quick” stock, not like soup stock made with hours of labors so I’d rather have more chicken stock flavor than diluted dashi in this particular recipe. I’d add kombu to give more umami but will not add dashi (the stock itself). Just because it’s a quick recipe…
Hope I’m making sense? Thank you for trying out my recipes! So glad you enjoy them. 🙂
Hi Nami!
Yes, that makes perfect sense! Thank you for your quick response and for explaining your thoughts behind this amazing recipe, I can’t wait to try it 🙂
You’re welcome, Michelle! Hope you enjoy this simple recipe! I can guarantee that this soup is better than the soup package in the store-bought ramen noodles, but can’t beat the ramen shop’s soup that has been cooked for hours/days. 😉
Hi Nami, I can’t wait to make this! Can I ask: how do you warm up your ramen eggs and chashu for serving? Do you let them come to room temp for 30min or so before serving, or do you heat them in the broth a bit? I tried heating mine in the broth, and it works for the chashu, but the eggs cooked a bit more and lost their jammy yolk.
Hi Ryan! Ramen eggs are never hot/warm. Usually at room temp when you eat at ramen shops. Chashu is either room temp or they use a torch to heat up and caramelize. I use my kitchen torch so it looks more appetizing. So many places just put it on top. If you keep them in the fridge, take them out when you start cooking other ingredients. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Wow. This ramen recipe is amazing. I’ve made it three times now and I’m sure I’ll come back many more times. Thank you!
Hi Beck! I’m so glad! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. 🙂
How to make Ramen noodles from scratch, that’s what i want to know?
Hi Kenshin! Sorry, I don’t know how to make it (yet)…
Fantastic! I’ve made this several times and I think it’s becoming an addiction.
Hi Amy! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you so much for your kind feedback!!
Hi Amy! Wonderful! So happy to hear you enjoy this dish! 🙂
This recipe was perfect. I made the accompanying ramen egg and pork as well. I did not change a thing, and it turned out great. I made two batches, one with the spicy chili bean sauce, for the adults, and one with a sweet chili bean sauce for the kids. I have bookmarked this recipe and can’t wait to make it again with even more toppings. Thank you!
Hi April! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thanks for trying it! Glad to hear your family enjoyed this recipe. 😀
Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe! I made the broth the long-way with chicken and pork bones, pork meat, and charred garlic and negi, but otherwise followed your instructions. It was my first time making chashu, ramen, and ramen eggs and it was delicious.
Hi Cassandra! Wow, you’re amazing and so inspiring! Thank you so much for trying my recipe. So happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback!
There are a lot of great ramen shopsc in San Diego. Just not close to where I live. In this era with the pandemic I could order take out but by the time it arrives the ramen is just not the same as eating it straight from the restaurant kitchen. So glad to be able to make such an aromatic and delicious broth at home. I just love your site. You are so thorough with your written instructions, pics and videos. My family all have happy bellies.
Hi Shirley! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this homemade ramen recipe. Thank you for trying it and for your kind feedback. xo
This is really helpful !!
Thank you! This was wonderful, and I had such a fun time making this! However our second time trying your recipe, we have the Doubanjiang!
Hi Chloe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I am so excited to try this recipe. Can I just leave pork out? would it taste good? Or I can add ground chicken but not sure how it will taste. (We eat chicken but not pork)
Hi Komal! You can use ground chicken if you like, although it’s less flavor. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
There is ramen recipe of yours where you strain the broth for a clean/clear look using cheesecloth. Do I strain this miso ramen also? When I make this one it comes out with everything in it (garlic, shallots…..). Do you suggest straining it?
Hi Natalie! OHHHH!! I got it, yes I did that for my Spicy Shoyu Ramen recipe (https://www.justonecookbook.com/spicy-shoyu-ramen/). It’s up to you, but for this recipe, I use ground pork, so I wouldn’t want to strain the soup. 🙂