Quantcast

Just One Cookbook

Home
Home » blog » Spicy Shoyu Ramen スパイシー醤油ラメーン

128 Comments

Spicy Shoyu Ramen スパイシー醤油ラメーン

Print RecipeJump To Recipe

Easy homemade spicy shoyu ramen recipe. Top with soft boiled egg, fish cake, nori and fall-apart tender chashu, this delicious bowl of spicy delight will sure satisfy your ramen craving!

Spicy Shoyu Ramen スパイシー醤油ラーメン | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

Are you ready for some toothsome noodles, melt-in-your-mouth chashu pork, pickled bamboo shoots, fresh chopped scallion and a spicy broth that you can’t stop slurping?  I hope you are hungry because we’re going to make some hot bowl of Spicy Shoyu Ramen together.

Spicy Shoyu Ramen スパイシー醤油ラーメン | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

This spicy delight was requested from my friend Cindy from Weeknite Meals before the summer and I finally finished my recipe after testing several times. If noodle soup is your comfort food, you are going to enjoy this one.

What is Shoyu Ramen?

‘Shoyu’ means soy sauce in Japanese. Shoyu Ramen simply refers to ramen served with a soy sauce base broth that is usually in a clear, brown color.  If you’re in Tokyo, Shoyu is the most familiar form of ramen you’ll find. 

To make a good bowl of ramen is an art form itself. Ramen chefs pull together different elements to define the bowl of noodles. Even the simplest of ramen requires close attention to the ingredients, be it the broth or noodles, making sure each one interacting harmoniously. But, please don’t let this stop you from making ramen at home. So long you have a well-stocked Japanese/Asian pantry, it is possible to whip up ramen bowl that is of chef’s quality. The beauty of homemade ramen is you get to control the saltiness of the soup.

Spicy Shoyu Ramen スパイシー醤油ラーメン | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

The Key Ingredients for Spicy Shoyu Ramen

Since we’re making Spicy Shoyu Ramen today, the key ingredient for the recipe is spicy chili bean paste (la doubanjiang). You can always make slight modification with the spiciness level. If you can’t handle spicy food at all, you can use regular chili bean paste (doubanjiang) instead.  

The Noodles

The noodles used in Shoyu Ramen is usually the springy curly type. In my local Japanese grocery stores, they sell packages of fresh ramen noodles (with soup packages included, but I don’t use them).  Sun Noodles make great noodles if you can find them locally.

The Broth

We all know that the broth defines ramen. It is what brings the dish together. But not many of us have the time to simmer the soup stock with bones and all for hours. To avoid compromising the flavor of homemade ramen broth, dashi is elemental to give it the extra depth. The rest is all about putting together the other condiments such as soy sauce, chili bean paste, sesame oil, chicken stock, sake and aromatics such as ginger and garlic in a pot and bring everything to a boil. A little bit of salt and sugar goes a long way. This will a yield a flavorful, rich soup in less time.

The Toppings

There are various toppings that can go into this Spicy Shoyu Ramen. In this recipe, I top the ramen with chashu pork, menma (bamboo shoots), narutomaki (fish cake), scallion, shiraga negi (Japanese green onion), nori and soft-boiled egg. It may read like a long list of toppings, but you can definitely decide what you’d like to add on to your ramen. Feel free to keep it simple or complex as you like, although I do think that a soft-boiled egg is almost compulsory. You can make ramen egg which I shared here. 

The workflow of assembling the ramen is to gather all your toppings first. Follow by cooking the soup broth and then the noodles. Make sure you cook the noodles just al dente because the hot broth will continue to cook the noodles. Soggy noodles in ramen is a no-no. When the bowl is ready, serve and slurp! Swirl in a little bit of la-yu (Japanese chili oil) if you like an extra kick of spice. Enjoy!

Try Other Ramen Recipes Similar to Spicy Shoyu Ramen

Miso Ramen - A homemade miso #ramen broth that's quick and easy, yet much better than packaged ramen soup!

Homemade Miso Ramen

Vegetarian Ramen - Spicy Soy Milk Ramen | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

Vegetarian Ramen (豆乳味噌ラーメン)

Tsukemen (Dipping Noodles) | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com

Tsukemen (Ramen with Dipping Sauce)

Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Just One Cookbook newsletterdelivered to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.

Spicy Shoyu Ramen
Spicy Shoyu Ramen スパイシー醤油ラーメン | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.com
Print
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Soup:
Toppings (optional):
Instructions
  1. Prepare toppings. Fresh ramen noodle will be done cooking in less than 2-3 minutes therefore you should prepare all of your toppings before you start cooking the ramen noodle.
  2. Prepare noodles. In a large pot, fill 2/3 of the pot with water and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and set aside until you are ready to cook ramen noodle.
  3. Meanwhile, mince garlic and ginger.
  4. Heat sesame oil in a pot that fits 4 cups of water. Add garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant.
    Spicy Shoyu Ramen 1
  5. Add spicy chili bean paste and stir.
    Spicy Shoyu Ramen 2
  6. Add the rest of Soup ingredients and simmer for a few minutes.
    Spicy Shoyu Ramen 3
  7. Check the flavor. It should be a little salty. Strain the soup through cheese cloth and put the soup back into the pot.
    Spicy Shoyu Ramen 4
  8. Keep the soup simmering (not boiling) until you are ready to serve.
    Spicy Shoyu Ramen 5
  9. Now ready to cook noodles. Loosen up the noodles before putting them into the boiling water. Cook noodles according to the package instructions. My personal recommendation is to reduced the noodle cooking time than what is on the package label. The reason for this is because once you pour the soup over the noodle, it continues to "cook" it.
  10. Drain the noodles completely and put it in a serving bowl.
  11. Pour the soup in the bowl and decorate with your toppings. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes

Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.

Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on Nov 28, 2011.  The content and photos have been updated in July 2017.

Pin4K
Share95

If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook — We love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , Recipe type: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Never miss another new recipe!

Sign up and receive the Just One Cookbook email newsletter.

You may also enjoy these recipes

Spaghetti Meat Sauce IIISpaghetti Meat SauceYakisoba with Shio Koji | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.comShio Koji Yakisoba 塩焼きそばJapanese Style Ume Shiso Pasta | Easy Japanese Recipes at JustOneCookbook.comUme Shiso Pasta 梅しそパスタTomato Bacon Pasta | JustOneCookbook.comTomato Bacon Pasta
Disclosure: Just One Cookbook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published - required fields are marked *

  2. Wow, this looks so wonderful! I saw you mentioned fresh ramen noodles, but do the dried ones (you know, the cheap ones most used by poor college students) work the same way? I drove by a large Asian market the other day but it was closed, but I’m planning a trip again this week to see what they have. Maybe they will have the fresh noodles. Anyway, this soup looks so good! I would make it extra spicy, we like it hot!

    2
    Reply to Alyssa'> Reply

  6. Omg Nami, that soup stock looks incredible… and the final product too! That bowl of ramen is calling out to me through the mist like a delicious, soupy siren! Ramen is definitely going to be one of the things I’m trying soon, since I’ve been working through soba and udon now! Can’t wait to try it!
    Congratulations to the winners – of course, I’ll ask my wife to comfort me while I go and cry about not winning – boooo! 🙁

    Have a great day 🙂

    6
    Reply to Charles'> Reply

  13. proudsailor

    Nami-san, When I lived in Japan, many times they served ‘seasoned egg’ with the ramen. It was soft boiled, but it had been marinated or soaked in a dark liquid. It gives the egg a smoky flavor, not sweet like teriyaki sauce. Do you think it’s straight shoyu or a mix of something? Maybe some hoisin and shoyo? I used to get one egg, then break it open so that the yolk became part of the broth.
    BTW, the eggs in Japan are AMAZING!! They have a bright orange yolk and a wonderful richness that’s not found in farmed American eggs. The closest I’ve found to match them are organic, omega-rich eggs.

    13
    Reply to proudsailor'> Reply

    • We call the seasoned egg “ni tamago” or “ajitsuke tamago”. My husband and I were just talking that I should have made them for ramen, to be more authentic. I wasn’t planning to make the ramen (& photo shoot) that day, so I didn’t prepare the egg previous day. 🙁

      I’ll probably make the How To page just for ni tamago/ajitsuke tamago. But meanwhile here’s my recipe.

      Ingredients:
      Soft boiled egg (see my How To page), peeled
      200ml dashi stock
      100ml soy sauce
      100ml mirin
      1 tsp. rice vinegar

      Directions:
      1) In a saucepan, bring dashi, soy sauce, and mirin to a boil and turn off.
      2) After cool down, put the sauce in a container and put the egg in it.
      3) Marinate the egg over night.

      79
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  21. It sounds fantastic and looks much more complex than I thought. I have always thought shoyu ramen is what I made with udon once (only soy sauce, mirin and dashi mixture). I see this has richer flavours. I love it!
    Otherwise I have fallen in love with your bowl. This is this type of Japanese design I am crazy for.
    Congratulations to the winners!

    21
    Reply to Sissi'> Reply

  23. Eri

    Hello Nami!! Now… this recipe is a Japanese food seminar! It looks so good, I’m thinking that if I find the right ingredients (I think I will) then I will try making it..
    The white slices with the pink swirl are the “naruto” ? Oh my God, they are beautiful!!
    Thanks for sharing Nami, have a nice week!

    23
    Reply to Eri'> Reply

  25. Nami, thank you sooooo much for this recipe! You have no idea how happy I am, tears of joy are about to come out! My pantry has all the ingredients except the ramen noodles, which I will buy as soon as I can. Looks like tomorrow cold Houston weather can’t bring a very happy and warm family sipping on our shoyu ramen noodles!

    Thank you thank you thank you!

    25
    Reply to Jeno @ Week Nite Meals'> Reply

  49. Nami san,
    Your Ramen looks gorgeous and delicious! Ramen is so perfect for a cold day. My foreign friends never miss going to Ramen restaurants when being in Japan and they always say that they don’t mind eating it everyday:-)

    49
    Reply to Yuri'> Reply

  56. This looks unbelievably good, Nami. I had no idea that you could even buy fresh ramen noodles. I am going to keep my eyes open for them now. I’m guessing in the refrigerated section, but probably more likely at an Asian market?

    56
    Reply to Mary'> Reply

  62. What a beautiful bowl of spicy shoyu ramen, my daughter will love this! I love coming here and learning how to cook such wonderful Japanese dishes! I was busy, over the long weekend even though I had the 3 days off from school(work). Plus my daughter’s birthday was Sunday! So I’m catching up on my blogging!

    I wish you could of joined us for lunch too, but then I wish I was in SF with Elisabeth meeting you.

    62
    Reply to [email protected] Tiny Skillet'> Reply

  73. StaceyN

    Omg I just had dinner but now I want that too! lol I’m so excited about winning the chopsticks. My husband and I have started using chopsticks instead of forks so this is perfect! Thank you so much for the giveaway. <3

    73
    Reply to StaceyN'> Reply

  76. So nice to hear that you had a good time with the family. Staying up late to watch children’s movies is such a fun thing to do. We did the same on Thanksgiving too – eating & watching classic movies. Just wonderful!

    I noticed a dash of sake that goes into the flavorful & tolerable spicy broth. Ooo..so delicious! Absolutely my type of shoyu ramen! Love the presentation Nami:)

    78
    Reply to [email protected]'> Reply

  77. Hi Nami! Glad to hear that you’d an enjoyable time with your family.
    I gotta try this ramen in future! I love very flavorful soup base that’s why I’ll always use extra ingredients. 😉
    So, a bowl of tasty ramen depends on the broth and the cooking time of ramen. Another great lesson here. 😀

    Congrats to all the winners here! So sad that I didn’t win but that’s alright, I’ll try again! Haha! 😛

    80
    Reply to Lyn'> Reply

  87. Yum! Like a lot of people, for years I thought ramen was just a cheap pack of dehydrated noodles for poor college students. The first time a friend took me to have a real bowl in a restaurant in Manhattan, I was floored and have loved ramen ever since. Yours, as always, looks like a work of art!

    90
    Reply to Shirley'> Reply

  90. Mae

    Hi Nami:
    I luv, luv ramen. The best shops are in the South Bay which I’ve not tried yet. Can you let me know what type (brand name) of fresh ramen noodles you use and where you can purchase them. For me, the texture of the noodles is the utmost importance followed by the broth. I have access to Maruwa, Niji-ya and Ranch 99. Thus far I’ve been buying Sun Noodles, but it comes with a packet of assari shoyu ramen soup.
    Domo arigato.

    93
    Reply to Mae'> Reply

    • Hi Mae! I like to buy and check different brands of noodles, but lately I haven’t had ramen at home so I can’t quite remember. Njiya brand’s fresh ramen noodles (they pack noodles in clear plastic container) were pretty good (it’s been a while though). This package comes with soup but I’ve never tried the soup before and I just used noodles. Hope this helps. 🙂

      94
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

    • Hi Helen! I’m glad to hear you enjoy my recipes, and thank you! I’m not sure when is the next giveaway, but the best way to be notified is to subscribe to my email newsletter. When it’s a big giveaway, I usually send out giveaway entry link to subscribers a few days before the giveaway post is public. 🙂

      100
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  94. Alina

    I’ve made this ramen today and it was totally delicious!!! Thank you so much Nami! 🙂

    I have one question though… I chose corn as one of the toppings and I must say I was really struggling while trying to pick up those little grains with chopsticks. Is there a secret to how you can eat them? Do you use a spoon or is there a special chopstick technique? 🙂

    103
    Reply to Alina'> Reply

  95. Leslie

    I made your spicy shoyu ramen soup today, and it turned out perfect! I made my own chashu, ramen eggs and menma. I am lucky to have a large Japanese market near my home where I found everything I needed. I will be trying the miso ramen soon. Thank you for the wonderful recipes!

    105
    Reply to Leslie'> Reply

    • Hi Leslie! I’m happy to hear that you liked this recipe! Wow, you did a great job making all the toppings! Yes, we’re very lucky to live near Japanese supermarkets as a lot of Japanese ingredients are unique and hard to find it elsewhere even in Asian grocery stores… Hope you like the miso ramen too! 🙂

      106
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

  98. Olha

    Thanks a lot for your precise instructions! Last night I managed to do ramen including homemade ramen eggs and charshu meat which I made for the first time following your recipe. It was a big hit, especially charshu which went out better then those we usually eat in local ramen restaurants. As my husband is a ramen fan, we often eat ramen out so can compare places and tastes. I hope next time I’ll make more soup and toppings to enjoy ramen for two or three days.

    113
    Reply to Olha'> Reply

    • Hi Olha! I’m so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed this simple recipe. Compared to ramen shop, we spend much less effort and time. Yet I think this ramen recipe is much better than packaged ramen soup you can get from Japanese grocery stores. The ramen shops I go make great soup so I know this is not comparable but I think it’s pretty good overall. Thank you for your kind feedback! Try miso ramen or vegetable ramen (you can add chashu). Their soup is rich and delicious!!!

      114
      Reply to Nami'> Reply

Never miss a recipe!