Easy Ramen Broth Recipe
Healthy, easy and authentic, this Ramen Broth is made with traditional Japanese dashi and is delicious! Of the many vegetarian ramen broths I’ve tried, this is hands down my favourite. You’ll be making a series of authentic and delicious Japanese ramen with this ramen broth recipe in no time at all!
Ramen Broth Recipe
Making ramen broth and ramen eggs at home is an everyday experience in Japan. That’s because the basis of all the good ramens is in the dashi (Japanese broth). I just can’t go past this ramen broths recipe – it’s healthy, easy and authentically delicious. And the aroma’s to-die-for!
Ramen is our year-round food obsession in Japan. Whether in the middle of a hot summer, or the heart of winter, ramen is eaten everywhere.
If you’ve travelled to Japan, you would’ve seen ramen restaurants in pretty much every large train station. The reason? We just can’t wait to get home to eat it! Of course, it’s also quick and oh so tasty!
Hot, spicy and heart-warming, it’s no surprise that the rest of the world is becoming almost as obsessed as Japanese people about ramen these days. And the best thing – homemade ramen broth is a lot easier to make than you think. Trust me!
Why with Japanese dashi?
This Japanese dashi-based ramen broth can be readily combined with any of the ramen soups, seasonings and toppings. The umami rich homemade ramen broth is perfect for making ramen.
Once you master this how to make ramen broth, you can make various ramen recipes. Find out how to make Japanese ramen – soy sauce based shoyu ramen, sea salt based shio ramen, miso based spicy miso ramen and famous spicy tantanmen ramen and more! They are all vegetarian ramen.
While it seems mysterious to many, the truth is that authentic homemade ramen is not difficult to make. For me, (besides the eating) the most exciting part of making ramen is making ramen broth!
Once you learn how to make ramen broths from scratch you’ll become the ramen star of your friends and family! Read on to bring joy to your life, and share it with loved ones!
The Types of Ramen Broths
Ramen broths vary in Japan. Tonkotsu ramen broth, chicken ramen broth, vegetable broth or Japanese dashi broth are commonly found. I’ll share an authentic ramen broth recipe for vegetarians, made with Japanese dashi.
The good thing about this easy ramen broth is that it’s quick to make and delicious! There’s no need to cook for hours boiling bones like tonkotsu broth or chicken broth. Our recipe for ramen broth is the perfect ramen broth and can be used for any ramen you can dream up!
Note: this recipe yields 1 and ¾ cup (400 cc) ramen broth and for one person. If you make the soup more than 1 person, simply increase the number for servings on the recipe card below, but no need to increase the number of garlic clove.
Authentic Ramen Broth Recipe
My mother cooks traditional Japanese food perfectly. When I was growing up, she didn’t compromise on anything in the kitchen, and always followed the traditional way of cooking. I’ve never seen her use a packet of dashi powder. And really, there’s no need to when you can make dashi yourself easily.
So I was a bit worried making shoyu ramen with this ramen broth for her the other day. But she loved it, and couldn’t believe I’d gotten so much umami flavour from a purely plant based version of ramen broth. If my mother is happy, it’s a huge success in my book!
Traditional ramen is all about the broth. So, I tried a few different approaches to get the umami flavor from this ramen soup. The secret to a good vegetarian/vegan ramen dashi is to use Japanese kombu (kelp seaweed). It’s complex, rich and tasty and fits pretty much any ramen soup perfectly.
Ramen Broth ingredients
Kombu: Use kombu which is kelp seaweed. Don’t confuse it with nori or wakame. They are thin seaweed. Kombu is Japans thick seaweed and is absolutely vital for making dashi. It’s dried and fermented for years. This is why kombu creates the rich flavour called umami.
My favourite brands are Rishiri and Rausu from Hokkaido, Japan. But really, any brand can work with this ramen recipe. You’ll find it at your local Japanese or Asian grocery store.
Dried Shiitake: Use only dried shiitake. Shiitake mushrooms are dried under the sunlight. This allows the umami flavour to condense within them. Dried shiitake is necessary for making this dashi.
Onion: I’ve tried so many different vegetables to make the best ramen broth, and my very best is this simple method. It’s to add onion after making kombu and shiitake dashi.
Garlic: My very best advice is not to crush a clove of garlic before you add it to a pan. Also avoid removing the skin.
How To Make Ramen Broth
Dashi is a broth used as the base for almost so much Japanese food. It’s commonly made with kombu, dried shiitake mushrooms, anchovies and bonito flake. And one of Japan’s most powerful dashi is vegetarian and is made with kombu and dried shiitake, which you are going to master!
I love kombu and dried shiitake combination because they induces umami substance and are healthy broth with plant based ingredients.
Soak
A key for how to make ramen broth is soaking the kombu and dried shiitake in water before you cook them. Ideally, leave it overnight in the fridge because this way, you can save time for making the dashi the next day.
Cook
Transfer the kombu, dried shiitake mushroom and water into a pot and simmer them on the ‘lowest heat’, gradually allowing the water to increase to boiling!
Then only just before the water boils, remove the kombu. It should take 10 to 15 minutes. And once it’s boiled, remove shiitake. Dashi is ready!
Pro Tip!
The importance for making dashi is to start with cold water and simmer the kombu, the dried shiitake and the water on a ‘low heat’. This enables the kombu and dried shiitake’s components to infuse into the water. The umami is extracted.
Seasoning
Add sliced onions and a garlic clove into the dashi. Cook it for 30 minutes on the lowest heat. Then remove the onion, garlic. My best tip for garlic is not to crush it but simply through it into the pan with skin.
That’s it! It’s super easy. The ramen broth is ready!
Customize!
Once you master how to make ramen broth, you can make variations whatever you desire.
How to make ramen
Here are popular homemade ramen in Japan:
- Shoyu broth ramen
- Shio broth ramen
- Miso broth ramen
- Tantanmen ramen broth
- Dan dan noodles
- Ramen eggs
1. Shoyu ramen broth
Shoyu means soy sauce in Japanese, and homemade shoyu ramen is so popular. You can make shoyu ramen with this ramen broth.
To cook shoyu ramen, simply add this ramen broth to shoyu sauce. Shoyu ramen broth is ready! You can then pour the shoyu ramen soup into a bowl and add cooked ramen noodle. Place the topping you prefer, and don’t forget about ramen eggs. That’s it! Discover the further details at my shoyu ramen recipe today!
2. Shio ramen broth
Shio means salt in Japanese but when it used, it means sea salt. Almost all salt used at home in Japan are sea salt.
When shio is added and heated up with vegetable oil in a pan, it adds a magical power. It transforms the ingredients to another flavour level, drawing out the umami. In Japan salt is not added to make the food salty but to induce its umami.
To cook shio ramen, heat up ginger, spring onions, salt, grounded sesame seeds with vegetable oil at the lowest heat. After adding onion powder, pour the ramen broth and combine them all.
Place the shio ramen broth into a bowl and add cooked ramen noodle. Top on the cooked vegetables, ramen eggs or whatever you desire! Discover the further details at my shio ramen recipe now!
3. Miso ramen broth
The combination of miso and chili is the star of this spicy miso ramen! This authentic spicy miso ramen can be made just in 15 minutes with this Japanese dashi ramen broth. Ramen eggs and miso butter are topped on. Sprinkle a few drops of rayu to add more flavour. Rich and creamy, experience some spicy Japanese umami bomb!
4. Tantanmen broth
Other than shoyu, miso and shio based ramen, you can find spicy Japanese ramen. Tantanmen is one of my best favourite spicy ramen. The topping is made with tofu which is seasoned with teriyaki sauce. Find out my tantanmen recipe.
5. Dan dan noodles without ramen broth
If you really want to have ramen and enjoy it without making ramen broth, I have a suggestion for you. This dan dan noodles is Japan’s popular spicy ramen. It’s similar to tantanmen ramen but without the soup. It’s super flavourful, spicy and filling!
6. Ramen eggs
And don’t forget to top ramen eggs on your favourite ramen noodles. Ramen egg is known as ajitama in Japan. Find out the step by step instruction recipe for how to make ramen eggs.
FAQs
How to store ramen broth
This ramen broth is best used fresh. If you need to store, cool it down completely and transfer the soup in an airtight container. Leave it in the fridge for three days. Or transfer into a ziploc bag and freeze for three weeks.
Japanese dashi for ramen broth first time
If it’s your first time making Japanese dashi, you may notice the aroma is pretty strong. It’s probably a bit unfamiliar but don’t worry. Kombu is full of minerals and is from the sea – so it can have a strong aroma.
When you add sake, salt, soy sauce and mirin, the harmony creates the perfect umami flavor and beautiful rich aroma! That’s how millions of Japanese people are making dashi at home every day.
More Ramen Recipe Collection:
- RAMEN EGGS
- VEGETABLE GYOZA (JAPANESE FRIED DUMPLINGS)
- SPICY MISO RAMEN
- SHOYU RAMEN
- SHIO RAMEN
- TANTAN RAMEN
- DAN DAN NOODLES
Ramen Broth Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kombu (2×3 inch) (thick Japanese kelp)
- 1 dried shiitake
- 20 oz water (600ml)
- ¼ onion sliced (80g)
- 1 clove garlic (keep the skin and don't crush it)
Instructions
- Soak kombu and dried shiitake into water and leave into the fridge overnight. You can save time the next day when making the Japanese dashi.
- Take kombu, dried shiitake and water out of the fridge and simmer on a low heat for around 10-15 minutes.
- Gradually bring to the boil and remove kombu just before the water starts boiling. Once it starts boiling, remove shiitake mushrooms.
- Remove the stems of shiitake and discard them. Keep the tops for later for the topping. Dashi is ready.
- Add onions and a garlic clove into the dashi, and cook for 30 minutes at the lowest heat. Remove the onions, the garlic clove and the carrot skin. Ramen broth is ready!
Notes
