Shio Ramen From Scratch

i. Add water to a pot, then add kombu and a few dried scallop (conpoy) and soak 30 minutes off the heat. Keep the pot cool and covered during the soak to avoid clouding or sliminess.

Soft water extracts glutamates from kombu more cleanly than hard water, giving you a delicate, clear base to build on.

What if dried scallops are not available or too expensive?

If dried scallops are unavailable, add clam juice or the packing liquid from canned clams/scallops later when you blend the broth with tare.

ii. While you wait, I recommend prepare your aromatics as follow:

• Ginger root: rough chunks
• Garlic: remove skin and gently crack with the flat side of your knife.
• Japanese leek: cut off the green part.

iii. After 30 minutes, turn the heat on medium and add ground chicken (or wings/carcasses/drumsticks) to the pot and gently break it apart with chopsticks.

iv. Remove the kombu and scallops just before the water reaches a simmer to prevent sliminess or bitterness, then keep the liquid at a gentle simmer-about 82-90℃ (180-194°F).

Sustainable tip

The used kombu still has life in it by making kombu onigiri (rice balls)!

v. Skim foam as it rises and avoid stirring/agitation, which emulsifies fat and clouds the stock.

vi: Lower to maintain that gentle simmer and add sliced ginger, garlic cloves, and Japanese negi, and simmer 30 minutes without a lid.

vii. You’re looking for a light, savory aroma with a few lazy bubbles (frémissement/bare simmer). Agitation or a rolling boil will send scum and fat back into suspension. Keep skimming so the surface stays clear.

i. In a small pan, combine lard (or chicken schmaltz/duck fat), finely diced negi (white part), and garlic cloves; warm over low heat until the alliums turn pale blond and fragrant.

Then remove from heat before browning. Strain if you want a pristine oil, or leave the bits in for rustic texture.

i. Do this step simultaneously with step 2. In a small saucepan, add sake, dry white wine, mirin, and fine sea salt. Heat over medium while stirring until the salt dissolves into the mixture.

ii. Let it bubble for 2 minutes or until the you can no longer smell the alcohol, then turn off heat and stir in usukuchi (light-colored) soy sauce. Set the oil and tare aside for later.

Tare Perfection Tips

Use high-quality sea salt or a blend of sea and rock salt for the best mineral balance. If you can find white soy sauce (shiro shoyu), it’ll keep your broth even clearer while adding that essential fermented depth.

i. After 30 minutes of simmering, lift out the chicken and aromatics using a mesh spoon.

Repurpose That Chicken

Don’t toss the cooked ground chicken! Frying it with a few simple condiments makes excellent filling for chicken onigiri.

ii. Bring the broth just to the edge of a simmer, turn off the heat, add a handful of katsuobushi, and steep 2 minutes before lifting it out. The broth should smell clean and smoky-sweet.

Only a few minutes of katsuobushi infusion to capture fragrance/inosinate without sour notes. Steeping for too long can turn your broth can turn astringent.

i. Line a fine-mesh strainer with two layers of paper towel or a clean cloth. For restaurant-level clarity, some chefs use cheesecloth or even coffee filters.

ii. And strain without pressing.

iii. Measure the broth, and top up with hot water to 1,400 ml to lock in a consistent tare-to-broth ratio for even salinity from bowl to bowl.

i. Cook your ramen noodles according to package directions, aiming for slightly firmer than usual.

ii. Drain thoroughly so starchy cooking water doesn’t cloud the bowl. Shio ramen shines with thin to medium-thin, lower-hydration noodles for a delicate, snappy bite.

i. For home cooking, combine your whole tare with the reheated dashi first, then divide between bowls. This ensures even seasoning across servings. Much easier than trying to balance each bowl individually.

Restaurants layer tare and broth separately, but…

Restaurants season per-bowl with tare and broth, but pre-mixing the tare into the pot helps home cooks avoid bowl-to-bowl salt drift.

Restaurants do this simply because they deal with gigantic amount of broth and tare.

ii. Add your cooked noodles.

iii. Drizzle with the infused oil.

iv. Then arrange your chosen toppings. Serve immediately, shio ramen waits for no one.

Shio ramen demands a fundamentally different approach to toppings than its richer cousins. Where those styles can handle bold, abundant garnishes, shio ramen tends to celebrate minimalism. The goal isn’t to pile on ingredients but to select 2-3 elements that enhance rather than mask your carefully crafted clear broth.

Think of it this way: you’ve just spent an hour creating a delicate symphony of umami. Loading it down with heavy toppings would be like drowning a fine wine with overpowering food. Instead, choose thoughtfully from the options below:

• Modern Shop-Style Alternative: Many contemporary shio ramen shops have moved toward thin-sliced, ham-like proteins. Pastrami, turkey breast, prosciutto cotto, or quality chicken cold cuts work brilliantly. To me, these are all better options than fatty pork chashu for the broth.
• Cooked Chicken: If you’d like to have simple chicken topping, you can use “salad chicken” from my Japanese chicken salad recipe or chicken chashu!
• Traditional Pork Chashu: I personally don’t recommend it. Chashu is a bit too fatty and it can cloud the delicate soup. High-end shio ramen specialty restaurants usually go for leaner chashu, but it’s hard to recreate that at home.

Why do cold cuts work so well? These deli meats hit the perfect balance: minimal fat content, light smoking (though too much smoke overpowers the delicate dashi), and thin slicing that matches current ramen trends while being easier to eat with chopsticks.

Other non-protein ideas:

• Ajitsuke tamago or soft-boiled eggs
• Menma (fermented bamboo shoots)
• Chopped green onions
• Nori seaweed
• Sweet corn
• Wakame seaweed
• Narutomaki fish cake
• Blanched spinach
• Yuzu (or lemon) zest

For my bowl, I only used soft boiled eggs, menma, dry cured ham, and chopped green onions.