How To Make Homemade Chicken Ramen Broth
This is an uncomplicated recipe for making a warm and comforting bowl of chicken ramen at home. It might not be the most traditional variation of ramen but it’s delicious, warm & cosy, fuss-free and easy to replicate, so give it a try yourself!
Ingredients
Chicken frames – I prefer using chicken carcasses in soups and broths like ramen because they’re cheaper and have less fat than wings. You can use or any other bones you can find or even drumsticks if you like.
Ginger – Ginger is a pretty staple ingredient in this ramen recipe and is the main flavour behind the chicken. You can of course leave it out if you don’t like it or even double it if you want.
Garlic – Garlic is similar to the ginger, it’s not crucial but it won’t be as nice without it. I used whole cloves with their skin left on for even less fuss.
Onion – I used a brown onion, but if you don’t have any lying around, you can use shallots or a white or red onion. Just a note though, a red onion might colour the broth slightly.
Soy Milk – Soy milk adds a nice creaminess to the ramen which I love. You can leave it out if you like or sub it for another dairy free milk like rice or almond milk.
Soy Sauce – I used regular soy sauce for this recipe and any brand will do the trick.
How To Make This Easy Homemade Chicken Ramen Broth
STEP 1
Preheat your oven to 200˚C and roast your chicken, garlic, onion and ginger on a lined baking tray for around 30 minutes until the chicken is nicely golden and the onion has a few charry, blackened edges.
STEP 2
Transfer everything to a pot and cover with water (about 2 litres) then bring it to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer and let it bubble away gently for 1-2 hours until it is reduced by half. The longer you leave it, the more flavour will be extracted out of the ingredients, but it will still be nice after only an hour. Keep an eye on it while it is cooking and top it up with a bit more water if it needs it. The stock should be quite golden and rich.
STEP 3
Remove all of the solids from the stock with a slotted spoon then pass it through a sieve.
STEP 4
Return the stock to a clean pot and add the soy milk and soy sauce and season it with salt to your liking. I added about 2 tsp but it will depend greatly on how much liquid you reduced it down to and how salty your soy sauce is.
STEP 5
Ladle your ramen broth into a deep bowl and add all of your toppings. I added a soft boiled egg, noodles, carrot, pickled ginger, shredded chicken, spring onions and sesame seeds, but feel free to get creative and add whatever you love.
Can I Make This Recipe Faster?
If you need to get dinner on the table faster than 2 hours there are a few methods you can use to cut down the cooking time of this ramen broth.
Pressure Cooker:
If you own a pressure cooker, you can follow the instructions up to simmering and instead transfer the roasted chicken and aromatics to a pressure cooker. Cover everything with water (make sure you don’t go over the max fill line) and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes, then continue the recipe as normal.
Chicken Stock:
Otherwise, instead of using chicken frames, you can cut out that step and just use store bought chicken stock. Because ramen is all about the broth, make sure you use a good quality stock. This will cut the cook time down to about 15 minutes and all you will have to is simmer the garlic, ginger and onion in the chicken stock for 15-20 minutes.
Can I Make This Ramen Broth Vegetarian?
Yes absolutely! Instead of roasting chicken frames or using chicken stock, just simmer the onion, garlic and ginger in vegetable stock for 15-20 minutes then continue the recipe as usual.
Topping Ideas
For my ramen I always use some sort of meat, veggies, noodles, pickled ginger and spring onion, but here are some other ideas you can try.
Protein: Shredded chicken, Pork, Prawns, Salmon, Tofu, Egg, Fish cake
Vegetables (cooked or raw): Mushrooms, Carrot, Spinach, Broccoli, Capsicum, Bok Choy, Bean sprouts
Pickles: Carrot, Radish, Ginger
Sauces: Sesame oil, Chilli sauce, Soy sauce, Chilli oil, Garlic oil
Toppings: Sesame seeds, Fried onion, Fried garlic, Nori, Kimchi
Herbs and Flavourings: Coriander, Chives, Spring onion, Chilli flakes, Furikake
Storage Instructions
Any leftovers of this broth can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and reheated either in the microwave or on the stove. If you’d like to store it for more than a week, you can store it in a air tight, freezer save container for up to 3 months.
Why Do I Use Soy Milk in My Ramen?
A traditional full-bodied ramen is made creamy due to hours of slowly cooking pork bones. It gets it’s rich fattiness from all of the collagen and marrow breaking down to make a thick, white soup. Because I don’t have a whole day to make ramen, I always use soy milk to create that similar creaminess, colour and depth in a homemade version. I don’t know what it is about it, but it almost gives a meaty flavour to the ramen and since trying it for the first time, I’ve never not done it.
Video
Recipe
Creamy Chicken Ramen Recipe
This is an uncomplicated recipe for making a warm and comforting bowl of chicken ramen at home. It might not be the most traditional variation of ramen but it's delicious, warm & cosy, fuss-free and easy to replicate, so give it a try yourself!
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken frame
- 2 Chicken wings
- 1 Brown onion halved, skin on
- 4 cloves Garlic whole, unpeeled
- 6 cm Piece ginger cut into 3 or 4 slices
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce
- 3/4 cup Soy milk
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200˚C.
- Add your chicken, garlic, onion and ginger to a lined baking tray and roast in the oven for around 30 minutes until the chicken is nicely golden and the onion has a few charry, blackened edges.
- Transfer everything to a pot and cover with water (about 2 litres) then bring it to a boil.
- Reduce it to a simmer and let it bubble away gently for 1-2 hours until it is reduced by half. The longer you leave it, the more flavour will be extracted out of the ingredients, but it will still be nice after only an hour. Keep an eye on it while it is cooking and top it up with a bit more water if it needs it. The stock should be quite golden and rich.
- Remove all of the solids from the stock with a slotted spoon then pass it through a sieve.
- Return the stock to a clean pot and add the soy milk and soy sauce and season it with salt to your liking. I added about 2 tsp but it will depend greatly on how much liquid you reduced it down to and how salty your soy sauce is.
- Ladle your ramen broth into a deep bowl and add all of your toppings. I added a soft boiled egg, noodles, carrot, pickled ginger, shredded chicken, spring onions and sesame seeds, but feel free to get creative and add whatever you love.
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Hey! I’m Montana...
Mon Mack Food is my little space to share my passion for food. It is also a place to document the recipes I’ve created while cooking for friends and family! While it is now just a hobby, my absolute dream is to build this project into something I can one day call my job 🙂
