00:00Lean over a bowl of real shoyu ramen and the aroma tells you how delicate it is before you
00:05even taste it. That smell comes from the dashi and a gentle aroma oil. Let me show you how it's
00:12made.
00:14Pull the heads off about 10 grams of niboshi, the little dried sardines,
00:18and pinch out the dark gut suck inside, each one like this. This is 2 minutes of quiet work that
00:25decides whether your broth tastes clean or bitter, so do it now before anything heats up.
00:31Next, take 4 chicken wings and run a knife or the tip of kitchen scissors along the bone
00:37on the skinless side to score the meat. That cut opens an exit path, so the gelatin
00:44and the savoury gnocinate flow out into the stock instead of staying locked in the wing.
00:51Smash 2 cloves of garlic flat with the side of your knife, no need to mince, and slice 20 grams
00:58of ginger into rounds, not too thin. This is your prep, now the dashi.
01:04Fill the pot with 1 liter of water, add a clean niboshi, and a 5 grams piece of kombu, the
01:11dried
01:11kelp, and hold it at 60 degrees celsius for 30 minutes. Do not let it boil, this number is the
01:18whole game.
01:20Here's why, kombu releases its glutamate, its clean umami right around 60 degrees celsius.
01:27Push it past 80, and the kelp starts leaking slimy compounds that cloud the broth and turn it slick.
01:34A gentle warm steeps the umami out clean, the way a tea bag works in hot but not boiling water.
01:41So a thermometer in this pot is worth more than any fancy ingredient.
01:47While the dashi steeps, fill the tare. In a small pot, combine 1 tablespoon of sake,
01:521 tablespoon of mirin, 1 half teaspoon of sugar, and a pinch of salt.
01:57Simmer for about 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves and the sharp alcohol smell burns off.
02:05Now, add 3 tablespoons of water, and 3 tablespoons of Japanese soy sauce.
02:11Simmer for 5-10 minutes, and pull it the second it barely starts to thicken. This is the tare done.
02:18If you have time, make this tare the night before. Resting cold in the fridge softens the salty edge,
02:23and rounds the sake and mirin into something deeper. It's the single biggest free upgrade in this recipe,
02:31and it is exactly the kaishi trick the old soba shops run with their dipping sauces.
02:37Back to the dashi. The 30 minutes are up, so leave the konbu and the nimoshi out before the heat
02:44ever climbs higher.
02:46Don't throw that konbu away, it can be used to make the filling for konbu nigiri.
02:51And that has its own video on the card on your screen.
02:55Now drop the scored chicken wings, the smashed garlic, the ginger,
03:00and the green tops of a Japanese leek into the same pot. Hold it at 80-85 degrees Celsius for
03:0840 minutes.
03:09The surface should barely simmer, just the old small bubble. Never rolling boil. Same reason as that konbu.
03:16A hard boil shears the fat into tiny droplets that lock into a permanent cloud.
03:22Skim any form off the top for the first 10 minutes, then let it hold.
03:27While that holds, we make the third component, the aroma oil called komi abura.
03:33Heat a frying pan on low, and melt half a tablespoon of lard.
03:37Lay 50 grams of chicken skin flat, and here's my tip.
03:41Cover it with a sheet of parchment paper, and weigh it down with a small plate or pan.
03:46Both sides hit golden at the same time, and the render comes out cleaner.
03:51Cook about 10 minutes a side, until the skin is deep golden, and the fat has run out into the
03:57pan.
03:58Pour the skin out, and keep that rendered oil.
04:02If you can buy rendered chicken oil to you, or even duck fat, you can skip this whole step, and
04:08just use that.
04:10And the crispy skin you pulled out, heat it with salt and pepper, and eat it while you wait.
04:16When the 40 minutes are up, turn off the heat, and drop in 5 grams of katsuobushi, the bonita flakes,
04:22right at the end.
04:24Lay it steep 5 minutes off the heat.
04:26Take a sniff halfway through.
04:28That is the moment your kitchen smells like a real ramen shop.
04:32No joke, it lands all at once.
04:36Now strain it.
04:37Line a fine mesh strainer with a paper towel, sail over a clean pot, and pour the soup through.
04:43Do not press on the solids or squeeze the wings, that forces fine fat through and clouds everything.
04:50Take only what falls through on its own.
04:54What lands in the pot should be clear and golden.
04:57The wings, by the way, are just blasting the air fryer for 15 minutes and eat them.
05:04This is home, not restaurant.
05:06That is all 4 components ready.
05:09Dashi broth, shoyu tare, aroma oil, and now the noodles.
05:14For shoyu ramen, you want fresh ramen noodles, medium thin to medium thick.
05:18If fresh noodles are hard to find where you live, you can make them from scratch at home,
05:23and I have a full video walking through that, it is on the card on your screen.
05:28Cook the noodles in plenty of water, and pour them 10 to 20 seconds before the package time.
05:35The carryover heat finishes them in a bowl, and an extra few seconds in the pot turn them mushy by
05:41the time you sit on.
05:43Drain them hard, no water clinging.
05:46While they cook, warm your bottles.
05:48Pour boiling water in, let it sit for a minute, then tip it out.
05:53Cold ceramic drops hot soup by 10 to 15 degrees Celsius the instant you pour.
05:59So this one small move is what separates a ramen shot bowl from a home one.
06:04Now assemble.
06:06Pour the tare into the bottom of each warmed bowl.
06:09Ladle hot broth in over it.
06:12About 300ml a bowl.
06:15And stir once to fold the tare through.
06:19Lift the noodles in with chopsticks so they sit in a nice pile on top instead of sinking in.
06:25Then drizzle the reserved aroma oil over the surface.
06:30This is why the oil goes on last and on its own.
06:34It floats and acts like a lid.
06:37And the lid does three drops at once.
06:40It keeps the soup hot.
06:41It carries the aroma straight up to your nose as you lean in.
06:45And it gives the first sip its richness on the ton.
06:49For toppings, I went with chashu, an ajitama softwake,
06:54menma, narutomaki, nori, and green onion.
06:59The chashu has its own video too, so if you want to make it from scratch, check the card.
07:04Otherwise, top with whatever you love and serve it immediately.
07:09Serve it right away with the steam still rising off the bowl.
07:13And this is my shoyu ramen.
07:15Make this tonight.
07:16Google shoyu ramen statue for the full printable recipe with exact measurements and timing.
07:22Want even more delicious recipes?
07:24Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
07:28Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time.
07:31And if you're ready to cook, grab the written instructions
07:33by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on your screen.
07:49Tap the recipe card on your screen for the full printable version with exact measurements,
07:54every timing, and notes for getting each step right.
07:58Next time, I'm making his chook up. See you then.
08:01This is an awesome lead.
08:01It does get into most directions.
08:01Thanks, guys.
