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How to make REAL Japanese ramen from scratch

by Neryam on May 12, 2008 Table of Contents How to make REAL Japanese ramen from scratch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: How to make REAL Japanese ramen from scratch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Gather your ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Combine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Knead that dough. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Rest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Stretch it! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Cut the dough! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Boil it! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 8: Add some soup and eat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 7 7

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

Intro: How to make REAL Japanese ramen from scratch

As a person living in Japan, I feel sad at how ramen is treated in the west. It is considered the epitome of junk food; a greasy, carcinogenic mess, lacking in any nutrients whatsoever and only to be eaten as a last resort or as a college student... Here in its home country, ramen is, if not the healthiest thing around, at least something that you can eat every day and not get sick. And of course, the taste is incomparable. This recipe will teach you how to make true ramen from scratch, with little more cost than a instant ramen packet (depending on what you do for the soup). It does take some extra effort, but if you enjoy cooking and know how to knead things, it should be fine!

Image Notes 1. Proper ramen this time, with veggies and egg. And sausage.

Image Notes 1. That's right, we had no vegetables in the fridge. I would recommend spinach or something though. 2. Japanese knives are teh win

Step 1: Gather your ingredients

You will need: 3/4 Cups Flour (see below) 1 egg ~3/4 tsp salt (or to taste) ~1 tbsp water (depending on flour and humidity) In Japan, we do not have all-purpose flour, only low gluten and high gluten flours, which we have to mix. If you do have easy access to these flours, you should mix about 1 part low gluten to 2 parts high gluten. Otherwise, just use all-purpose flour. It's not vital to the noodles. This dough doubles or even quadruples very well, although the dough becomes harder to knead.

Image Notes 1. Low-Gluten Flour 2. High-Gluten Flour 3. Salt 4. Egg 5. Good filtered water

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

Step 2: Combine.
Mix the dry ingredients, make a well in the center, and beat the eggs and water inside. Then slowly combine the ingredients together.

Image Notes 1. egg and water! 2. Flour and salt.

Step 3: Knead that dough.

Once your ingredients are somewhat combined, dump the stuff onto your CLEAN counter and start kneading. It should be a little stiffer than bread dough. The dough is ready when your hands become fairly clean and the dough does not stick as much anymore (and when your forearms are sore). When it is the right consistency, you should be able to lift your hand and the dough should fall off after about a second. If it's too sticky, add some flour and knead it in. If it doesn't stick at all, add some water a few DROPS at a time.

Image Notes 1. Time to start kneading!

Image Notes 1. This dough is ready. Notice the fairly smooth surface. 2. Clean counter!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

Image Notes 1. Your hands should become about this clean after kneading the dough. I did not wash my hands before taking this picture.

Step 4: Rest.
The dough needs to rest before we stretch it, otherwise it will not make nice thin noodles. Put it in a damp cloth and find something to do for at least 30 minutes in the summer, up to 2 hours in the winter.

Image Notes 1. Damp tea towel. 2. Dough ball.

Step 5: Stretch it!

Take the dough ball and (if you are making a double or triple portion of the recipe) break it into a single portion (Otherwise we'll get a massive dough circle). Sprinkle some flour generously over the dough, take a rolling pin or roller and start stretching it. I suppose you could use a ravioli dough stretcher thing too, but I don't have one of those. If you can, get it to about 1mm in thickness. If it starts sticking, get some more dry flour onto there. If it starts springing back to its original shape, let it rest for a minute or two.

Image Notes 1. Half of the original dough, because I was doing a double batch.

Image Notes 1. Needs a lot more stretching.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

Image Notes 1. This is about right. See how big it is compared to the original ball.

Image Notes 1. About 1mm if you can.

Step 6: Cut the dough!

Get the sheet of dough and put it onto a cutting board so you don't damage your counter. Spread flour LIBERALLY on the surface, because if it starts sticking when we cut it, our ramen will be ruined. Fold it two times in the same direction, each time spreading flour on the surface. finally, get some flour on the top. Don't worry, all that loose flour will wash off when we boil it, and the flour in the water will keep our noodles together also. Once it is folded in a strip, start cutting it. A wide square knife is best, but any knife will work as long as it is big enough. Periodically spread some more flour. It won't hurt anything and it's best to be safe rather than sorry. Once you have a pile of cut noodles, toy at them with your fingers to unfold them. toss them around with some more flour, just be careful not to break the noodles.

Image Notes 1. Spread flour.

Image Notes 1. Fold it up, with plenty of flour in between folds.

Image Notes

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1. Halfway there.

Image Notes 1. Plenty of flour.

Step 7: Boil it!

I hope you got some water boiling already. I always forget. Anyhow, once the water boils, salt it, then sprinkle the noodles into the water. if you dump them in, they will stick. Mix the noodles around with chopsticks. As long as the water is hot enough, they should start floating. I usually boil them about 4 minutes, depending on how thin I got the noodles. The best way is to just taste the noodles and drain them when they're just soft enough. You can also boil some vegetables or meat with the noodles to heat them up, just make sure to not cool the water down too much when you put them in.

Image Notes 1. Plenty of boiling water. 2. Plenty of salt.

Image Notes 1. SPRINKLE! If you just dump the noodles in you will get a large mass of noodles that are all stuck together and raw in the middle!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

Image Notes 1. Yes. I like Japanese sausages.

Step 8: Add some soup and eat.

This is the part I myself could use some help on. I just mix concentrated chicken stock and soy sauce (or miso), but if you're desperate you can use the flavor packet from instant ramen or something. Do not just use soy sauce or miso without any stock, because it will taste like crap. And for the love of god, do not use tomato soup or any of those American concoctions. If you make or have your own stock, then yes, just the stock and some seasoning will work perfect. You can also make tonkotsu soup with pig bones, but that amounts to about a day of simemring and reducing, something I am too lazy for. Spinach and Chinese cabbage (hakusai) both go great with ramen, as does most kinds of mild meat.You can also add corn, peas, or any other manner of frozen vegetables. Eggs also go will in the soup, hard boiled or mixed in. Finally, let us examine the price. The eggs, flour and salt should come to no more than 50 cents. Depending on how much you spend on your soup, you should be able to get a decent bowl of ramen for about a dollar in ingredients. Not much more expensive than a instant packet! You can, of course, really go crazy on the condiments.

Image Notes 1. Proper ramen this time, with veggies and egg. And sausage.

Image Notes 1. That's right, we had no vegetables in the fridge. I would recommend spinach or something though. 2. Japanese knives are teh win

Related Instructables

Making Good Ramen by NInja99

Make Ramen (relatively) Healthy! by Robyntheslug

Make a real Asian meal from a pack of My Ramen Ramen Noodle Stir Fry noodles... by by punkrules heavymetalpizzaparty

Turkey ramen stirfry by Noblevagrant

Ham and Egg Ramen: For Those With Very Sparse Refrigerators. by Lt. Commander Richie

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 294 comments

mizzoumike76 says:

Mar 26, 2011. 1:14 AM REPLY Thanks for this. I lived in Japan for a year, and yes, real ramen is amazing! I was there for work and not necessarily out of love for Japan, but the place grew on me after a while. Now I live in Kosovo, and I am going to try this recipe tonight for dinner. Let us also say ramen should never be eaten with anything but hashi! Many thanks.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

rambo2225 says:

Feb 27, 2011. 6:44 PM REPLY I want to ask what the difference between ramen and italian noodles?? I made homemade fettuccine the other day and the ingredients are the same and method is the same too.. but they taste different..

gfogle says:

Feb 23, 2011. 8:39 PM REPLY regarding the color question, it's also possible that the camera and the lighting in the picture could affect the color. i have a terrible time with my camera, personally. we made this recipe tonight and it was fantastic, thank you for the recipe!

lucek says:
Oh I forgot. I skipped the knife in step 4 in favor of a pizza cutter and it worked like a dream.

Feb 12, 2011. 11:00 AM REPLY

lucek says:
I tried this. Put the cooked noodles in some chicken stock with a little seasoning salt and some frozen mixed veggies. very tasty.

Feb 12, 2011. 10:58 AM REPLY

amiwa says:

Jan 28, 2011. 4:23 AM REPLY hiyaa everyone ..!! i'm reaaallllllly exited to make my own noodles >< but i have one tinsy winsy problem -__i don't know how to make the soup ,, see i went to malaysia twice and i ate ramen at a place (not a so fancy one) .. ok my point is i want that taste ,, it was kindo weird i dunno how to say it but it was soooooo yummy *drooling* hehe so can anyone pleez give me a recipe for a REAL ramen soup (any meat is fine exept pork pleez) Jul 29, 2009. 8:44 AM REPLY how did you mix them together? like, what did you use? a fork? your hands? cuz yours is really yellow and mine always turns a yellowish pale white, and theres alot of left over flour

Chris01125 says:

oddzerozero says:

Apr 30, 2010. 3:30 AM REPLY the color difference might be due to the difference between the kinds of eggs you use. in japan they have fresher higher quality eggs then most people do in the usa. though now a days you can get our hands on free range eggs, it's even better if you can get to a farmer's market and get farm fresh free range. the yolks are a a very bright and rich color, almost orange.

andross says:

Oct 21, 2010. 8:25 AM REPLY Yolk color has little to do with egg freshness. The yolk will actually appear lighter with fresher eggs as the albumen clears with age. The chicken's diet affects color most. If you feed a chicken nothing but white corn, the yolk will be almost white.

sergeant82d says:

Jan 12, 2011. 10:23 AM REPLY I'm sorry, but that's not quite entirely correct. We raise chickens (along with Geese, Ducks, a Turkey, Cows, Pigs and two large gardens... Sheep are next!), and the albumen is the egg *white*... the yolk on our (free range) chickens are much much darker than any commercial egg. And the flavor is vastly better also. As you say, the diet that a hen eats is what affects the yolk color - and taste! - more than anything. What a roaming hen eats is varied and includes grass, weeds, seeds, bugs, and whatever interests them.

felows says:
your suppose to use your hands :]

Jan 31, 2010. 2:52 PM REPLY

Kataze says:
What does resting the dough do? How will I know if I haven't waited long enough before continuing?

May 6, 2010. 11:14 PM REPLY

Larzid says:

Dec 31, 2010. 5:06 PM REPLY when wheat flour gets wet long chains of gluten protein start forming, whish is why doug guets sticky and elastic, as you kneas you begin stressing the long chains of protein and the dough looses its stikiness, but it gains a lot in toughness and springginess, therefore if you try to roll your dough it will shrink back and it will take a long time to get to the desired thickness/shape, if you let your dough rest it will release some of the stress on the protein chains and make the rolling of the dough much easier, the best way to test your dough will be to poke it with your finger, if the hole kind of springs back in a few secons its still stressed, there is no harm in over resting your dough. on a side note, when making bread you want to use rested/relaxed dough, but for noodles the more stressed the dough is, the better texture you get in the final product, it's a good practice to let the dough rest, as you will be adding more stress when you roll your dough, but wastre no time between rolling it, cutting it and cooking it. if you dont let your dough rest nothing bad happens, you'll just have a harder time rolling your dough as it will be springging back on you all the time, but it is posible with a pasta rolling machine or a rally heavy rolling pin.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

Kataze says:
Ah, makes much more sense. Thanks!

Jan 1, 2011. 11:09 PM REPLY

Strout13 says:

Dec 19, 2010. 4:59 PM REPLY If you want to Double the dough...do you literally double all the ingredients...so instead on 3/4 flour you make it 1 1/2 and instead of 1 egg you put 2 eggs or what? Oct 21, 2010. 8:22 AM REPLY I apologize for sounding harsh, but these are not ramen noodles. Ramen noodles are pulled, rolled and cut noodles are udon. Both delicious, but not quite the same.

andross says:

fatcatcog says:
Brilliant instructable! This is by far the nicest thing Ive ever cooked myself, well done!

Oct 19, 2010. 10:56 AM REPLY

Sami079 says:
I put mine loosely in two damp paper towels and it worked, too. :D

Oct 3, 2010. 5:57 PM REPLY

Sami079 says:
This is a great recipe! I got it right my first try!! Very fun and easy Instructable! :D

Oct 3, 2010. 1:49 PM REPLY

s.cloud82 says:

Sep 20, 2010. 9:27 PM REPLY instant noodles have too much wax and our liver takes 3days for it to digest. so why not go for the healthy one instead of the fatal thing in the long term? I think im going to make one on my own.i like doing things from scratch.l =)

tendercombo says:
Um...no. http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/noodles.asp

Sep 29, 2010. 9:53 AM REPLY

s.cloud82 says:

Sep 30, 2010. 10:32 AM REPLY phewwww....... thanks for that link, now i can eat noodles i so loved, without worrying. but then again, too much of almost anything is almost always bad. aye? hmmmmmm.... .... . ..maybe with lots a veggies and variety. anyway, thanks for the comment.

bambiko says:
lol i made it and now i got no $$ for meaty things x.x guess ill have a hotgod

Dec 6, 2008. 7:35 AM REPLY

vandal1138 says:

Sep 14, 2009. 1:15 AM REPLY mmmmm hotgod! *I have noticed my string of smart assed remarks to numerous folks on instructables. This is my nature. If i say something smart assed to you, its a manner of endearment. Do not be offended, and if you are, well, deal with it.

k_man93 says:
? this

Mar 19, 2010. 2:42 PM REPLY

vandal1138 says:
what about it?

Sep 20, 2010. 1:43 AM REPLY

W trouble says:
5 times mor delishious than the pakaged junk

Sep 15, 2010. 2:03 PM REPLY

Tombower1989 says:

Aug 30, 2010. 4:01 AM REPLY I love the instructable and used it quite a few times because the maruchan noodles give me a headache, i would love to know how you slice the noodles so thin? Thanks and keep on instructing

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

jakeet559 says:
this is great i made this now im sad becuse nothing will ever tast the same

Aug 25, 2010. 12:30 AM REPLY

Komoto says:
Thank you very much. ^^

Aug 21, 2010. 3:44 PM REPLY

REA says:
might i suggest watching anime while the dough rests? lol

Aug 13, 2010. 10:07 PM REPLY

osgeld says:
instant packet cost 16 cents, and is ready to consume in 3 min, so its kind of a bad comparison

Sep 21, 2008. 8:48 PM REPLY

elxia says:
where the hell are you gettin ramen 16 cent?you need to hook me with that store

May 22, 2010. 9:50 PM REPLY

REA says:
when K mart was here, they sold it 10 cents each. we used to buy them by the shipping box full.

Aug 13, 2010. 10:04 PM REPLY

superMacaroni says:
I've seen it at wal-mart.

Jun 19, 2010. 11:05 PM REPLY

speeddemon92 says:

Jun 10, 2010. 2:38 PM REPLY i don't know where you're from but here in the usa they're 15 -20 cents a pack..... btw neryam, good instructable i think ima go makes some now....

elxia says:
Im from usa ...mabye its because i get mine from post

Jun 10, 2010. 3:31 PM REPLY

speeddemon92 says:
when i get mine i either get a 12 pack from walmart for $2 or a 6 pack from dollar general for $1

Jun 10, 2010. 4:14 PM REPLY

toaster769 says:
you can get the better versions of the instant packets that would be better to compare at .99 to $1.49. BUT the time is still a huge difference. still though its nice to see how its done from scratch.

Feb 14, 2010. 9:13 PM REPLY

lilgamoma says:
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! :)

Aug 10, 2010. 2:31 PM REPLY

momopeach12 says:
how is yours so thin?

Jun 15, 2010. 7:10 PM REPLY

VesnaVK says:

Jul 22, 2010. 8:43 AM REPLY @momopeach12, I don't know how neryam did it but if you have a pasta roller you can use the fine-noodle cutting attachment. That makes it even and easy. I have a heavy-duty steel hand-cranked one built like a tank. I don't use it often but it's worth the pantry space because it is SO much fun when I do.

kira infinity says:

How many servings does this make?

Jul 19, 2010. 10:33 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-REAL-Japanese-ramen-from-scratch/

tinuviel949 says:

Jun 28, 2010. 7:25 PM REPLY Read the ingredients on the 16 cent noodles, & when u get to the part where it says monosodium glutamate-take the time to look it up-its listed #4 on my fave extra spicy korean ramen. Many grateful thanks for this!

code-of-conduct says:
I really like this im gonna make it right now

May 11, 2010. 3:31 PM REPLY

oddzerozero says:
i will add my recipe for chashumen, and i think i will reference these noodles! thanks.

Apr 30, 2010. 3:38 AM REPLY

xboxmods says:

Apr 28, 2010. 10:32 AM REPLY I just tried making this and it tasted okay. The noodles were a little thicker than I wanted them, but that was my own fault. Also, the noodles had a kind of strong taste, could this be because I forgot to salt the water halfway through?

Bokiniki says:
Your Ramen is delicious.

Apr 27, 2010. 3:13 PM REPLY

jonsathan1 says:
dude, that is the best ramen ever! And it is so simple, I did it perfect on my first try! THANKS!

Apr 24, 2010. 10:17 AM REPLY

gamaster says:
how long can the ramen noodles go without being cooked

Apr 12, 2010. 11:46 AM REPLY

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