I’d been meaning to attempt homemade ramen for some time now (not Tonkatsu or anything crazy, because boiling pork bones for 6 hours seemed like a big commitment), but I figured your basic (spicy) miso ramen couldn’t be that hard to do…So of course, I bought vegetable broth, noodles, some sort of miso paste and veggies and gave it a shot. Oh dear. Turns out there are *lots* of different types of miso pastes, and if you try to make soup with one that’s best suited for marinading meat, your soup tastes like, well, marinade. Ick.

Back to the drawing board, or rather, internet. Recipes ranged from “one small step above instant ramen” to “make your own noodles”, eventually, I found a few that were in line with what I wanted. My second attempt (pictured above) was based loosely off of this.

First off, let’s talk ingredients. There are a few scary Asian-grocery only items in this recipe. The secret is that they are all either dried or freezable, so you can make one Asian-grocer run, and it will last you for several bowls of ramen. 

Here is a Japanese ingredient primer. Aside from the miso paste and some sort of kelp/seaweed, most are also substitutable/skippable if need be:

• Miso paste: I bought “shiro” which is the lightest variety (and the kind basic miso soups are made with). Other recipes recommend “awase” (reddish in color). My first attempt involved “hatcho miso” which is dark brown and really pungent (not recommended). Either way, you’ll need about 2 tbsp/ramen bowl, and the package you buy will likely be 10 times that size (at least). Freeze the rest, and lop of chunks as needed.
• Dashi base: This is a “seafood broth base” in the form of granules. You mix a small amount of it with boiling water, and it gives it that vaguely seafoody (but not fishy), flavor that is typical to a Japanese dish. I used 1 pkg (1/3 tsp) for one bowl of ramen, but the box I bought contained 10 such packages, keep them sealed in a dry place and they’ll last quite well.
• Kombu (dried kelp): I think you can actually buy dashi base with kombu in it, but I ended up buying them separately. Again, I used a 2″ x 4″ piece, but the package I bought contained several large sheets. I sealed the leftovers in a ziplock bag and stored for future ramen ventures.
• Bonito flakes: These are thinly shaved pieces of smoked dried fish. You can either use them as topping, or in preparing the broth, (I just used them to season), seal the leftovers in a bag and store in the fridge or in a dry place — they should last pretty well (if they start to stick together, they should be pitched though).
• Gochujang: This is Korean fermented red pepper paste, and it’s what puts the spice in spicy miso. I used 2 tsp, but it came in a giant vat, which I froze for future use (also, you could probably use siriacha, or any other instant zing-maker here).

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/4 c ground pork (organic if possible)
• 1 tbsp ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp sake or rice vinegar
• 2c water (a little more if needed)
• 1 piece kombu 2″x 4″
• 1/3 tsp  (1 package) dashi base
• ~5 mushrooms, sliced (fresh or dried — I used dried shitake)
• 2 tbsp miso (shiro or awase)
• 2 tsp gochujang (or other spice-ifier)
• 1/4 c firm tofu (chopped into 1/2 inch cubes), or other meat/meat substitute
• 1 pkg instant ramen (throw out the flavor pouch that comes with it)
• 1 hard boiled egg (optional)
• 1 green onion sliced
• Bonito flakes (to taste)

1. fill a pot with water, add the egg and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and let stand covered 10 min.
2. While the eggs are cooking, heat sesame oil in another pot.
3. Add garlic, ginger and hot paste, saute until fragrant.
4. Add ground pork and saute until no longer pink.
5. Add sake/vinegar, cook for another 30s
6. Add water, dashi base, kombu, and miso and mushrooms and bring to a gentle simmer (not a rolling boil)
7. The eggs should be about done by now, so remove them and set aside.
8. Bring the water the eggs were in back to a boil and add ramen, cook until just done, drain and place in bowl, along with tofu
9. Test broth for seasoning and make sure the mushrooms have softened (if using dried), add miso/spice if needed.
10. Pour broth over noodles, top with chopped green onion, bonito flakes (if using) and peeled and halved hard boiled egg.