Has anyone made a legit bowl of ramen with success? I was in Japan for 3 years and I'm craving it like mad. There are ramen shops near me in Toronto but it's crazy expensive, and I'd be better off trying to perfect my own.
Any tips, recipes, or information I could use?
Last night I made regular miso ramen and it turned out "okay", but nothing like what I'm used to in Japan. I know at most ramen restaurants they cook the broth for at least 12 hours. I wonder if simmering the soup stock all day will add to the flavor? I left mine simmering for about 1 hour.
(pic unrelated, this is legit ramen)
>>7873350
Unless you're making it for a group and your time is worthless you'll end up spending more trying to make it at home. But if you're ok with that seriouseats has a decent recipe
Everything you need for the soup you can get in the west, so that part is not a problem. The question is how legit you want to go with the noodles. Kansui usually can't be bought, but you can just make it with baking soda and water. It's still however a tedious process that gets tiring (at least for me), fast. Boiling cappelini in baking soda added water is a working replacement for hakata-style thin noodles, but it's harder to find easy hacks for the thicker kinds.
>>7873350
Try shitting in a cup and boiling it, youll have the same experience as making homemade ramen
>>7873356
I usually make it for 3. Sometimes 4.
>>7873363
I bought a pasta maker and I'm grabing Kansui tomorrow so I can alkalize the noodles. At the moment I just boil preprepared noodles, i'm more focused on getting the broth and toppings correct. Then I'll worry about perfecting homemade noodles.
FYI this is the recipe I followed: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pIdGMX65qM
(I'm missing white pepper but I followed everything else exactly)
>>7873350
5 years in Japan, now ststeside. Japanese wife works at a Ramen shop. I've made tonkotsu Ramen a few times. It's time consuming, expensive (for just 2 people), and never as good. It's better just to find a place; even if it's sub-par, it's probably better than homemade.
>>7873385
Tonkotsu sounds like a pain in the ass because aren't you boiling a shit ton of pork bones and stuff?
Also let me know if your wife has any links to legit japanese recipes for ramen. Most of the ones I find are written by huwhitu piggus.
I should add that while there are Japanese ramen shops in my city, they are all about a 40 minute drive away from my house, one way. So eating at a legit Japanese ramen shop happens 2 or 3 times a year for me.
Including tip, I paid 17 dollars for a bowl of ramen. Not something I'd want to do regularly.
>>7873391
Yup... tonkotsu is hours of boiling bones. But, it's also the best Ramen (in my opinion).
I asked her to steal the recipes, but she hasn't been told the soup formula yet.
Pic is my favorite, tsukemen from Menmaru in Chiba.
>>7873350
Making ramen is not hard, it just takes a full day to do everything if you want good results.
>>7873350
Judging from recipes, the ingredients are easy enough to acquire, but you'll need a lot of patience. I spent an entire day (8 or 10 hours, I forget) simmering the stock. The end result was almost-clear water that tasted like pork had been dipped in it once. I ended up just adding so much sesame oil to taste that I was basically working with boiled water. Don't forget that Japanese restaurants use pots that have been well-seasoned from hours and hours of broth-making for years, something that your clean kitchen tools can't replicate, either.
>>7873409
>I asked her to steal the recipes, but she hasn't been told the soup formula yet.
If you ever find out, please email me. ( vovine at gmail dot com )
>>7873426
Pork bones take longer time and usually more preparation (roasting, cleaning, breaking and exposing marrow). Chicken stock is a lot easier.
>>7873426
The soup broth I make contains ground pork, does that make a difference regarding how long I can simmer it for?
>>7873432
Nah dude, in the video you linked the process of making the broth wasn't shown. What was shown is essentially the making of tare (which is the second component to the soup, the part which adds mainly salt and finishing flavors). You still need a stock, and unless you can find unseasoned stock (because western spiced stocks doesn't work well with ramen), you have to make it yourself.
>>7873350
Depends how you define "legit", but I did the momofuku recipe for a party and it was a smash
http://luckypeach.com/recipes/momofuku-ramen-2-0/
>>7873350
Whats your stock consist of and what are you trying to make?
The only feasible way to make something like Tonkotsu is with a pressure cooker because you need an extremely powerful flame to get the right flavor otherwise. But chicken based soups are easy, you only need about 5-7 hours of simmering.
I work at a ramen shop so feel free to ask me whatever.
>>7873452
>I work at a ramen shop so feel free to ask me whatever.
The recipe I follow (for miso ramen) just calls for regular chicken stock so maybe that's my problem.
Do you happen to know any good recipes for Miso? I'll probably never try Tonkatsu because it's too difficult.
I'd also love to make Karaka Men from Ippudo but I have no idea where to find that recipe.
>>7873391
I did it at home with spare bones i saved from meals, butchering bulk, and whole chicken carcasses after being picked
Didnt have miso or shoyu or wtv but threw my lamb shoulder, chicken back and thigh, and beef leg bones in my slow cooker with carmelized onions and garlic, oyster and fish sauce, turmeric, soy sauce, a dash of vinegar, and let it reduce till thick
Wasnt real ramen but basically umami/msg flavors make it or break it, as well as that gelatin mouthfeel from boiling off fat and bones and etc. a pho broth can be light but ramen has to be silky. Just served mine with chow mein noodles, raw radish, green onions, and a poached egg
Its just an easy one pot stock my dude, sounds hard if youve never done one haha
>>7873480
It will taste much better if you make your own, obviously. What you are likely missing is an umami component like Kombu or Bonito in the stock if you're just using store bought.
Flavorings and seasoning for ramen are generally added just as it is being served as well. Did you simmer the broth for an hour with the miso in it? That may also be an issue.
Tonkotsu isn't really too hard. It's just you need time and power, which a pressure cooker can theoretically provide(though I've not tried it personally my chef has told me some use them in japan). Once you get a clean broth the only thing that matters after that is the tare.
Unfortunately I do not have a miso recipe that I am able to share with you. It would help if you showed me the one you are trying to cook though - I might be able to recommend adjustments.
>>7873532
>It will taste much better if you make your own, obviously. What you are likely missing is an umami component like Kombu or Bonito in the stock if you're just using store bought.
I have bonito powder I could use to add to my chicken stock. Better than nothing I guess.
>Did you simmer the broth for an hour with the miso in it?
Yes because those were the recipe instructions. Again, I really need to find a better recipe.
>It would help if you showed me the one you are trying to cook though - I might be able to recommend adjustments.
http://www.justonecookbook.com/homemade-chashu-miso-ramen
>>7873555
>1 inch of ginger
please tell me this is just some weird lapse in thinking on her part
>>7873589
It looks like she cut way more than that.
>>7873350
>legit
The word that you are looking for is 'legitimate," you fucking faggot.
This is where I used to get my miso ramen every week. Absolutely the BEST miso ramen i've ever had and I wish I knew someone who works there.
http://tetsuya-noodles.com/menu.php
>>7873680
Looks good but this place has the best ramen I've had in the country
http://www.menshou-taketora.com/
how do I make tonkotsu broth? Do I hammer some pork bones and simmer the fuck out of it till it turns white?
And can I use a pressure cooker to do that?
>>7873780
Pork femur and/or pork ribs with some meat still attached, maybe some backfat
Boil bones in water and remove scum from the top until the foam is white. Drain and wash clean.
Cook in pressure cooker with some onion and garlic for 2 hours or so. You should have a decent Tonkotsu after, albeit not restaurant quality.
Keep in mind however, this is just the broth. You still need to make Tare, which is the seasoning base.
I've only lived in Japan for three years now, but Ippudo is pretty generic tonkotsu, and definitely not worth the hour long wait tourists suffer through.
You really should make it back over here and check tabelog for more interesting places.
This might be a stupid question, but if a big part of making a good ramen broth is boiling bone, do you think a butcher shop would give away pork bones that they don't need anymore?
>>7873350
Glad there was a ramen thread.
I made some ramen tonight. Beef flavor with hot sauce and shredded cheese. What I wanted to ask though was what are some cool/innovative ramen dishes?
https://washoku.guide/recipe/1693848
What do you think of this recipe?
For the broth, it calls for half soy milk, half water, and a touch a chicken powder broth. I was thinking of doing the same but replacing chicken powder with dashi powder.
>>7873350
made the tonkotsu from seriouseats with great success, chashu pork and marinated eggs were bomb.
I think the secret to tonkotsu is the heavy boil with open lid, in a pressure cooker youll get very weak results as with most other broths
>>7873947
Prison recipes, desu. They're almost all based on ramen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsk12Qqtw0s
This is an interesting way of making miso ramen. Except you'd have to eyeball the portions as it's not listed.
Also, where do you find pork fat just on its own?
>7873350
I found this blog that's been really helpful. It explains making the broth, the tare, the umami components, topping, and some science background on the components of ramen.
http://www.ramenchemistry.com/blog/2015/1/11/ramen-1011
>>7874478
>Except you'd have to eyeball the portions as it's not listed.
That's no big deal. You'd have to taste and adjust the portions anyway as ingredients vary in flavor.
>>pork fat on its own
Just ask the butcher.
You can also buy lard at just about any supermarket.
>>7873954
Just go on cookpad or google and search for 味噌 ラーメン 作り方. Looking at English sites you're most like already starting from a recipe with shit tons of substitutes
Stocks gotta simmer for hours and hours my friend, 8 at the minimum. Don't know anything about Ramen so that's the end of my road. Have a good day and best of luck with your recipes!
>>7874890
Depends on the stock. Cook fish or chicken stock for that long and you're cooking out a lot of the flavor. Beef or tonkotsu? Yeah, that needs that long, if not longer.
>>7874894
Yeah, you're right. I was under the impression he'd be making Beef stock. As I said I have no idea about Ramen, I just wanted to help. Sorry!
How about takeoka ramen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPka6Zx-8rA
>>7874980
>This is the best southern Chiba has to offer
Fucking pathetic really.
>>7874760
>http://www.ramenchemistry.com/blog/2015/1/11/ramen-1011
Excellent link, thanks.
>>7874986
Yea that light broth looks like some Chinese Ramen chain no taste but salt shit
Is boiling a bunch of pork and chicken bones to make broth only really worth it for restaurant-level quantities?
I usually make for 4 people and getting a whole bunch of pork and chicken just for broth sounds expensive.
ITT nobody has ever heard of piling up stock for future use.
Get a huge ass fucking pot, a buttload of bones, a good vacuum pump (or a big freezer if you don't want to be fancy) and a fuckton of glass jars and you are set for months on end. When you have a day off make as many portions as you can by properly boiling the stock for 16-24 hours, that's what I do during winter once or twice (it does take up a whole day or two tho) and I am set for fast and fucking tasty soups. With proper sealing/sterilized jars they can last as long as half a year, maybe more but I haven't tried it myself.
I don't know much about ramen (having never tasted it) but I do know that the basic structure is broth-noodles-toppings, by conserving stock this way you take out one of those three parts and also what I imagine is the most time consuming part of whole dealio.
>>7875225
hm? you said it yourself - bones
bones and carcasses are fucking cheap, when i make a huge pot of broth i dont even put 5 $ worth of stuff in it
>>7875225
It's certainly worth it. Good stock is amazingly important, not just for ramen, but for all sorts of things you might make in the kitchen: any kind of soup, stew, many sauces, etc.
Like the others have said it's very cheap to make. If you save scraps in the freezer you can probably do it for free, but even if you go out to buy stuff to make stock it's very cheap.
It's also very easy to make it in large batches, then portion it up and freeze it for later use. That way whenever you need some stock you can just grab a container out of the freezer and go.
>>7875225
Just save the bones from your meals in the freezer. The freezing and boiling process is going to kill off anything anyway
I added 1 tsp of hondashi powder to my ramen soup and it came out WAY TOO SALTY. Should have never tried that.
No bully but any advice on a vegetarian ramen base? (I'm not veggie just want it to add to list of things to make veggie friends)
>>7875970
Maybe try using a vegtable stock and add some dashi using kombu for an umami component?
>>7876449
definitely this
black garlic oil will definitely go well in a good veggie base (also maybe do a miso/shio broth for more traditional ramen stock)
It's all in the preparation. Making an actual bowl of ramen doesn't take too long after the ingredients are prepared. Making good noodles is the hardest part. In the past, I've saved bones and scraps for making good broth, but ultimately it just takes too long to make a restaurant-quality bowl for yourself.
>>7873350
Kinton is good. It's not expensive if you don't order a bunch of extras and booze with it.
Always amazed by the number of fellow GTAers on 4chan
>>7873880
>give away
No. Sell cheap? yes
You can get fucking good ramen in Vancouver for $8 - $9
What's the ramen scene like in Toronto? I'm going there this weekend. What are the best ramen places in Toronto?
>>7876624
>What's the ramen scene like in Toronto? I'm going there this weekend. What are the best ramen places in Toronto?
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka. It's like 1 block east of Dundas square, a big brick building.
>>7873954
>soy milk
Is this a joke?
>>7876624
Hakata Shoryuken. Walk north up Yonge street from North York Centre subway station until you see their sign. Don't be tempted by Kinton and Ajisen ramen on the way, they're both good if you enjoy ramen, however Shoryuken's quality is much better.
>>7876624
Hello fellow fag
found any good hole in the wall shops?
I've already had the top 3
ramen butcher's preddy gud as well
>>7877419
I've been to at least a dozen ramen places in Van and nothing touches the Shio ramen at G-men in Richmond. There's usually a line but it's so worth it
There's also a secret hole in the wall place that not many ppl know about that's quite good. I forget what it's called but it's on the 2nd floor of the Robson market, on Robson and Cadero I think
>>7877018
Are you saying it shouldn't go in the recipe or have you really never heard of soy milk
>>7873350
It's a huge pain in the ass and will NEVER turn out as good as you hoped. Don't bother
>>7873576
No GOOD ramen restaurant will ever do this.
>>7873710
>http://www.menshou-taketora.com/
Did you go to one of the Kabukicho shops? It's good there, but there's better ramen not even 5 minutes walk away.
>>7873857
It's the same with Ichiran, although Ichiran is even worse.
>>7873350
If you live in Toronto and can't find a good place, you're doing it wrong. If you're also expecting McDonald's prices for a bowl, you're doing it wrong. The average prices for really good ramen in Toronto is between $12 - $19 and if thats too expensive for you, find some other food to be addicted to.
If you're one of those weebs who want an authentic"ramen experience" go the fuck to Japan.
>>7873350
You're going to have to choose between cost and quality m8.
>>7873576
Quit ruining their weeb fantasies of 1000 times boiled bone stock.
>>7878128
What are the best ramen places in Toronto? Going there tomorrow for the weekend
