Summary: Ramen with a broth made from pork bones and vegetables, finished with soy sauce and miso paste. Pork belly is braised in seasoned liquid and sliced thinly. Eggs are cooked so the yolk stays soft, then marinated in the same sauce as the meat. Noodles are cooked separately and added to the bowl only when serving. Total time 145 minutes, makes 6 portions.
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Category: soups, japanese-cuisine
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Quick overview
- Dish: Ramen – a noodle soup with a rich broth, meat, egg, vegetables and other typical toppings
- Category: soups, japanese-cuisine
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Main ingredient: Pork belly, 900 g (in one piece, skin on) (quality specification)
- Guide: 12 most famous Japanese dishes: traditional recipes from Japanese cuisine
- Total time: 145 minutes (30 min preparation + 115 min cooking)
- Difficulty: Medium
- Servings: 6 (Portion weight: 640 g)
- Key technique: Two-stage broth from bones and vegetables, and eggs cooked to a soft-set yolk in a precisely timed boil
- Cooking methods: Boiling, braising
- Dietary info & allergens: gluten (wheat noodles, soy sauce), egg (egg, noodles), soy (soy sauce, miso), fish (dashi)
- Suitable for: A filling lunch on a cold day, weekend cooking for six, a family dinner, a meal after a day in the hills, a home version of the street soup from Osaka.
- Nutrition (per 1 portion): 855, Protein: 41.0 g, Fat: 45.5 g, Carbohydrates: 72.0 g
- Storage: 3 days in the fridge, 2 months in the freezer
- Pairing: Japanese pale lager, dry rosé, cold mugi barley tea
- In short: Ramen with a broth made from pork bones and vegetables, finished with soy sauce and miso paste. Total time 145 minutes, serves 6.
WAGUU says:“”Broth and noodles are cooked separately. When you drop the noodles into the broth, the starch clouds it and you lose the flavour you spent two hours building.””
Key facts
| Preparation time: | 30 |
| Cooking time: | 115 |
| Temperature: | Broth 90–95 °C, pork belly braised at 95 °C, eggs boiled in rolling water for 6.5 minutes |
| Servings: | 6 |
In a nutshell
Ramen stands on two things: a broth cooked slowly from bones and vegetables, and noodles cooked separately and served straight away. Starch from the noodles clouds the broth and changes its flavour, so the two are combined only in the bowl. The pork belly is seared first and then braised in seasoned liquid, so it holds its shape and doesn’t fall apart when sliced. The eggs are boiled for a precisely measured time and cooled immediately, otherwise the yolk sets to a greenish grey.
Ingredients
Base servings: 6 portions • Portion weight: 640 g
| Ingredient | Amount | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| pork belly | 900 g | in one piece, skin on, evenly marbled |
| pork bones | 1200 g | joint and back bones, trimmed of meat scraps |
| water for the broth | 3000 ml | soft, cold |
| ramen noodles | 720 g | wheat, medium thickness, 6 portions |
| eggs | 6 pcs | fresh, room temperature, size M |
| onion | 2 pcs | medium, yellow |
| carrot | 2 pcs | medium, firm |
| fresh ginger | 40 g | plump juicy root |
| garlic | 4 cloves | fresh, firm |
| spring onions | 6 pcs | fresh, with firm stalks |
| miso paste | 40 g | red, fermented, with no added colourings |
| soy sauce | 40 ml | naturally fermented |
| mirin | 40 ml | sweet rice cooking wine |
| fine sea salt | 4 g | for the broth |
| sesame oil | 15 ml | toasted, dark |
| nori sheets | 3 pcs | toasted, to garnish |
Why you’ll love this recipe
- A broth with body: Bones and vegetables simmer gently until the broth gains fullness. No stock cubes, the flavour comes from the bones and vegetables.
- Eggs with a soft yolk: A precisely measured time and immediate cooling decide whether the yolk stays creamy. The eggs marinate in the same sauce as the meat.
- Exact ratios for 6 portions: Nine hundred grams of pork belly, six portions of noodles and a broth topped up as needed. Everything recalculates with the number of diners.
Success guaranteed: The bone broth simmers gently, not at a rolling boil. At a rolling boil, fat and proteins disperse into the liquid, the broth turns milky and loses its clean flavour. Collagen from the bones and connective tissue converts to gelatine at around 90 °C, which gives the broth its fullness on the tongue. Soy sauce goes in only at the end: long cooking loses its fresh saltiness and leaves a flat taste. Miso paste is never boiled in hot broth, because high heat suppresses the aromatic compounds created by fermentation. The eggs are boiled for a precisely measured time, because the yolk protein sets between 65 and 70 °C. If the egg stays in hot water or isn’t cooled, the heat reaches the centre and the yolk sets firm.
Recipe overview
Preparation: 30 min min | Cooking: 115 min min | Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 6 | Type: Main course | Origin: Japanese
Detailed method
Overall progress: 6 % done
Stage 1: Preparing the base – 15 min
Equipment: none
1. Rinse the pork bones under cold water and put them in a large pan. Cover with cold water, set the pan over medium heat and bring to the boil. As soon as foam starts to form on the surface, pour off the water and rinse the bones – this removes cloudiness and odours.
2. Halve the onion and char the cut face in a dry frying pan until dark brown. Cut the carrot into thick rounds, slice the ginger thinly and lightly crush the garlic with the flat of a knife. Set everything next to the prepared bones.
QC: The bones are clean, with no traces of blood, and the water runs clear after rinsing. The cut faces of the onion are dark brown to black, but the onion isn’t burnt.
Before you move to the next step:
Do not let the bones boil in the first water. Proteins from the blood and bone marrow coagulate in boiling water and the stock becomes cloudy and smells unpleasant. Drain the water immediately after the first boil.
Stage 2: Simmering the stock – 50 min
Equipment: large pot, hob, slotted spoon
1. Cover the bones with cold water, bring to the boil and immediately reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Let the stock simmer until barely visible bubbles form on the surface. Skim off any foam and fat with a slotted spoon.
2. Add the charred onion, carrot, ginger and garlic and continue to simmer. Do not stir the stock during simmering and do not cover the pot, to keep the temperature below a rolling boil.
VKB: The surface only trembles, it does not boil. The stock is clear, golden brown, with a thin layer of fat on top that you have skimmed off. The aroma is full and clean, without any sharp smell.
Before you move to the next step:
Never bring the stock to a rolling boil. Dispersed fat will create a milky cloudiness that cannot be removed, and the flavour will remain flat.
Stage 3: Braising the pork belly – 20 min
Equipment: deep frying pan, kitchen thermometer
1. Pat the pork belly dry with kitchen paper and place it skin-side down in a hot deep frying pan. Leave it to seal until the skin turns golden brown and releases its fat, then turn the meat and seal the other side.
2. Pour a ladleful of stock into the pan, add the soy sauce and mirin, cover the pan and braise the meat until it is soft to the touch. Remove the cooked meat and leave it to rest on a chopping board, then pour the stock from the pan into the main stock.
VKB: The skin is golden brown and crisp on the surface, the meat yields when pressed with a finger and springs back. When cut on the board, clear juices run out, not pink ones.
Before you move to the next step:
Do not pierce the meat with a fork or press it with a spatula. The juices will run into the pan, the meat will stay dry and the slices will fall apart when carved.
Stage 4: Eggs and garnishes – 12 min
Equipment: saucepan, bowl of iced water, small bowl
1. Let the eggs come to room temperature. Boil them in boiling water for exactly the measured time, then immediately transfer them to iced water and leave to cool. Peel the cooled eggs under running water and cut them in half lengthways.
2. Place the peeled and halved eggs in a bowl and pour over the remaining soy sauce mixed with a little stock. Leave them to marinate while you prepare the noodles. Slice the spring onions diagonally into thin rings and cut the nori into strips.
VKB: The white is firm and holds its shape, the yolk is orange and creamy when cut, not crumbly and not green at the edges. The surface of the eggs is lightly browned after marinating.
Before you move to the next step:
Do not leave the eggs in the drained pan or under a lid after removing them from the heat. The trapped heat will overcook the yolk to hard within a few minutes.
Stage 5: Cooking the noodles – 8 min
Equipment: large pot, colander, tongs
1. Bring a generous amount of water to the boil in a wide pot and add just a little salt. Cook the noodles in a single layer so they do not stick together, and stir them only gently so they do not break.
2. Drain the cooked noodles immediately and rinse them with hot water to remove surface starch. Divide them among warmed bowls and do not leave them standing in water.
VKB: The noodles are springy, offer a slight resistance when bitten and are not raw in the centre. The water after draining is slightly cloudy but not thick.
Before you move to the next step:
Do not rinse the noodles with cold water, they will lose both heat and springiness. Transfer them to hot water immediately and drain them thoroughly, otherwise they will dilute the stock in the bowl.
Stage 6: Assembling and serving – 10 min
Equipment: warmed bowls, ladle
1. Put the miso paste into a ladle, add a little stock and mix the paste in the ladle. Return the mixture to the pot and take the pot off the heat. Do not boil the stock again.
2. Slice the pork belly thinly against the grain. Place slices of meat, half an egg, spring onion rings and nori strips on top of the noodles in each bowl. Pour the stock down the side of the bowl and finish with a few drops of sesame oil.
VKB: The stock is clear and glossy, with a thin layer of fat shimmering on the surface. The noodles hold their shape and do not float apart. The meat does not fall apart when lifted with chopsticks, the egg holds together.
Required equipment
| Utensil | Ideal size | Alternative | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| large pot | 6 l capacity, thick base | two smaller pots and combine the stock | a small pot cannot hold the temperature and the stock will boil vigorously during simmering |
| kitchen thermometer | probe type, up to 200 °C | check by the trembling of the surface and the size of the bubbles | without measuring, the stock is easily brought to a rolling boil |
| slotted spoon | perforated, with fine holes | small sieve | skimming fat with an ordinary spoon disturbs the surface and the cloudiness returns |
| egg saucepan | 2 l capacity, wider base | deeper pan with a lid | a tight saucepan will crush the eggs and the shells will crack |
| colander | fine mesh, with a handle | sink sieve | a coarse colander will tear the noodles and they will fall apart in the bowl |
Shopping list
Nutritional profile
Values per 1 serving (without side dish). Calculated from average nutritional values of ingredients.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 serving | Per 6 servings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 561 kJ / 134 kcal | 3577 kJ / 855 kcal | 21464 kJ / 5130 kcal |
| Fat | 7.1 g | 45.5 g | 273.0 g |
| of which saturates | 2.5 g | 15.8 g | 94.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 11.2 g | 72.0 g | 432.0 g |
| of which sugars | 1.0 g | 6.4 g | 38.4 g |
| Protein | 6.4 g | 41.0 g | 246.0 g |
| Salt | 0.4 g | 2.8 g | 16.8 g |
Reference intake of an average adult (8400 kJ / 2000 kcal).
WAGUU Professional level
- Pro standard: Verified recipe with precise ratios and visual checkpoints.
- Tip 1: Verified recipe with precise ratios and visual checkpoints.
- Tip 2: Never bring the stock to a rolling boil. Keep the thermometer between 90 and 95 °C; above this threshold the fat disperses into the liquid and the stock becomes milky.
- Tip 3: Transfer the eggs to iced water immediately after removing them from the pan. The heat in the shell continues even after taking them off the heat, and that is why the yolk often overcooks to hard.
- Tip 4: Cook the noodles in plenty of water and season with only a little salt. The starch that remains in the water will not get into the stock, so it stays clear.
The Science Behind It
The broth gets its body from collagen. Connective tissue and bones contain collagen, which turns into gelatine at around 90°C. Gelatine binds with water and creates a full, slightly sticky mouthfeel. A rolling boil disperses fat into tiny droplets that reflect light and make the broth cloudy. Flavour also develops through reactions between amino acids and sugars during a long, gentle simmer, creating aromatic compounds. Soy sauce is a fermented mixture in which aroma develops over a long fermentation. During boiling these compounds evaporate and the saltiness remains without aroma, so soy sauce and miso are added at the end. Miso paste is also thick and can easily catch on the bottom of the pan when added to boiling liquid, where the temperature exceeds boiling point. With eggs, timing is everything: the white sets at 62–65°C, the yolk between 65 and 70°C. That’s why eggs are cooked briefly and cooled immediately – the heat stored in the shell would otherwise carry the yolk to a hard set.
Fine Dining – Professional Techniques
- Plating composition: Warm the bowl with hot water, pour it out, and only then start assembling. Put the noodles at the bottom, place the meat and egg on top, and pour the broth around the edge of the bowl.
- Texture contrasts: Alongside the soft pork belly, add a few slices of pickled bamboo shoot cut into thin strips. The crunchy addition provides contrast against the soft meat and noodles.
- Temperature contrast: Serve the egg halved cut-side up so the soft yolk is visible. The hot broth gently warms the yolk and its flavour melds with the broth.
- Aromatic additions: Finish with a teaspoon of aromatic oil made from toasted sesame. The aroma is released by the heat of the broth and rises to the nose before the first bite.
Sensory Radar
- Appearance: Clear, golden-brown broth with a thin layer of fat on the surface. Light yellow noodles, coiled at the bottom. Slices of pork belly with a pink edge, egg with white and orange yolk in cross-section, green spring onion on top.
- Aroma: Deep aroma of simmered bones and soy sauce, followed by the fresh scent of spring onion and a hint of toasted sesame.
- Taste: Salty, full-bodied broth, gentle sweetness from mirin, then the flavour of pork. The egg yolk softens and rounds out the taste.
- Texture: Springy noodles that offer a brief resistance when bitten. Tender meat that falls into shreds. Creamy yolk, firm white. Crunchy spring onion.
Pairings
- Japanese pale lager: The carbonation and gentle bitterness cut through the fat of the pork belly. Serve chilled at 6–8°C.
- Dry rosé wine: A lighter rosé with higher acidity pairs with the saltiness of soy sauce and balances the flavour.
- Cold barley tea (mugi-cha): The roasted flavour without sweetness cleanses the palate between bites. A non-alcoholic option for spicy chilli oil.
Variations
- Miso ramen:: The broth base stays the same, but replace the soy sauce with a larger amount of miso paste mixed in off the heat. The soup has a thicker body and a sweeter taste.
- Chicken ramen:: Replace the pork belly with boneless chicken thigh and cook for a shorter time. Make the broth from chicken bones; it will be lighter and paler.
Allergens and Dietary Information
Contains: gluten (wheat noodles, soy sauce), egg (egg, noodles), soy (soy sauce, miso), fish (dashi) • Gluten: yes, in wheat noodles and soy sauce • Not suitable for: people with coeliac disease, lactose intolerance, egg, soy, and fish allergies
Suitable for
A hearty lunch on a cold day, weekend cooking for six, a family dinner, a meal after a day in the hills, a home version of Osaka street food.
Substitution Guide
- Mirin:: dry white wine with a teaspoon of sugar. The flavour is sharper and less sweet, but the broth stays balanced.
FAQ
Why are the noodles cooked separately?
Starch from the noodles leaches into the water and would cloud the clear broth. So cook the noodles in a separate pan and add them to the bowl only when assembling.
How long to cook eggs for a soft yolk?
Cook room-temperature eggs in boiling water for a short, precisely timed period, then transfer them immediately to iced water. Cooling stops the cooking and keeps the yolk creamy.
Can I make the broth ahead?
Yes, the broth keeps for three days in the fridge and two months in the freezer. Reheat it to 90°C and stir in the miso paste just before serving, never before boiling.
What can I use instead of mirin?
Dry white wine with a teaspoon of sugar per 100 ml. The flavour will be sharper, but the balance of sweet and salty remains.
Why shouldn’t the broth boil rapidly?
A rapid boil disperses fat into tiny droplets that reflect light, giving the broth a milky cloudiness. The flavour loses clarity and feels flat on the tongue.
How do I slice the meat thinly?
Let the meat cool after braising, preferably in the fridge until slightly firm. Then slice with a long stroke against the grain. Cold meat holds its shape and the slices don’t tear.
WAGUU Petr’s tip: Cooking for 6 or more?
6–8 people: Make the broth in one pot and cook the noodles in two batches so the water doesn’t get too cloudy. Warm the bowls with hot water and pour it out just before assembling. • 10+ people: Choose the chicken version; it cooks in less time and fits in larger quantities in the pot. Serve the noodles in two waves and keep the broth at 90°C.
Sides and Serving
Serving: Serve in a warmed deep bowl with the noodles at the bottom. Ramen is accompanied by pickled ginger, chilli oil, and a small bowl of rice. Eat the noodles as soon as possible; they soften in the broth.
Storage and Reheating
Fridge: 3 days • Freezer: 2 months • Reheating: Fridge: 3 days • Freezer: 2 months • Reheating: Warm the broth to 90°C, always cook the noodles fresh. Reheat the meat and egg in a colander over steam; in a microwave the yolk will harden.
Author: WAGUU Petr & Team • Published: 7 Oct 2026 • Updated: 10 Oct 2026
More recipes from the article
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Takoyaki – round fried batter balls filled with octopus, typical of Osaka
Katsudon – bowl of rice with breaded pork cutlet tonkatsu, egg and onion in a seasoned broth
Gyudon – bowl of rice topped with thin slices of beef and onion simmered in a sweet-savoury sauce
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Most common mistakes
- Broth at a rolling boil – fat disperses into the liquid, the broth becomes milky and tastes flat. Keep the temperature between 90 and 95°C and just let it simmer.
- Soy sauce added at the start – long cooking loses its fresh saltiness and leaves a flat taste. Add it only at the final stage, just before serving.
- Miso paste added to boiling broth – high temperature suppresses the aromatic compounds from fermentation and the soup loses depth. Mix the miso in a ladle of broth and return to the pan off the heat.
- Noodles cooked in advance – noodles go soft, stick together and fall apart in the bowl when served. Cook them just before serving and divide immediately into warmed bowls.