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The word ramen is a Japanese adaptation of the Chinese word 拉麵 (lāmiàn), which means pulled noodles. These noodles get their distinctively chewy texture from being made with alkaline water (kansui), wheat flour, and salt. The Japanese noodles are ubiquitous in Japan and have amassed popularity worldwide for the comforting bowls of savory broth they’re often served in. Here, we have traditional tonkotsu and shoyu ramen recipes, plus riffs on ramen and soups incorporating the beloved noodles, both homemade and instant, to bring one of our favorite Japanese comfort foods to your table.
Breakfast Ramen
Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Jasmine Smith / Prop Styling by Tucker Vines
Recipe developer Jasmine Smith matches American favorites like bacon, egg, and cheese with instant ramen for this cosy, warm 20-minute noodle dish to start the day,
Easy Soy Sauce Ramen
Jeni Afuso
Ria McClenny, a cookbook author food video producer who was born in Japan, uses pantry ingredients for the broth for this quick and easy yet restaurant-worthy version of ramen. Made with chicken broth and clam juice, it’s ready in 25 minutes.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Cookbook author Hugh Amano adapts this comforting, incredibly delicious recipe from his book Let’s Make Ramen! to streamline it for the home cook. The shoyu tare brings depth. Sourcing the best ingredients will make this dish worth taking a couple of days to prepare all the components — make this your next long weekend project.
Mapo Tofu- and Wok-Style-Inspired Ramen
Ramen enthusiast chef Josh Reisner combines Japanese ramen with the spicy tongue-numbing Sichuan dish, mapo tofu. It’s made with homemade chicken stock, tofu, and chile oil.
Chicken Adobo-Inspired Ramen
Chef Josh Reisner takes inspiration from Filipino adobo for this recipe, infusing ramen broth with braising sauce and topping the bowl with grilled corn and a chicken thigh.
Collard Greens Ramen
Southern cuisine expert, chef, and cookbook author Todd Richards makes his take on ramen by cooking down an intense potlikker with collard greens and bourbon, and incorporating the savory, chile-laced Japanese spice blend, shichimi togarashi, to each bowl.
Miso-Tofu Hot Pot with Ramen
Mary-Frances Heck and F&W’s Paige Grandjean developed this soothing hot pot with cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, and tofu in an umami-rich broth of miso, shiitake dashi, and soy sauce. Soak it up with chewy ramen noodles for a comforting meal.
Shoyu Ramen
Grace Parisi researched ramen at New York City restaurants to develop her ideal version with a pork-and-chicken-based broth that gets extra depth of flavor from kombu (seaweed) and shoyu (Japanese soy sauce).
Miso Chicken Ramen
Justin Chapple makes this version with chicken stock and shredded cooked chicken, plus white miso and runny eggs, in a half hour.
Ramped Up Ramen
Recipe developer Paige McCurdy-Flynn upgrades instant ramen with egg, cabbage, ham, and scallions in this 10-minute recipe.
Hot and Sour Soup with Ramen
Food blogger and cookbook author Molly Yeh riffs on Chinese hot and sour soup with dried ramen noodles for added texture in 45 minutes.
Easy Chicken Ramen Soup
Cookbook author, food editor, and farmer Ian Knauer simplifies a warming chicken soup with rotisserie chicken and quick-cooking ramen noodles.
Chicken, Broccoli Ramen Noodle Soup
This vegetable-packed bowl of ramen from Ian Knauer can satisfy your dinner cravings in 45 minutes.