This easy Chicken Ramen is made with a few simple ingredients: onions, poached egg, shitake, chicken, and a flavorful broth. The easiest, most flavorful ramen you'll ever try, just like you would find at a restaurant. After trying this elevated ramen recipe, you'll never want to make the basic version ever again!
Unless you've either been to or have lived in Japan, you probably hear the word "ramen" and cringe at the thought of eating a twenty-cent bag of noodles in overly salty chicken broth.
I know that that food doesn't sound all that appealing, but I'm here to tell you that traditional Japanese ramen is an entirely different world than the basic ramen you experienced in college.
🍜 What is ramen?
In Japan, ramen is a traditional food served on almost every street corner. The ramen shops are usually packed with people sitting around a counter slurping up fresh, hot ramen.
Japanese ramen consists of ramen noodles in a broth and is traditionally topped with pork, shitake, onions, egg, bean sprouts, and several other combinations. And for only 700-1000 ¥ ($7-10) for a bowl of ramen, it makes for a pretty inexpensive and delicious meal after a full day of exploring temples and gardens.
🥘 Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: Rotisserie chicken also makes a great replacement for chicken breasts.
- Butter
- Sesame oil: This oil is a popular and staple ingredient in Asian cooking, and it adds a beautiful aroma and savory taste. I highly recommend not skipping this!
- Ginger: Fresh or ground ginger can be used. I used ground for convenience.
- Garlic
- Soy sauce
- Mirin: Mirin is similar to rice wine vinegar, but mirin is sweeter. While the two are similar, they shouldn't be used in place of one another.
- Chicken broth
- Shitake mushrooms
- Eggs
- Green onions
- Ramen noodles
🔪 Instructions
- Melt butter in a frying pan. Add the chicken and cook until golden.
- In a large pot, heat oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Stir in soy sauce and mirin. Add chicken broth, cover, and bring to a rapid boil. Remove the lid and simmer. Add the mushrooms. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
- Boil the eggs.
- Cook the ramen noodles (omit the seasoning). Cook noodles until soft, and divide into two bowls. Add the chicken and broth. Top with green onions, boiled egg, and salt and pepper.
💭 FAQs
Most ramen is served in a steaming, hot broth. This means noodles can overcook and become mushy and cause the broth to be more starchy if they sit too long before eating. When you serve and eat ramen, make sure to eat it as soon as possible for the best quality.
While it's certainly not required, I recommend draining and rinsing the noodles in cold water to stop the cooking process. This can additionally prevent the noodles from getting mushy too fast.
Separate the noodles and the broth before storing them. If you don't separate the two, the noodles will get mushy. Transfer the broth and noodles into separate airtight containers and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days.
It's time to change up your ramen game with this EASY recipe. This is your excuse to finally use that bag of noodles that's been sitting in the cupboard for who knows how long (that stuff never seems to go bad...)
⛩️ More Japanese Recipes
- Pork Tonkatsu
- Steamed Japanese Beef Buns (Nikuman)
- Custard Mochi
- Fluffy Japanese Pancakes
- Japanese Milk Bread
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think! I’d love it if you could add a star rating ★ and a comment below. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!
📋 Recipe
Easy Chicken Ramen
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts cut into strips
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoon mirin
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup fresh shitake mushrooms
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup green onions chopped
- 2 3- ounce packages dried instant ramen noodles seasoning omitted
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for 4-5 more minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Place cooked chicken on a plate and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook for several minutes until fragrant. Stir in soy sauce and mirin. Cook for an additional minute. Add chicken broth, cover, and bring to a rapid boil. Remove the lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover two eggs. Bring to a boil. Place the cold eggs into the boiling water and reduce the heat to a rapid simmer. Cook eggs for 7 minutes for a very runny yolk or 7 minutes for a more set yolk. While eggs are boiling, prepare an ice bath (a bowl of water and ice cubes). After boiling, gently place eggs in the bath. After a minute or two, peel the eggshell and slice the eggs in half, lengthwise. Set aside.
- In the same pan used for the eggs, cook the ramen noodles according to the directions on the package (omit the seasoning). Cook noodles until soft, drain, and rinse to stop the cooking process before dividing them into two bowls. Add the chicken and broth. Top with green onions, boiled egg, and salt and pepper. Enjoy!
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