Simple Homemade Chicken Ramen
Easy homemade chicken ramen, with a flavorful broth, roasted chicken, fresh veggies, lots of noodles, and a soft cooked egg. Inspired by traditional Japanese ramen, but on the table in under an hour.
The Honey’s parents are American ex-pats living abroad in Tokyo, Japan, and while visiting them over the last seven or eight years, he’s collected dozens of favorite eateries throughout the city.
There’s the best izakaya in Kichijoji, serving up casual Japanese pub food, and countless kiten-zushi restaurants, where my English-speaking Honey can choose small plates of freshly-made sushi from a moving conveyor belt without having to order in Japanese.
He always makes sure to buy at least one Pocari Sweat from a vending machine (think Japanese gatorade), and of course, there’s his favorite ramen shop in Shinjuku, a tiny, crowded restaurant with a line out the door. Paintings of pigs adorn the walls, and big, steaming bowls of pork ramen are served to hungry patrons at a single bar counter.
what you’ll love about this easy chicken ramen
Real Japanese ramen, the kind that my Honey tells stories about, takes years and great skill to perfect. I wanted to create a simple ramen noodle soup that reminded him of Japan, but could be made quickly, with ingredients on hand.
I opted for chicken instead of pork, but kept the rest of the ramen vibe somewhat traditional: a killer chicken soup base with garlic, ginger, shitake mushrooms and soy sauce, filled with squiggly ramen noodles and slices of succulent chicken, and topped with fresh spring onions and a soft-boiled egg.
My version is on the table in less than an hour – and half that if you opt for store-bought chicken – and while it might not be completely authentic, it’s a flavorful, comforting soup just in time for the unmistakably crisp, chilly autumn weather that these first days of October have ushered in.
Be sure to check out these other weeknight dinner favorites:
- Easy spinach and goat cheese pasta
- Ginger noodle soup with Swiss chard
- Lemony kale and white bean soup
If you make this ramen, be sure to tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #forkknifeswoon and leave a comment and rating below letting me know how you liked it! Star ratings are especially helpful because they help others find my recipes too. xo, Laura
PrintSimple Homemade Chicken Ramen
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 Servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Saute, Pan-Roast,
- Cuisine: Japanese, American
Description
Easy homemade chicken ramen, with a flavorful broth, roasted chicken, fresh veggies, lots of noodles, and a soft cooked egg. Inspired by traditional Japanese ramen, but on the table in under an hour.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skin-on)*
- kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to season
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp sesame or vegetable oil
- 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 4 cups rich chicken stock
- 1 oz dried shitake mushrooms (or 1/2 cup fresh)
- 1–2 tsp sea salt, to taste
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup scallions, sliced
- 2 (3 oz) packs dried ramen noodles
- optional: fresh jalapeño or chili slices, for serving
Instructions
Cook the chicken: ¹
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
- Melt the butter in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown and releases easily from the pan, about 5-7 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until golden.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oven, transfer the chicken to a plate, and cover with foil until ready to serve.
Make the ramen broth:
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the soy sauce and mirin, and stir to combine. Cook for another minute.
- Add the stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Remove the lid, and let simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, then add the dried mushrooms. Simmer gently for another 10 minutes, and season with salt, to taste.
Make the soft-boiled eggs:
- Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs, and bring to a boil. Gently lower the eggs (still cold from the fridge) into the boiling water, and let simmer for 7 minutes (for a slightly-runny yolk) or 8 minutes (for a soft, but set-up yolk).
- Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water. When the timer finishes, transfer the eggs to the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Wait at least 5 minutes, or until cool enough to handle, then carefully peel away the shell and slice in half, lengthwise. Set aside until ready to serve.
Assemble the ramen bowls:
- Meanwhile, chop the scallions and jalapeño (if using). Slice the chicken into thin pieces. Set aside. When the eggs finish cooking, add the ramen noodles to the boiling water.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft, then divide the noodles into two large bowls. Add the sliced chicken and the ramen broth. Top with the fresh scallions, jalapeño, and the soft boiled egg. Serve immediately. Enjoy!!
Notes
¹ Ask your butcher to remove the rib bone from the chicken breasts (leaving the skin on), or use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and increase the oven roasting time 5-10 minutes, as needed. You can also cut your ramen prep time in half by using a store-bought whole rotisserie chicken, simply slice off as much as you wish, and add to the ramen.
Keywords: ramen, chicken ramen, homemade ramen, easy ramen, japanese, soup, dinner, noodle, broth, quick, healthy
Really tasty. I used pre breaded chicken and it worked v well. Went down a treat
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Susie!!
Hi Laura,
This sounds great, and I’m looking forward to trying it. I’m wondering if you’ve tried poaching the chicken in broth instead of roasting it. I would think that would fortify and strengthen the broth. Any thoughts on the trade off of doing it this way?
Thanks
Kevin
Hi, Kevin! That’s not a method I’ve tried for this recipe, but definitely let me know how it goes if you do! Using homemade chicken or veggie stock is definitely ideal, but if you don’t already have some on hand that’s a longer process than I usually spend for this weeknight ramen 🙂 Either way, the broth is very flavorful, and I hope you enjoy it!!
Absolutely love the recipe as is with the chicken but on days where I don’t feel like waiting to thaw out my chicken breasts, I use thin sliced pork belly and it’s just as great!
★★★★★
Thank you, Grace!! Using pork belly sounds amazing!
This was delicious and the recipe easy to follow. The chicken and eggs turned out great! I didn’t have jalapeños but added cilantro as a topping. I used lotus ramen noodles from Costco. Yum!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Mary!!
Made this today for lunch, family loved it! Some ingredients I don’t like, so I used matchstick carrots, and I found Nori in supermarket, so I added that (Seaweed). The eggs cooked perfect, and the chicken was delicious. After browning it, I put Japanese BBQ brand sauce on it before going in to finish in oven. I think this would be cool as a sort of ramen “bar” where you make a large amount of broth, and noodles, keep them hot, then put out all the other ingredients for guests to choose, and customize they’re own bowl. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thank you, Mike!! I love the idea of a ramen bar, that would be super fun 🙂
I made this for my husband tonight and followed the recipe to the letter. He was skeptical of the jalapeno’s at first … he asked for extra on his second bowl. Great recipe, thanks.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Carmen!! So happy you both enjoyed!
Super simple and came out delicious! Substituted bok choi for mushrooms, but otherwise kept it the same. Will definitely make it again!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Marni! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Took less than an hour from start to finish and produced a really lovely flavoured broth. I used shaoxing wine and a large pinch of sugar instead of the mirin.
★★★★★
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Helen! And thank you for the tip about the mirin 🙂
After using many different ramen recipes this is now my go to, I substitute mirin for white miso paste by preference of flavour. Absolutely delightful.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Liam! So happy to hear that 🙂
I want to make this for Friday dinner but can’t find mirin in any grocery store close by but have normal white vinegar and distilled vinegar at home. Which of the two can I substitute for mirin or should i skip the mirin all together?
Hi! So mirin is a rice wine, and it’s sweeter than vinegar. I would probably skip it, as I’m not sure that regular white vinegar would work very well here. Some other options are using rice wine vinegar, sake, or even white wine, with about 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp sugar (to taste), to sweeten them up. It adds some depth of flavor, but you can certainly leave it out. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Laura, we live in a very small town and do not have mirin at our grocery store either. I’ve been making this recipe about once a month for the past year (all 3 of my kids LOVE it!), and I’ve just been using white wine vinegar. It works for us and tastes absolutely delicious!!!
Hi, Jessie!! I’m so happy it’s become a favorite! And also thank you for the tip on the mirin, I know that can be a little trickier than some ingredients to find 🙂