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
Have made this a few times and added a tsp of gochugang for a little kick. 🧡
★★★★★
Yum! Thank you, Cindy!!
Loved this recipe. Made it a few times now. It’s my go to recipe.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Christine!!
I love this recipe,, is now one of my favorit3s, i took the butter out, and satte the veggies with cinnamon and sugar to break the rice vinegar(instead of miri). Amazing!!!
Thank you so much, Ilce!!
This was sooooo delicious! I’m no ramen expert, so I can’t say it’s authentic or not, regardless, it’s really good! The only substitution I made was use portobello instead of shiitake mushrooms. There are quite a few steps but nothing too hard. Totally worth it!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Kristi!!
This is a great recipe! My daughter’s and I have made it 5 times in the last 3 weeks! Absolutely delicious.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, MJ! So happy to hear that 🙂
I did it! It was AMAZING! I couldn’t find Shiitake mushrooms where I am, but read that Portobello mushrooms are the best substitute. It was. Great recipe, will do it again
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Sienna!!
I was inspired to try cooking Ramen after watching Come Back Anytime “Self-taught ramen master Masamoto Ueda and his wife Kazuko have run their Tokyo ramen shop, Bizentei for more than 40 years. ” Your recipe is a rally good start! I’ll work on a bit, though.
Oops – sorry, I left off the rating.
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Simon!!
This was my first ramen attempt and although I will refine it a bit for our tastes, it was super yummy and we will definitely be making this again. The noodles I used were called ramen noodles but they were quite thick, more like a wudong and we would prefer a lighter noodle. We also need proper ramen bowls, the ones we had were a bit small so everything was a bit crowded in. But 9/10 for one of the more accessible and easy ramen recipes. Kudos from New Zealand!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Cathy!!
My family can’t get enough of this ramen. It is a family favorite for sure!
★★★★★
Thanks, Sally! So happy to hear that 🙂
This recipe is sooo tasty!! This was my first time making homemade ramen and it’s a staple now.
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Sundari!!
Seriously good recipe. Not authentic, but dynamite non the less.
★★★★★
Thanks, Theresa!!
EXCELLENT. Terrific flavors with depth and nuance. If you like ramen, it’s a must-try recipe.
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks, Kathy!!
Amazing!!! So delicious, the broth was the best part.
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Alexis!!
Love it
★★★★★
Thank you!!
I’ve made this recipe several times and tried a few others. We always come back to this one because it’s just perfect and others do not compare. Question though, do you think beef stock would work with this same recipe?
★★★★★
Hi Michelle! So happy to hear our version is a fave 🙂 I haven’t personally made this recipe using beef stock, but I know some readers have tried it. Beef stock tends to have a stronger flavor which can be overwhelming. You may have to taste/adjust as you’re cooking to make sure everything is balanced. I have used veggie stock and that works well with the original recipe. You can also replace the roasted chicken with beef (I think a flank steak or similar would be great), if you’re looking for more of that flavor without having to change anything else. Enjoy!!
I loved it! I added star annise to it to give the broth some more flavor and it was delicious
★★★★★
Yum! Thanks so much, Derrick!
My family enjoyed it. Thanks!
★★★★★
Thank you, Rico!!
Easy and delicious 😋
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Sam!!
Amazing just made this for fathers day meal as my partner is obsessed with raman. First time ever doing it and he loved it.
I added oyster sauce and just added a bit extra.
So thank you will definatly make it again.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that! Thanks, Emma!!
This was AMAZING! Such a good recipe. I did beef it up a bit….I doubled the garlic, ginger and added the white bottoms of scallions to the saute at the beginning. I also added fresh mushrooms, broccoli and spinach. I used chicken thighs because it’s what I had on hand and they turned out perfectly using this cooking method.
★★★★★
Oh yay! Thanks so much, Briana! The extra veggies sound delish, too 🙂
I use this recipe once a month and its my favorite. I add more spices to my chicken and add extra garlic and ginger to my broth. Its so good.
★★★★★
Oh, I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks so much, Julia!!