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
Thank you for this recipe! It tastes amazing and my husband loved it too. Thank you! Pinned it for my frequent future use 🙂
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Naomi!!
never mentioned what to do with the mushrooms…or did i miss it?
★★★★★
Just made this for dinner. My wife loved it! And it looked great too. Thank you for sharing the detailed but simple recipe. This is getting saved in the cookbook for next time too!
Oh, so glad to hear that! Thanks, Kevin!!
This sounds amazing, and I’m adding the ingredients to my shopping trip [tomorrow!]. I have a question, though: What is “rich” chicken broth? I’m something of a novice in the kitchen, and still buy most of my ingredients instead of making them [time, space, and lazy issues]. I’m going to look for something like this at the grocery store tomorrow, but I’d love to understand a bit more here!
Thanks!
Hi Amanda! It’s just meant to be a really flavorful stock/broth, and while homemade is always wonderful, store-bought is also totally fine. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you! Would you recommend sesame oil for the step below?
“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.”
Also, just followed your beautifully precise instructions for soft-boiled eggs, and the came out marvelous!!
You can use sesame oil or vegetable oil (I’ve used olive oil too) or a combination. I find sesame oil can be pretty strong, flavorful wise, so if you’re a fan of it, that’s great, whereas veggie oil is very neutral. It can be much more expensive too, so I would skip it if it’s not an ingredient you regularly cook with. So glad your eggs came out perfect! Love those soft-boiled eggs on top 🙂
Add some fish sauce gives this soup a bit more depth
So I just made this last night And it was freakin Great! Thanks so much for the recipe can’t wait to add some heat to it for a Spicy version!
Thanks, Tyler!
Wonderful, used shrrimp instead of chicken.
★★★★★
Thanks, Jennifer!!
Amazing recipe. my husband and I both love this Ramen soup. It’s low in calorie and rich in nutrients. My husband couldn’t stop praising me after tasting this soup so a special thank to you 🙂
★★★★★
Oh I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks, Renu!!
so so delicious, I make my own stock for hours then follow your recipe, marinaded the eggs too and the chicken in soy and garlic, just yum it’s proper feel good food – on a weekly basis in our house at the mo! thankyou for sharing x
So glad you enjoyed the recipe – It sounds fabulous with your homemade stock and marinated eggs! Thanks, Chelsey!
I’m making it again today!!! 😀
★★★★★
oh, yum!! 🙂
I love the sound of marinated eggs! How do you do this?
Just modified your recipes. It turned out pretty fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Tammy!!
This was stellar I did not have the mushrooms, but made it anyways. I used my own chicken stock and some chicken thighs that I had previously grilled and froze (time saving tip) I also added some partially cooked pot stickers to the final product. (Trader Joe’s Seafood Sriracha Potstickers with Shrimp and Crab) This recipe was fabulous. going to make it again this week and see what else I can come up with. Thank you for your thoughtfulness in putting this together.
★★★★★
All your additions sound fabulous – I’ve never thought to add seafood, but those pot stickers sound amazing, and will definitely have to try those next time I make this! Thanks for your comment, Melanie! Merry Christmas!!
Made it for my for my boyfriend and he loved it! We eat ramen all the time in sf. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks, Ngan! So glad you two enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Hi
Looking forward to trying this !!
Can I freeze the leftover broth and noodles ?
Thank !
You can definitely freeze the broth, but I’m not sure how well the ramen noodles would do with freezing/defrosting (haven’t tried it). It might be better to add those in right before serving. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much for this Raman recipe, best one I could find on the internet, made it for my boyfriend for passing his driving test and it was a real hit! 🙂 <3
I’m so happy to hear that, Sammy! Thanks so much!
Wow, shouldn’t have stumbled here so late at night!
Everything looks so delicious, I love this dish though. Haven’t had any ramen in such a long time.
Must try this.
Erica x
★★★★
Thanks so much, Erica!
I’m a novice at this sort of thing – I’m a baker at heart, and a bad one all the same! But I’m going to be brave and try this recipe.
My only question is about the chicken stock. It says 4 cups – I presume that that is already mixed up, but about how much dry stock would I need for 4 cups?
Yes, the 4 cups is either homemade or packaged liquid stock, if you used some kind of bouillon/powder, you’d need to look on the package to see how much was needed for 4 cups of water. I’m sorry I don’t have a better estimate, but it’s not a product I often use… Hope you enjoy the recipe!!
I’ve made this several times for my family and for dinner parties and each time it is a hit! Nothing like telling your family the night before you are making ramen bowls for dinner the next day! I do admit that I take the cop out and get the store bought hot rotisserie chicken instead of cooking it myself. Thanks for the recipe Laura. Our family is indebted to you!
★★★★★
Thank you, Sammy!! I usually go the rotisserie chicken route myself… it means homemade ramen in half the time!!
I know a recipe is going to be good when my mouth waters while I am reading about it!!! There’s nothing like a hearty bowl of Ramen Noodles right??
★★★★★
it is the best Ramen i have ever had!
Hakubaku organic ramen i got off Amazon its the best!
★★★★★
I made this for myself and a friend after a massive party. It’s simple enough that I could cook it while hungover, and even better, a few bites into this miracle soup and we were fresh as babies, hangovers cured, and planning the next party.
This recipe rocks, thanks!
★★★★★
Absolutely delicious! My 6 and 3 year old boys loved it too!!!