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
Instead of chicken use cooked beef brisket from Whole Foods!
★★★★
I just made this last night and my husband absolutely loved it. He said “you know, some things in life give you a glimpse of heaven, and this ramen is one of them.” 😂 Thank you for a simple, delicious recipe!
Great recipe!
My daughter was sick and she wanted top roman, so I look for simple recipe and found this one .
Unbelievable! its delicious she love it. thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that! Thanks, Carlos! Hope your daughter is feeling better 🙂
I really want to make this. I just made a different ramen recipe and it’s not as tasty as I want it to be: I think I’m using the wrong broth. Can you suggest a good broth for ramen?
Love this! Just sent it to my BF to make with his 8 yo
Yay! Hope they love it 🙂
I just cooked this Ramen and had it and It was DELICIOUS I did make some changes though with boiling the chicken with the broth instead of frying it separate.
Amazing Dish thank you for sharing it with the world
★★★★★
Thanks, Matthew!!
this looks really tasty , we’ll need to try it right away
★★★★
I made this last night and it was AMAZING! I did add the mushrooms, cilantro, jalapeño, bac choy, green onion and some spicy sesame oil, I used the chicken and added beef and shrimp and used bone broth (higher protein). This is sooo delicious, I will be making this again.. and again.. and again! Thank you again for sharing.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Andrea!! Glad you loved the recipe as much as we do 😉 Your additions sound great!
Yolk (not yoke) 🙂
(spelling)
★★★★
It’s Yolk (not yoke)
(Proper way to say your comnent)
It’s Yolk (not yoke)
(Proper way )
And you can’t spell “comment” correctly? LOL Get over yourself, lighten up.
★★★★★
Made this recipe the other week…my husband said it was even better than the Ramen he had in Japan. That being said, I didn’t have my glasses on (refusing to admit I need them) when I made the broth. Instead of tsp measurement, I accidentally measured one half TBSP so garlic, ginger and oil were slight increased. I will make this over and over…sooo good. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Well that is a pretty incredible review! Thank you, Holly! Also, don’t think you can go too wrong with extra garlic and ginger, here… 🙂
Excellent! I used homemade bone broth, rice noodles (GF) + added fresh bok choy at the finish. Super yummy and easy, will make this often! Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks, Alaya!! Love the sound of it with homemade bone broth 😉
This is an amazing recipe! I’ve made this many times to have after going to the gym and I soft boil the egg for just 6 1/2 minutes.
Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Thank you, Nicolas!! So happy to hear that 🙂
This is a great recipe! I even add a bit of rice vinegar and teriyaki sauce to mine. It turns out better every time I make it. Gonna try doing a beef version next time.
Thank you, Iman! A beef version sounds great too 🙂
This is a great recipe! You can change the toppings to anything you like and the broth is super simple! I boiled my chicked in another pot in some broth and shredded it afterwards, but it still turned out great!
★★★★★
…
How do you make a rich chicken broth? Have never seen them in stores? Thanks!
Buy Chicken stock instead of broth (or bone broth, which is essentially the same think as stock)
What do you think is the sodium content of this dish? Just wondering as I love ramen and pho type meals, but I know the sodium level is too much.
Hi Kay, I’m not able to give an exact amount because it’s going to depend on a number of factors: the sodium content of the stock you use, the soy sauce, the ramen noodles, and how you season the chicken and soup base, to taste. If you’re concerned about sodium, I would just make sure all of those elements are low-sodium. Hope that helps! Enjoy!
I just wanted to say THANKS for this recipe. It was seriously delicious. I followed your recipe to the letter with the addition of some Pak Choy. Turned out amazingly delicious. 10/10 will definitely be making this again. 😀
★★★★★
Same here! I’ve been looking for a good recipe for a month! Thank you!!
You soooo undersold this recipe! I’ve been searching for a great ramen recipe and this was my first one I decided to make! Fortunately I don’t have to keep searching! I can’t wait to make again!
★★★★★
I’ve made this twice now and I can’t wait to make it again! The first time, I used normal chicken broth instead of rich stock and while it was still tasty, my broth was a little thinner than I would have liked. This time, I made sure to get thicker stock and it was so worth it!
I now have a go-to winter meal for then the chilly months hit. 5 stars for sure, even though I wasn’t able to rate it. Thanks for sharing!
The rich stock (or even homemade) really does make a difference. So glad you loved this one as much as we do! Thanks, Casey!!