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Chicken Ramen

Updated: 05.05.25 | Marc Matsumoto | 133 Comments

4.25 from 4 votes
If you're craving the thick creamy broth of Tonkotsu ramen, but don't eat pork, this chicken alternative is just as rich and delicious.
Recipe

Since posting my recipe for Tonkotsu ramen years ago, I've been getting requests to make a non-pork version of the rich collagen-laden broth. Well... here it is finally!

Tori Ramen (鳥ラーメン) is nothing new. People have been using chicken stock to make ramen since the early days of ramen's popularity in Japan. Sadly, it just doesn't get as much respect as its unctuous porcine cousin. It probably has to do with the fact that chicken contains a lot less marrow fat than pork, so it's almost impossible to get the same richness in the soup. That's why chicken stock is often used in lighter styles of ramen such as shoyu (soy sauce) or shio (salt)

But getting a rich stock isn't totally impossible. What chicken lacks in fat, it makes up for in collagen, especially in the joint areas and skin. Because chicken wingtips have a high ratio of cartilage and skin to meat and bone, they're perfect for getting a rich sticky broth.

If you're looking for an exact replica of Tonkotsu ramen, you're going to be disappointed, but in many ways, this chicken ramen is better. First of all, it takes a lot less time to make. Secondly, while it may not qualify as healthy, it's certainly healthier than a broth made of pork fat. Lastly, the relatively mellow flavors of the chicken stock base allow all the other flavors to shine through. To put it simply, it's more Pierce Brosnan than Daniel Craig.

I usually top Tonkotsu ramen with Mayu (burnt garlic oil), but since the burnt garlic might overwhelm the milder chicken, I made a fried scallion oil instead. After mincing the white parts of a few scallions I fried them in sesame oil until they were just shy of burnt, then I added a splash of soy sauce to the hot oil which bubbles up furiously, caramelizing around the scallions and giving off a savory aroma that will make you want to lick the air around you.

Toppings for Chicken Ramen

Since topping this chicken ramen with pork chashu would negate the benefits of a purely chicken ramen I came up with a chicken chashu you can use as a topping. Since it's hard to get good ramen noodles in the US, I like to make my own noodles, but thin Chinese style yellow noodles will work in a pinch. Add some scallions menma and boiled egg and you'll have a world-class ramen worthy of any ramen shop with a line wrapping around the block.

Other Types of Ramen

I’ve come up with a shortcut for making a rich, flavorful ramen broth in just 30 minutes, and it forms the base for both my Tsukemen and Miso Ramen recipes. If you don’t eat pork, you can swap in ground chicken to make a deeply savory broth that clings to every strand of noodle. Not in the mood for something soupy? My Soupless Tantanmen, Hiyashi Chuka, and Mazemen recipes offer all the satisfying flavor of ramen without the broth. And if you want the full rundown on all things ramen, don’t miss my comprehensive ramen guide.

📖 Recipe

Chicken Ramen

4.25 from 4 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Yield 4 bowl

Units

Ingredients 

  • 900 grams chicken bones
  • 450 grams chicken wing tips
  • 1 small leek (cut into 4 pieces)
  • 1.5 inches fresh ginger (sliced into 8 coins)
  • 4 large cloves garlic (unpeeled)
  • vegetable oil (for frying the aromatics)
  • 3 inches dashi konbu
  • 10 cups water
  • ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
  • 3 scallions (white part only, minced)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 cup soy milk - unsweetened
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 4 portions ramen noodles (boiled according to package directions)

Instructions

  • Bring a kettle full of water to a boil. Lay the wing tips and chicken bones in a clean sink, then pour the boiling water over the chicken. Wash the chicken with cold water, scrubbing off any clumps of blood. This step solidifies some of the blood on the chicken so you can wash it off and it doesn't end up in your soup.
  • In a small saucepan, add the leeks, ginger and garlic, then cover with vegetable oil. Gently fry over medium low heat until the aromatics are dark brown, but not burnt (about 30-40 minutes).
  • Add the kombu, wingtips and bones to a pressure cooker and cover with 10 cups of water. Bring it to a boil uncovered, then skim off the scum that floats to the top. Continue skimming until you don't see any more scum. Remove the kombu and discard. Drain the fried leeks, ginger and garlic and add them to the pressure cooker.
  • Turn off the heat and seal the lid on the pressure cooker. Set the pressure to high and the bring the cooker up to pressure over high heat (you should hear whistling). Turn down the temperature until there's a gentle whistling sound coming from the pressure regulator. If it's hissing violently your heat is up too high, if you don't hear anything your heat is down too low. Cook for 1 hour.
  • When the stock is done cooking, let it cool to room temperature. Pour it through a large strainer into a large bowl. Squeeze the solids with your hands to extract as much liquid as possible. You'll notice that the liquid starts turning a creamy white. This is what gives the soup its body so be sure you get every last drop. Pour the strained soup through an extra fine sieve (such as a tea strainer) into a clean container. You can either stop here and refrigerate the stock or keep going.
  • If you refrigerated the stock, it should be fairly easy to scrape off the excess fat with a spoon. If not, use a fat skimmer to skim off the extra fat and set the fat aside. In either case, you want to leave a little fat behind. Measure your the soup. You should have about 6 cups, if you have more, you should boil it down to 6 cups, if you have less, add water.
  • To make the caramelized scallion oil, add the sesame oil along with about 2 tablespoons of chicken fat that you've skimmed from the soup to a small saucepan. Put the saucepan over medium heat, then add the minced scallions. Fry the scallions until they are medium to dark brown in color. Turn off the heat, then carefully add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. The oil will sputter, so be very careful. This caramelizes the soy sauce, giving it a wonderful toasty aroma.
  • To make the soup, add the 6 cups of strained stock to a pot, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of salt, and the soy milk and gently heat.
  • Boil your noodles according to the package directions or make a batch of homemade ramen noodles.
  • To finish the ramen divide the noodles between four bowls, pour the soup over the noodles then top with your choice of toppings. I served this with a soft boiled egg, menma, shredded scallions, and chicken chashu, but what you top it with is up to you. Boil your noodles according to the package directions. Put the boiled noodles in the bowl and add the toppings. Cover with the hot soup, then drizzle on some of the caramelized scallion oil. Serve immediately.
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Comments

    4.25 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Nandini S says

    January 19, 2025 at 1:19 pm

    5 stars
    umai desuka

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      January 21, 2025 at 9:13 am

      Hi Nandini. I'm not sure if you intended to ask the question "Is it good?", but yes, I enjoyed this.

      Reply
  2. Lindsay says

    October 26, 2022 at 12:13 am

    3 stars
    The addition of soy milk ruined it for us.

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      October 28, 2022 at 11:27 pm

      Hi Lindsay, sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. The taste of soy milk tends to vary widely by brand, and it's best to use one for this that is rich and creamy without much of a soy bean taste. I used Japanese Kikkoman for this recipe (not to be confused with the American Kikkoman Pearl brand, which has flavorings added). You could also just use a full fat dairy milk.

      Reply
  3. Philip Yamamoto says

    November 23, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    Haha yeah true, but i want roasted chicken and a creamy ramen ^^

    Reply
  4. Marc Matsumoto says

    November 23, 2016 at 1:35 pm

    Hi Philip, it sounds like you really want to roast the bones, so why don't you go for it? It's not how I would do it, but the world would be a very boring place if every cook did things the exact same way.

    Reply
  5. Philip Yamamoto says

    November 22, 2016 at 10:19 am

    Thanks so far :), sooo let's say you would roast the chicken bones (not the wings), couldn't one pigfeat bring back the right amount of collagen (got no problem with pig)?

    Reply
  6. Marc Matsumoto says

    November 20, 2016 at 1:27 am

    Hi Philip, like I said, it's up to you how you want to make your soup. At the end of the day I'm sure it will taste delicious, but if you want a water/fat emulsion with the maximum amount of collagen in it, you don't want to preroast the bones. As for adding schmaltz, this is a bad idea unless you plan to blend it in with an emulsifier such as lecithin at the end, otherwise the fat will just float to the surface.

    Reply
  7. Philip Yamamoto says

    November 19, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    Hmm even if i just roast the bones, not the wings? Could i maybe add a little chicken-schmalz to change this?

    Reply
  8. Marc Matsumoto says

    November 19, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    Hi Philip, you could definitely roast the bones, but your stock will not get this creamy because the collagen in the skin and cartilage will render out while roasting, and your stock will end up a darker brown because of the browning of the chicken.

    Reply
  9. Philip Yamamoto says

    November 19, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    Hi Marc, i want to use this recipe but try some changes. Along some other additions i aks myself if i could roast the chickenbbones before cooking them. What do you think?

    Thanks in advance

    Reply
  10. Marc Matsumoto says

    September 20, 2016 at 7:27 am

    Hi Alexis, sorry about that, I'm not sure what happened. It's fixed now.

    Reply
  11. Alexis Briffa Bowles says

    September 17, 2016 at 8:47 pm

    Hi Marc. How long do you cook the stock in the pressure cooker ? Thanks

    Reply
  12. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 22, 2016 at 11:58 pm

    Hi Yzrael, dashi literally means "stock" in Japanese. And while it's most common used to refer to a clear stock made with konbu and some kind of dried fish, it can refer to other things too. Ramen stock is prepared differently in different parts of Japan, and while most traditional broths are made with a rich pork soup as the base, in the Tokyo area for example, they use a combination of pork, chicken and fish and the soup is often clear. There are also more modern places that use only fish. I guess the short answer is that it's not very traditional to use a bonito/konbu base, because ramen is so diverse you can pretty much do whatever you want. In my chicken ramen I don't use the bonito because it has a very strong smoke flavor that would overpower the chicken, I do use konbu to add umami to the soup without adding any flavor.

    Reply
  13. Yzrael Angeles says

    August 22, 2016 at 8:05 am

    Hi Marc, I love Ramen. I may have to try to make my own this time. The procedures look complicated, though. I noticed that Japanese cuisines really call for, say, overnight marinatings and the likes. Nonetheless I love Japanese way of really putting your heart and soul into the dish. I guess it'a all about love. I have a question for you, if that's allowed. Since I wanna try making my own ramen noodles and soup, like the whole thing, I have also started researching about dashi. From what I gathered, dashi is basically soup stock or base. I even got a recipe and instructions on how to make my own homemade dashi out of kombu and bonito flakes. Now, I know dashi is a light soup base. I know dashi of kombu and bonito is perfect for a miso soup and other soups. My question is, is it also used for chicken ramen, like for cooking the chicken broth itself? Im talking about preparing a dashi out of kombu and bonito and making use of it as the liquid itself to cook chicken broth. Is this a practice in Japan or in any ramen-loving place? Thanks

    Reply
  14. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 13, 2016 at 2:13 am

    Hi Anna, you can use a regular pot (though it will take you about 6 hours), but a slow cooker will not work. The reason is that this broth needs the constant agitation of a low boil to keep the collagen and fat emulsified with the soup. If you use a slow cooker, you'll end up with an oil slick on top and a much thinner soup.

    Reply
  15. Anna De Guia says

    May 12, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    Any chance I could use the slow cooker to cook the broth? I don't have pressure cooker 🙁

    Reply
  16. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 02, 2016 at 2:47 am

    Hi Adam, I've never tried using chicken feet in this particular recipe. That said, I have used them before and they do have a good amount of collagen and so they may be worth trying.

    Reply
  17. Adam says

    May 01, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    Hi, will chicken feet do any justice as well compared to chicken wing tips? Since it's a pretty fatty part of a chicken as well?

    Reply
  18. Marc Matsumoto says

    February 23, 2016 at 2:46 am

    Hi Mark, sorry about that that link's a mistake, should be pointing somewhere else. Will get that fixed.

    Reply
  19. mark says

    February 23, 2016 at 2:40 am

    Ah! Sorry! I followed the Dashi Kombu link which I thought was to make the following recipe. That's why 7 centimeters didn't make sense to me.

    Reply
  20. Marc Matsumoto says

    February 23, 2016 at 1:40 am

    Hi Mark, I've converted the measurements into inches. It doesn't have to be exact, but you want about a 3-inch piece of konbu

    Reply
  21. mark says

    February 22, 2016 at 1:25 am

    Hi Marc, hopefully you're still monitoring this recipe. I'm trying to figure out the measurement for the kombu dashi. It reads as 7 centimeters?

    Reply
  22. Susanne says

    November 04, 2015 at 6:12 pm

    Great, thanks. This answers my question and solves my problem. I would turn into a ramen addict if there were any decent ramen restaurants in the country.
    Making it at home has until now not been successful. The problem is the stock. I've tried any kind of buyable stock, even the butchers own. But they all contain too much salt. Either I can achieve a proper salt level with unsufficient chicken aroma or vice versa. Chicken bones cannot be bought anywhere, but the Palestinian merchant sells chicken wings in huge bags (frozen) at a reasonable price. 🙂

    Ramen, here I come...

    Reply
  23. Ben Sand Ghostkamera says

    May 30, 2015 at 2:37 am

    Thanks Marc! Will try this very soon and post results.

    Reply
  24. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 30, 2015 at 12:59 am

    Hi Ben, the goal isn't to reduce the liquid to 6 cups, it's to get all the flavor and collagen out of the bones and surrounding tissue. If you're not using a pressure cooker, you're going to have more evaporation during the longer cooking time so your soup will not be done when you've reached 6 cups (you'll need to add some more water during cooking). The amount of time the soup takes to finish will depend on a lot of factors including the thickness of your bones, whether you use a pressure cooker or not, your altitude, etc.

    Reply
  25. Ben Sand Ghostkamera says

    May 29, 2015 at 7:40 pm

    I know some pots already have measurements inside, but not all do

    Reply
  26. Ben Sand Ghostkamera says

    May 29, 2015 at 7:39 pm

    I guess an easy way to see if the broth has reduced to the correct level is to fill the pot with 10 cups of water first, scratch or make a mark inside the pot where the level is, then start making the broth and keep boiling it down to that mark?

    Reply
  27. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 24, 2015 at 1:24 am

    Hi Muneer, sorry if that was confusing, you add the just vegetables and leave the oil behind.

    Reply
  28. Muneer says

    May 24, 2015 at 1:20 am

    Hello Marc. Just to be clear, do you add the oil from the fried garlic, leek and ginger as well to the pressure cooker or just the fried items. Also, what is that chilli-like topping atop the shredded scallions in the top picture?

    Reply
  29. ZoarMann says

    May 21, 2015 at 3:08 pm

    Thank YOU! I'm a big pressure cooker 'chef' and love when other real chefs use it and promote using them. I made Ramen the same night I saw your recipe with one of my pressure cookers and was delighted at the similarities! 'just want to make sure your audience uses the pressure cooker the best way possible so they have a very positive experience with it. Pressure cooker fans unite!

    Reply
  30. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 20, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    Good call, updated with a more detailed explanation. Thanks for pointing this out.

    Reply
  31. ZoarMann says

    May 20, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    Thank you for for this clarification. I might suggest you edit the above to say the heat is on medium low for 1.5 hours. Otherwise your audience may hunk you meant heat on high for 1.5 hours.

    Reply
  32. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 20, 2015 at 5:25 am

    Hi ZoarMann, unless I misunderstood I think your original question was about the loss of liquid from evaporation that occurs by having the heat turned up too high. The high pressure setting does not mean you have to have the heat turned up to high. If you can hear the pressure regulator giving off steam (i.e. whistling), you've built enough pressure within the vessel (whether you have it set to low or high). Since the valve regulates the pressure down to the level you've selected, having the heat up to high on the stove only makes your water burn off faster. On my stove, this usually means I have the stove set to medium low once the cooker has come up to pressure. Obviously this varies by the output of your stove. Anyway, all this is to say that on my stove, with my pressure cooker, with the bones and 10 cups of water, 1.5 hours at the high pressure setting on a medium-low temperature heat, this works. If you feel like your situation is different you should definitely adjust to what you think will work best.

    Reply
  33. ZoarMann says

    May 20, 2015 at 4:07 am

    Yes true. High pressure setting corresponds to high heat. If you put a pressure cooker on the high pressure setting but if using low heat it will not be high pressure, it will be low pressure. I own several pressure cookers and as indicated cook with pressure cookers all the time.

    Reply
  34. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 20, 2015 at 2:48 am

    Hi ZoarMann, it's not high heat, it's high pressure. Most pressure cookers have a low and high pressure setting.

    Reply
  35. ZoarMann says

    May 20, 2015 at 2:12 am

    Are you sure it is 1.5 hours in a pressure cooker on HIGH HEAT? That sounds impossible. I cook with pressure cooker every few days and maybe on medium for 30-45 minutes but HIGH for 1.5 hours?! No way does that seem plausible.

    Reply
  36. Ari Setio says

    March 24, 2015 at 4:32 am

    I just want to say thank to you Marc.
    I tried your recipe.
    It's very delicious and thicker than soup i used to made

    Reply
  37. Marc Matsumoto says

    March 20, 2015 at 1:00 pm

    Hi Ari, if you're referring to the ramen shop I ate at a few weeks ago, they add the creamed corn to the broth just before serving I think. As for adding carrots, celery and onion, it's up to you. They're not things I usually add to my ramen but if you want a more western tasting broth then I say go for it.

    Reply
  38. Ari Setio says

    March 20, 2015 at 12:59 am

    Hi Marc sensei
    I just courious about your creamed corn ramen broth. Do you add creamed corn as topping or cook it in pressure cooker with other ingredients?
    One more question, can i add carrots, celery, and onion into my broth?
    Thank you.

    Reply
  39. Marc Matsumoto says

    February 27, 2015 at 6:24 am

    Yikes! sorry to hear about that. Yea, if you're not using a pressure cooker you'll need to account for the water loss as well as increase the time. You'll want to keep the pot hot enough to maintain a full simmer, but you don't want it to be at a rolling boil. Also, you could partially cover the pot with a lid to return some of the evaporated liquid to the pot. Lastly You'll probably need to add water periodically while it cooks down.

    Reply
  40. Dan says

    February 27, 2015 at 5:23 am

    Thanks for getting back to me. I think I'll stick with this basic version before branching out. I actually attempted the broth tonight, but it burned quite badly before the first hour was up. It should have occurred to me that without a pressure cooker to trap the steam the water would evaporate, but the rate at which it disappeared was still shocking. If I'm just using a normal pot, should I turn the heat down once I've added the leek, garlic and ginger and covered it, or leave it high to keep things agitated and just add a ton of extra water? Sorry for all the questions!

    Reply
  41. Marc Matsumoto says

    February 26, 2015 at 5:33 am

    Hi Ben, I'm pretty sure the place I went to adds creamed corn to their ramen broth. It makes it thick and creamy as well as subtly sweet. Corn also has a lot of glutamic acids which contributes to the umami of the stock. The soup at that place was great, but the thing that really sold me on their ramen were the toppings. The menma was really thick and had a marvelous texture, the chashu had a perfect balance of fat and meat and they'd grilled it before putting it on the ramen to caramelize the sauce, and for the onion, they used just the very center of the onion because it's milder and more tender.

    Reply
  42. Dan says

    February 25, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    On your twitter feed you mentioned you had a great chicken ramen the other day. I was planning to try this recipe out this weekend and I was wondering if you noticed any tricks of theirs that you would suggest incorporating back into this version. Thanks!

    Reply
  43. Marc Matsumoto says

    December 03, 2014 at 7:20 am

    Hi Emma, the process is the same (i.e. add the leeks, ginger, garlic after removing the kombu), you'll just need to cook everything longer. 4-5 hours should be enough. Basically when the bones are soft enough that they easily break between your fingers, the soup is ready.

    Reply
  44. Emma says

    December 02, 2014 at 10:50 pm

    I was going to make this recipe this weekend, but I don't have a pressure cooker. Should I cook it over medium for closer to 5 hours instead? Also, if I cook it on the stove top, would it be better to throw the leek, ginger, and garlic in when there's around two hours left instead? Thanks!

    Reply
  45. Wilson Wong says

    November 24, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    Tori ramen is nothing less than amazing. There are ramen restaurant chains in my country called "ichiban ramen" based on chicken. The soup is creamy and delicious. It speaks volumes when you notice customers won't let go even the last drop of soup. Using chicken is definitely a great idea and better alternative. On top of that, my moslem friends can enjoy the taste of Japan too!

    Reply
  46. Marc Matsumoto says

    June 10, 2014 at 12:59 am

    In addition to the soy sauce there's a tablespoon of salt in the stock.

    Reply
  47. Karon Reiter says

    June 09, 2014 at 9:16 pm

    High sodium is definitely not good especially if you have high BP but where is the sodium coming from besides the soy? Because I use San-J Tamari 50% Lite which has about 450mg - a hell of a lot less than the low sodium soys out there. (It's a new product) and as far as the chicken skin, not a problem for me. Fat is not the problem. Important source of energy. And very satiating so you're not hungry 2 hours later. It's the sugar (carbs) that will put the weight on.

    Reply
  48. Ryuuzaki Yuuka says

    June 09, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    Can I use cow's milk in place of soy milk?

    Reply
  49. Marc Matsumoto says

    June 08, 2014 at 11:21 pm

    While not quite as much as the pork version, there's still a lot of fat from the chicken skin (which is essential to give it the creamy texture). There's also a lot of sodium.— Sent from Mailbox

    Reply
  50. Karon Reiter says

    June 08, 2014 at 10:11 pm

    You said, "while it may not qualify as healthy". Why is this chicken ramen not considered healthy? Because of the glycemic index of the noodles? The carbs?

    Reply
  51. Asuan says

    May 12, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    I think all the liquid will be gone if you pressure cooked it that long except you have a big size one

    Reply
  52. Asuan says

    May 12, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    Nino from Indonesia group singers RAN ?

    Reply
  53. nausa says

    April 22, 2014 at 2:44 pm

    thanks for info, because of you, sir! i'm opening yatai ramen next month! thanks aloott 😀

    Reply
  54. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 22, 2014 at 1:33 am

    It looks like some kind of chili sauce. Some ramen shops either add the chili sauce or have it as a condiment on the table.

    Reply
  55. nausa says

    April 21, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    i have another question, sometimes i see a red sauce on top of ramen. what is that? for example https://www.peekholidays.com/reviews/ichiran-ramen-probably-the-best-ramen-in-japan

    Reply
  56. nausa says

    April 19, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    i see, thaks a lot for the tips

    Reply
  57. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 19, 2014 at 1:46 am

    Hi Nausa, chicken will give you a closer taste to tonkotsu than beef. You can also get the same creaminess as tonkotsu by using wing tips as recommended in this recipe.

    Reply
  58. nausa says

    April 18, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    hi, if i want to make similiar broth to tonkotsu but still can't eat pork can i use beef bone instead?

    Reply
  59. Sai Waluga says

    April 18, 2014 at 5:53 am

    Thanks for the answer 🙂 I will try this recipe and chicken chashu recipe next week, will let u know how they go. Happy Easter!! 🙂

    Reply
  60. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 18, 2014 at 2:10 am

    Hi Sai, you can use a regular pot, but you'll probably need to add water as the cooking times will be 3-4 times longer. Basically you want to cook the bones until you can break one of the thicker bones in half fairly easily.

    Reply
  61. Sai Waluga says

    April 17, 2014 at 9:40 am

    I don't have a pressure cooker, can I use normal pot instead? In that case how long I should boil it?

    Reply
  62. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 06, 2014 at 12:51 am

    Hi Andy, Tonkotsu ramen is made with pork bones, which are much larger and more dense than chicken bones. That's why you need to cook them for longer. Also, the 12-30 hours numbers you're stating are assuming they're cooked without pressure. Pressure cookers cook food 3-4 times faster, so you'd actually be looking at much shorter cooking times using a pressure cooker. In my experience with pork bones cut in half, 1.5 hours in a pressure cooker has been enough, which is why I wrote the recipe that way. If you disagree, feel free to change the times.

    Reply
  63. Andy says

    April 05, 2014 at 2:55 pm

    Thanks for the tips! I will try it! I was curious because whenever I read about pork Tokotsu Ramen, restaurants and recipes claim to boil the bones for over 12 hours, some as much as 30 hours! I assume they do this to extract as much collagen as possible. Do you think they are overdoing it? I know for your Tokotsu recipe you pressure cooke for 1.5 hours. Do you think it would be better at 4 or 5 hours?

    Reply
  64. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 05, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    Hi Andy, are you unhappy with the richness of the stock? You could certainly try it with feet, but wing tips provide plenty of collagen and I think they'll provide more flavor to the broth because they have some muscle tissue. As for the time, 1.5 hours under full pressure is plenty. When making a stock, longer is better only up to a certain point. If you over do it you'll give your stock a musty taste like canned meat. I've actually been reducing the time to 1 hour lately because that's plenty of time to make the bones brittle and the collagen fully dissolve. To fully incorporate the collagen, use a whisk on the stock before straining. You can see more on this technique here: https://norecipes.com/recipe/rich-chicken-stock/

    Reply
  65. Andy says

    April 05, 2014 at 12:28 pm

    Would it be better if you used chicken feet instead of chicken tips? Doesn't feet have more collagen? Also what would happen if you pressure cooked the broth for 3 hours or more instead of 1.5 hours? Would the broth be richer tasting because of the collagen conversion?

    Reply
  66. Nick says

    March 17, 2014 at 4:34 am

    Just finished this recipe after 4.5 hours of cooking (no pressure cooker), dang that broth is gold. It's super rich even without any salt added. Can't wait to make some soup now!

    Reply
  67. sparx10 says

    February 08, 2014 at 4:09 pm

    Hi ive been wanting to try ramen recipes like this one..its a shame that pork ramen is beoming so popular that chicken is not used as much..well id like to know two things. About menma adding flavour and why sesame seeds are ground to make the dish? I'm a beginner but I've cooked noodles from rice vermicelli to soba noodles. If you do know id be glad to hear your response! Thank you.

    Reply
  68. Marc Matsumoto says

    February 06, 2014 at 6:11 am

    Hi SixAces, nope it's not very common, in fact I've never heard of anyone doing this. It's just how I do mine to get it extra creamy.

    Reply
  69. SixAces says

    February 06, 2014 at 5:00 am

    Thanks for the pressure cooker tips, I've successfully made a batch of broth/soup. A quick question, do most tori paitan ramens use soy as a "thickener" for their broths?

    Reply
  70. Da Niel says

    February 03, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    hi 😉 mr. marc. very nice article 😉

    Reply
  71. sandz says

    February 03, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    brilliant!!.. using the leftover fat, i've never thought that before.. this's in my must to do list now.., thanks alot Marc

    Reply
  72. Marc Matsumoto says

    February 03, 2014 at 1:34 am

    Hi Sandz, the sesame oil is there for flavor, so to answer your question, leaving it out or substituting it will change the taste. That said, lately I've been preferring to use the chicken fat from the soup instead of sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil can have a strong flavor, so I've found that using the chicken fat let's the chicken flavor really come out while adding richness to the soup.

    Reply
  73. sandz says

    February 02, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    Hi Marc, thankyou so much for this autentic ramen recipe.. it really helps me alot since i can't eat pork.. but i have some questions, is there any subtitution for sesame oil?.. does the sesame oil affect the overal taste that much?

    Reply
  74. Marc Matsumoto says

    January 30, 2014 at 6:44 am

    Hi SixAces, the way a pressure cooker works is that it uses the steam created by the liquid inside to increase the pressure within the cooker. This in turn increases the boiling temperature which allows you to cook foods at higher temperatures higher than 100 degrees C. So to answer your question, you need to have enough heat as to maintain pressure inside the cooker, but you don't want it so high that the cooker fails (modern cookers have multiple safeties to prevent this from happening). How do you know if the pressure is too high? Some cookers have a gauge with a safety range indicated. If yours doesn't have a gauge you can go based on sound. If it's whistling violently the pressure is too high. If it's not whistling at all, it's too low. You can adjust the pressure by turning the heat up or down.

    Reply
  75. SixAces says

    January 30, 2014 at 6:16 am

    I've been on a ramen cooking craze as of late, I would love to give this recipe a shot. I've managed to borrow a pressure cooker which I've never used before, so what kind of heat do I cook it over? Do I want the contents inside to be constantly at a stage of rolling boil?

    Reply
  76. Sanya says

    January 24, 2014 at 11:01 pm

    I haven't gotten the chance to make the chicken stock from scratch yet, but the recipe you posted has been the base for countless delicious ramen dinners in my house. I can't thank you enough!

    Reply
  77. Marc Matsumoto says

    January 05, 2014 at 2:36 am

    Hi Sheldon, it's usually the blood that causes brohs to get darker. For chicken ramen, you could try increasing the amount of wing tips , which is what gives chicken ramen it's creamy color. As for pork, the marrow is important as the fat from the marrow is what gives the soup it's richness. Honestly as long as you feel the taste is good, I wouldn't get too hung up on the color. — Sent from Mailbox for iPad

    Reply
  78. R. Sheldon says

    January 04, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    Hi Marc,
    I love reading your recipes! I've been pursuing a perfect homemade ramen bowl for a few months now, and I find that a lot of the time my broth is much darker than the broths I see in ramen shops and on your blog. I'm thinking it might be the bone marrow, because my pork and chicken broths taste similar, despite my best efforts to clean the bones. Does that sound right? have you ever experienced this? Thanks!

    Reply
  79. Tristan Leterrier says

    October 21, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    here's one of the best ramen recipes website l have ever found. it features a tenkaippin like recipe and that l think is very close to the original one.
    the problem is it's all in japanese so it can be a problem if you want to recreate it
    l have tried some of them and always got good results
    https://yoshi-ramen.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2013/09/1-e661.html

    Reply
  80. Marc Matsumoto says

    October 21, 2013 at 2:03 am

    Glad to hear it! It should be intensely chicken-y though I usually don't recommend making ramen stock in a slow cooker. The agitation involved in a constant simmer keeps the fat and collagen emulsified with the soup, giving it body and richness. If you do it in a slow cooker, I'd imagine you had a fair amount of fat that separated out on top?

    Reply
  81. H. Wong says

    October 20, 2013 at 11:13 am

    Hi Marc
    Thanks for this recipe - its awesome! I made this ramen today with some modifications. I used a mixture of wingtips, bones and chicken feet. Whilst the chicken feet imparted a strong chicken flavour, it wasn't rich/fatty enough. Next time, I'm going to go all the way and make this with wingtips, bones and leftover chicken skin. Instead of simmering the stock continuously over a flame, I did the following: after 1.5 hours on a flame I switched to a slow cooker, left it overnight and then returned it to the stove for another 2 hours to thicken the base. After it came out from the slow cooker the soup base came out intensely chicken-y. Not sure if that was the intended result but twas delicious anyway!

    Reply
  82. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 28, 2013 at 9:33 am

    Hi Priscilla, I'm glad to hear you enjoy the stories:-) as for chicken feet they'll have a ton of collagen, but probably not as much fat as the wing tips, which is why I used the wingtips instead of feet. Still, if that's all you can get, they should work.

    Reply
  83. Npriscilla Chan says

    August 28, 2013 at 2:33 am

    Hi Marc,
    I always love to read your stories behind every dish you make, it makes the dish very special! =) Keep it up!

    Do you think chicken feet will have more collagen/cartilage that the wing tips?

    Reply
  84. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 26, 2013 at 12:23 am

    Hi Lucy, that's the technique I use with pork for pork based ramen, but the problem with the chicken wingtips is that they're so thin, if you boil them first, you end up losing a lot of flavor, which is why I usually just pour boiling water over the wings.

    Reply
  85. Lucy says

    August 25, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    I made this for dinner the other night. My boyfriend has Celiac and is weirded out by seaweed, so I made a couple of modifications.)

    For cleaning the chicken - I found it easier to put the raw meat/bones in a pot of cold water, bring the water to a boil, dump out the hot water, then run the individual chicken pieces under hot water. I didn't have any weird scum floating to the top of the pot, so I guess I did it right. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply
  86. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 24, 2013 at 6:51 am

    Hi Gordon, it's hard to say without having ever tried it, but typically the way richness is added to any ramen stock is by adding fat and collagen. If it is 100% chicken broth (may ramen's use a blend), it's probably made by using lots of chicken skin (which is high in both collagen and fat). That's the only thing I can think off without adding some kind of starch to thicken it, which I doubt. Hope that helps.

    Reply
  87. Gordon says

    July 24, 2013 at 6:38 am

    Thanks for the reply, Marc. Actually it is a chicken broth, but somehow they get it really thick like a gravy. It's wonderful and I highly recommend you try it in Japan sometime. This video gives you an idea of the consistency. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf1gtTFcUBs

    Reply
  88. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 23, 2013 at 2:34 pm

    Hi Gordon, I'be never been to tenkaipin so I can't really say, but some Internet searching seems to indicate they use a pork (not chicken) based broth. That would explain the richness as pork broths are usually made with fat, marrow and cartilage rich bones. See my tonkotsu post for more on a pork based ramen broth.

    Reply
  89. Gordon says

    July 23, 2013 at 4:12 am

    Hi Marc, thanks for this! Just wondering, but do you have any idea how Tenkaippin makes their kotteri broth so thick? I found a few recipes on cookpad that claim to reproduce it but haven't had a chance to try any of them yet.

    Reply
  90. Iwan Bom Widjaja says

    July 23, 2013 at 1:12 am

    Hi Marc, I haven't try the recipe yet. But reading your recipe about how to made scallion oil is giving me a new technique about how to made a tasty oil for flavoring the noodle. Thank you very much Marc

    Reply
  91. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 05, 2013 at 11:07 pm

    Hi Johanna, wow that's really odd. The only thing I can think of is that if they chickens were free range they probably got a lot more exercise which means they may have had a lower fat content than the regular wings. My guess though is that your stock is going to taste better as muscles that get more exercise have more flavor. The soy milk should add some body to the soup, so I'd be curious to hear back on how the finished ramen turned out. If it still doesn't have enough richness, you could try and ask your butcher for some extra chicken skin to throw into the soup the next time you do it with the organic wings.

    Reply
  92. Johanna says

    July 05, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    Hi Marc! I love this recipe! I've made it a few times and it's become one of the household favourites, though I've run into a problem.

    Usually when making this, I'd use fairly low quality wings from a supermarket but this time I thought I'd make a special one and bought organic from the butchers. I've simmered it for 6 hours and it seems like the stock doesn't have as much body and flavour as before. Have you had similar experiences varying the quality of the wings?

    Thanks for all the wonderful dinners!

    Johanna

    Reply
  93. Michael Allen says

    June 13, 2013 at 3:44 am

    I appreciate the quick and thoughtful reply - it answered all my questions perfectly. I look forward to trying many new recipes of yours over the coming weeks!

    Reply
  94. Marc Matsumoto says

    June 12, 2013 at 3:26 am

    Hi Michael, I like having a smaller 4-5 quart pot around for boiling pasta and such, but typically tend to use bigger pots when making stock. 10 quarts might be excessive for 2 people, but you might want to consider a bigger pot if you're going to be making stock on a regular basis. I usually make a big batch once or twice a month and freeze it. That said this recipe should be fine in your pot. As for the room you need from the brim there's no rule (unless you're using a pressure cooker), but you wouldn't want to fill it so high it boils over.

    Reply
  95. Michael Allen says

    June 11, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    I look forward to trying this recipe out! However, I'm in the market for my first stock pot... I just picked up a small one that's only 5 3/4 quarts. Is this too small for this stock? In general I'd only be serving 2 people tops, but substantial (2+ servings) leftovers would be ideal. Also, how much room should I leave from the brim of the stock pot when filled to it's maximum capacity?

    Reply
  96. ahmed rawat says

    June 03, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    thanks a mill for your advice marc

    Reply
  97. Marc Matsumoto says

    June 02, 2013 at 9:42 pm

    I like using a pressure cooker because your stock is done 3x faster and I feel it does a better job of extracting flavor from the bones. That said you can do it without a pressure cooker by increasing the cooking time by 3x. You'll probably need to add more water along the way as you'll have more evaporation happening due to the longer cooking time.

    Reply
  98. Joe says

    June 02, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    Hi Marc, do you know how long it would take to cook the stock without a pressure cooker? Is it feasible without or will I need one?

    Reply
  99. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 26, 2013 at 8:25 pm

    Hi Ahmed, I'm not sure what you're asking? If you're asking if you can use another kind of noodle, then I don' t see why not. If you're asking if there's another type of noodle similar to ramen, that you can use, then no, there isn't. Why not make your own ramen noodles?

    Reply
  100. ahmed rawat says

    May 26, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    hi mark just wondering is there a subtitute for the ramen noodles

    Reply
  101. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 05, 2013 at 2:03 pm

    If you use good soy milk you shouldn't really be able to taste it in the soup. That said you could just use water and make a lighter style ramen. I don't think regular milk will work very well as it will probably make it too rich.

    Reply
  102. Kakashi Hatake says

    April 05, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    i am not really allergic to soy but i don't like soy milk .any better alternative of soy milk ?

    Reply
  103. Marc Matsumoto says

    April 04, 2013 at 9:20 pm

    You could replace it with water and it will just be a lighter ramen. If you're allergic to soy though you're also going to have to substitute the soy sauce though and I don't really have a good substitute for that.

    Reply
  104. Kakashi Hatake says

    April 04, 2013 at 2:11 pm

    is there any alternative of soy milk to use in making ramen ?

    Reply
  105. Marc Matsumoto says

    January 02, 2013 at 12:10 am

    Hi David, honestly I've never cooked with chicken feet, so I'm really not sure how it would work. It should have a lot of collagen, but I'm not sure how much flavor you'd get out of them. Perhaps you can try using a mix of whole chicken wings with chicken feet? If you do try it, let us know how it goes.

    Reply
  106. David Torrey Peters says

    January 01, 2013 at 7:39 pm

    Hi Marc,

    I have had a hard time getting chicken wing tips without all of the chicken wing also attached, and I just don't need that many chicken wings. However, the store near my house sells chicken feet. From what I can tell from reading on the web, chicken feet are also high in collagen, with all the skin and joints. So in your opinion, do you think I could substitute chicken feet? Thanks so much!

    Reply
  107. Marilia says

    December 05, 2012 at 6:20 am

    Hi Marc, I am a massive fan of Japanese cuisine, especially ramen at this time of year! I love your recipes and your passion for the food. Lately I've been trying to make a vegetarian miso ramen but I just can't seem to get the depth of flavour that comes from using katsuo / pork / chicken stock...Have you any ideas as to what I should try? My email is ciaratroy@gmail.com or perhaps you could post a message if you have a minute? Thanks a lot

    Reply
  108. laruzz says

    November 12, 2012 at 10:08 am

    Hi Marc,

    thanks for your recipe! I did it yesterday was simply delicious and caramelized scallion oil was great! I follow you from Italy I've tried many of yours japanese recipes:amazing! thanks again

    Reply
  109. Marc Matsumoto says

    October 08, 2012 at 1:40 am

    Great question! Personally I like Japanese soy milk because it doesn't taste like soy milk. It's creamy with just a hint of sweetness and a mild soy flavor. Here's a photo of the brand I use. It's on the right hand side of the photo: https://yuzuya5bankan.img.jugem.jp/20110323_852281.jpg

    Reply
  110. Eve says

    October 07, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    Marc - great blog! Question about the soy milk: is there a specific brand or type that you use? In many Asian supermarkets, there are so many different choices-Korean, Chinese, Japanese soy milk are each slightly different and some are sweeter than others...

    Reply
  111. Marilia says

    September 30, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Daaammnn! U are genius! I plan to open ramen shop in indonesia, because its booming now in jakarta. Many japanese open original ramen shop in here this year, such as ikkousha hakat ramen, tokyo tabushi, santouka, etc. Its so frustating to find the right flavor, but ur idea to put soy milk instead ordinary milk plus addimg wingtips, really really save me! Big thnxxxxxx

    Reply
  112. Marisa S. says

    September 28, 2012 at 1:59 pm

    I absolutely love your work! Beautiful blog. My favorite cuisine...I am so glad I found a blog that makes broths/stocks the way they're really supposed to be made 🙂

    Reply
  113. Marc Matsumoto says

    September 25, 2012 at 7:45 am

    The purpose of the soymilk is to give the soup richness and body, so you could try adding a smaller quantity of cream.

    Reply
  114. Lily says

    September 25, 2012 at 1:26 am

    Hi! I want to make this for my friend, but he is allergic to soy milk. Is there any substitute for soy milk in this recipe?

    Reply
  115. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 18, 2012 at 2:20 pm

    My ramen recipes are on the tough side, because they're long and involved, but if you follow the directions closely and ask questions if you're even a little confused, you should be able to make them. That said, if you're looking for something easier try something like my Beef Teriyaki ( https://norecipes.com/blog/beef-teriyaki-recipe/) or Tebasaki ( https://norecipes.com/blog/tebasaki-japanese-chicken-recipe/) recipe.

    Reply
  116. George says

    August 18, 2012 at 10:02 am

    Marc, i have nothing but to thank you. Your recipe is very good, so is the way you explain everything.Question:For a starter cook that wants to start with Japanese food,what would you consider right to start with?.
    I can see that you say that to make this Ramen stock you must be a fast or experienced cooker.

    Reply
  117. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 15, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    Hi Helen thanks for your comment! There are some things that slow cookers are good at (like tenderizing tough cuts of meat). But making stock is not one of them. Ramen stock in particular requires a relatively aggressive simmering action in order to keep the collagen and fat emulsified with the stock (it's what gives the stock richness). A slow cooker simply doesn't get hot enough.

    Reply
  118. Marilia says

    August 15, 2012 at 1:35 am

    marc, your recipes are inspiring and always beautifully presented. thank you for sharing with us! question here....do you think this recipe could be adapted for a slow cooker?

    Reply
  119. Marc Matsumoto says

    August 02, 2012 at 8:39 pm

    Yep, you definitely want to leave the skin and meat on the chicken. The skin and cartilage is where this soup gets it's creaminess from which is why there are so many chicken wing tips in it. For the creamiest soup it would be best to only use chicken wingtips, but since bones are cheaper/easier to find, I did a mix for the recipe.

    Reply
  120. Marilia says

    August 02, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    You da man! Question: I got chicken bones from my butcher and they gave me a bunch of bones with a lot of skin and meat still on. Do I need to remove the skin and meat before making the stock since there is so much grease in the skin? I think I made that mistake when I tried making your tonkotsu and stripped the chicken bones of the meat and skin and thus the flavor wasn't as pronounced as I would have hoped. Also, 1 pound of wing tips?? That's a lot of tips! 😉

    Reply
  121. Kelly Siew says

    July 24, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    Wow! I have to give this a go! Thanks for sharing. I have referred to your Tonkotsu recipe and got great results.

    Reply
  122. Kelly Siew says

    July 24, 2012 at 11:00 am

    Wow! I have to give this a go! Thanks for sharing. I have referred to your Tonkotsu recipe and got great results.

    Reply
  123. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 24, 2012 at 2:49 am

    Thanks Monica, I'll try and keep it up;-)

    Reply
  124. Monica says

    July 23, 2012 at 9:15 pm

    I have made about 5 of your recipes since I've stumbled onto your blog...and I drool over making a dozen more. It's not the sheer yummyness of the food recipe but your way with words that has me actually reading your pre-recipe musings. I don't think I've ever proposed to man solely on the basis of food...but if you keep up the awesomeness that is your blog I think you just might get a marriage proposal!

    Reply
  125. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 23, 2012 at 12:51 am

    Yep, you can cook it in a regular pot. Usually when you use a regular pot instead of a pressure cooker, you just triple the time. In this case 4 1/2 hours. You'll probably need to add more water as more of it will evaporate during the longer cooking time than in a pressure cooker.

    Reply
  126. IGredux says

    July 22, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    so many slight, but clearly going to be impactful, marc genius tweeks make this a MUST-DO. grateful for the share!

    Reply
  127. Marilia says

    July 22, 2012 at 5:10 pm

    Can't wait to make this! I don't have a pressure cooker, will boiling work?

    Reply
  128. Marc Matsumoto says

    July 22, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    Yikes sorry about that, I've updated the ingredient list. You can use store bought ramen noodles if you can find them, or make your own: https://norecipes.com/blog/homemade-ramen-noodle-recipe/

    Reply
  129. Toni says

    July 22, 2012 at 11:11 am

    What noodles do you use?

    Reply
  130. Melody Fury says

    July 22, 2012 at 11:07 am

    I love the addition of soy milk for creaminess. Beautiful, Marc!

    Reply
  131. Mike Boon says

    July 22, 2012 at 5:01 am

    Great Marc! Usualy i tried it with a combination of beef-, chicken and lamb bone to get a rich subsitute of the pork flavour, but this sounds much better!
    Also the caramelized scallion oil alternative sounds great.

    I'll definitely give it a try! Keep up the good work!

    Reply
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