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
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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Marc Matsumoto says
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.
ZoarMann says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi ZoarMann, it's not high heat, it's high pressure. Most pressure cookers have a low and high pressure setting.
ZoarMann says
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.
Ari Setio says
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
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Ari Setio says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Dan says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Dan says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Emma says
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!
Wilson Wong says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
In addition to the soy sauce there's a tablespoon of salt in the stock.
Karon Reiter says
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.
Ryuuzaki Yuuka says
Can I use cow's milk in place of soy milk?
Marc Matsumoto says
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
Karon Reiter says
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?
Asuan says
I think all the liquid will be gone if you pressure cooked it that long except you have a big size one
Asuan says
Nino from Indonesia group singers RAN ?
nausa says
thanks for info, because of you, sir! i'm opening yatai ramen next month! thanks aloott 😀
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
nausa says
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
nausa says
i see, thaks a lot for the tips
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
nausa says
hi, if i want to make similiar broth to tonkotsu but still can't eat pork can i use beef bone instead?
Sai Waluga says
Thanks for the answer 🙂 I will try this recipe and chicken chashu recipe next week, will let u know how they go. Happy Easter!! 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Sai Waluga says
I don't have a pressure cooker, can I use normal pot instead? In that case how long I should boil it?
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
Andy says
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?
Marc Matsumoto says
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/
Andy says
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?
Nick says
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!
sparx10 says
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.
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
SixAces says
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?
Da Niel says
hi 😉 mr. marc. very nice article 😉
sandz says
brilliant!!.. using the leftover fat, i've never thought that before.. this's in my must to do list now.., thanks alot Marc
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
sandz says
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?
Marc Matsumoto says
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.
SixAces says
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?
Sanya says
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!
Marc Matsumoto says
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
R. Sheldon says
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!
Tristan Leterrier says
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
Marc Matsumoto says
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?
H. Wong says
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!