Shoyu based with vinegar ; perfect for summer

I drop by anytime I'm near Shinjuku Station Southeast Exit with time to spare

I got the shio ramen with 2 kinds of meatballs ( shrimp and chicken), and grilled rice ball to be dropped in the soup once the noodles are gone

the fish used for the day's soup is proudly displayed on the walls, that day appears to be golden snapper, yellowtail, conger eel, and red sea bream

went at around 8pm on a weekday, no wait time

Menya Kaijin Shinjuku Ten

https://maps.app.goo.gl/BpRnSqkfeUar8SAo9

https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1304/A130401/13045287/

It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.

Homemade ramen with a tomato dashi, crispy seitan in marinated rice skin, charred corn, pak choy, roasted tomatoes with Sichuan pepper and shallot flavor oil

First attempt in a wee while!

Made some spicy miso ramen with minced meat. Time to eat!

Had this cold tan tan ramen for lunch in Japan.

The spicy sesame sauce, fresh cucumber, and white leek made it perfect for a hot summer day. It came with a small salad and seasoned rice as a set.

Definitely hit the spot.

Cooked a diced roma tomato and edamame in the broth first until the tomato was softened, scooped those out into my bowl, then cracked an egg into the pan with the noodles. Topped with Sriracha mayo and shredded seasoned seaweed. Seriously was so good 😋

Long before the term "gotouchi ramen" (regional ramen) was even a thing in Japan, the very first regional ramen I ever had was at Bannai Shokudo. Now, they've expanded nationwide as Kitakata Ramen Bannai, featuring a clear, light pork-based soup and unique, chewy, flat wavy noodles. Back in the day, I went all the way to Kitakata by bullet train just to eat there and had my mind blown. But the real shock came when I casually glanced at a poster on the wall while eating, only to read something like: "Bannai Shokudo is already in a town near you!

Miso ramen with stir fried cabbage, ajitama, negi, duck fat and smoked chashu

Ramen from Keisuke in Akihabara. They just put a whole seared chicken thigh right on top — intense presentation, and it delivers on flavor too.

This was my first time making ramen. I decided to do it from scratch as much as possible, given my two days of prep time only (Sunday prepping, Monday finishing up and serving in the evening itself). I decided to document my process, so I could note down the recipe and techniques for my future reference, and also, for the sake of seeing the fruit of my labour later.

The final product (I served 7 bowls like this in the end).

So, this all started with me asking what my husband u/chocominzu wanted for his birthday, to which he said ramen. I then gave him a list of flavours and toppings, and he settled down with Shoyu Ramen (soy sauce ramen) with the following toppings listed below (these won't match the final product 100% because I had to change some last minute due to the time crunch):

Green ticks were my default choices (must include) and blue ticks were his choices (please pardon the typos and whatnot).

Then, I did my online research. Along with accumulated experience from my years of watching food videos, I mapped out a plan for this recipe. I mainly followed Alvin Zhou's 200-hour Ramen recipe as the base, but with some corner-cutting (obviously) and changes.

The first thing on the agenda was the broth, since it took the longest. Since I only have three dedicated stoves and still had to make dinner, it was a bit messy to plan. But thankfully, it worked out in the end with some juggling.

1/ THE VEGETABLE & BONE STOCK:

I forgot to take a photo of the stock after 5.5 hours of boiling with the vegetables.

Here's my recipe:

• Chicken & Pork bones: I forgot how much this was, but you can eyeball it from my photos.
• 1 big onion, split in half.
• 1/4 of a big cabbage.
• Maybe 100g of ginger, sliced.
• 2 shiitake mushrooms + 2 more from dashi stock.
• 1/2 of an apple, de-cored and sliced (this was a South African apple; I just got whatever was available in my market tbh).
• 10 scallion heads.
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into three.
• 3L of water (2.5L + 500mL).

First, I washed the bones thoroughly and pre-boiled them for around 30 minutes. Then, I strained and washed them one more time. I put the bones back in the pot along with 2.5L of water and simmered on medium-low heat for 5.5 hours. I checked on it occasionally and skimmed out the gunk on top whenever it formed. After that, I added the vegetables along with 500mL of water to top it up, and continued boiling on medium-low heat for another 5.5 hours. Finally, I strained and pressed everything to extract as much stock as possible from the solids, and ended up with a clear broth.

2/ THE DASHI STOCK:

The last photo is the final broth (mixing both the vegetable & bone stock with the dashi stock).

Here's my recipe:

• 2 pieces of kombu seaweed.
• 2 shiitake mushrooms.
• 2 handfuls of katsuobushi (bonito flakes).
• 1L of water.

This was done side-by-side with the vegetable & bone stock to save time. I simply simmered kombu seaweed and shiitake mushrooms with 1L of water on medium-low heat for around 2.5 hours. Then, I added the bonito flakes and simmered for another 10-15 minutes before taking it off the heat and straining everything thoroughly. When both of my stocks were ready, I combined them to get the final broth base. This portion was enough to serve 7 bowls for my family.

3/ THE CHASHU:

I did trim off the end bits and just snacked on them lol.

Here's my recipe:

• I believe this was 500g of pork belly (I removed the skin, but you can keep it. I had a brainfart moment and thought that I had to remove it lol).
• 100mL of mirin.
• 100mL of sake.
• 100mL of shoyu (soy sauce).
• 800mL of water.
• 1 tbsp. of brown sugar.
• 1/2 of an apple, de-cored and sliced (the same South African one).
• 4 thin scallions.
• Maybe 100g of ginger, sliced.
• 2 whole shallots, sliced in half.
• 1 whole garlic, sliced in half.

First, I rolled up the pork and secured it with kitchen twine. Then, I seared it until all sides were golden brown. After that, I added everything in and started simmering for 3 hours while occasionally checking up on it to skim out the gunk. Finally, I let the pork cool down and set it in the fridge overnight and sliced it the next day. I preferred thick slices because mine was very tender (also no skin to hold the shape as well), so if you keep the skin on, you are welcome to slice it thinner. Since I don't have a torch, I put it in an oven under the broiling setting and constantly checked on it until it reached the desired charred effect.

4/ THE EGG:

I messed up 3 eggs behind the scene (they ended up looking too broken to present after peeling).

Here's my recipe:

• 4 eggs (half an egg per bowl).

I put the eggs in boiling water for 6 minutes. Then, I strained them and put them straight into an ice bath to cool. After that, I peeled them and put them in the chashu braise liquid that was cooling down. I covered everything with a kitchen towel to make sure the top also got marinated evenly and let everything sit in the fridge overnight. I also strained the chashu braise liquid to use it in my broth later on.

5/ THE TARE:

My final broth consisted of the stock (vegetable & bone stock + dashi stock), the chashu braise liquid, and the tare.

Here's my recipe:

• 400mL of shoyu (soy sauce).
• 50mL of mirin
• 2 pieces of kombu seaweed.
• 2 shiitake mushrooms.

This step was simply simmering everything above (not boiling them) for around 15 minutes or so, and then straining it to get the final clear tare. However, I think this recipe could have served 14 bowls or so, at least using my ratio for the broth in the end, because I did end up with leftovers. So you can adjust the recipe as you please.

6/ THE AROMA OIL:

I'd add more chilli next time for a stronger spicy kick but I only had one chilli available that day so I made do.

Here's my recipe:

• A handful of shallots, peeled and minced.
• A handful of garlic, peeled and minced.
• A few scallion heads, minced.
• 1 chilli (bird's eye chilli), minced.
• 200mL of cooking oil (I used vegetable oil).

I just fried everything in the oil until golden brown (make sure not to burn them), strained it, and let the crunchy bits rest on a kitchen towel to remove the excess oil. I ended up with a lot of aroma oil that can probably comfortably serve at least 14-15 bowls or so. The crunchy bits were enough to serve around 10 bowls given that I gave each bowl one big tablespoon of them. So, adjust the recipe as you wish.

7/ THE TOPPINGS:

Narutomaki, boiled bok choy, toasted sesame seeds, boiled bamboo shoots, marinated shiitake mushroom, scallion green, crunchy bits, aroma oil, nori seaweed (strips & whole sheets), chashu, marinated egg.

Here's my recipe:

• 2 bamboo shoots: washed, boiled, and cut into bite-sized strips (I couldn't find Japanese menma, so I had to use only the fresh ones).
• 3 bok choy bundles: washed, separated, boiled until softened.
• Sesame seeds: toasted lightly in the pan.
• Nori seaweed: cut some into thin strips and some into big sheets.
• Narutomaki: sliced (I prefer it thick because I just despise how they are so paper-thin in restaurants lol).
• 4 shiitake mushrooms (the 4 from the stock above): sliced and marinated in the same chashu braise liquid for a few hours.
• Scallion green: cut into small bits (remember the scallion heads I had been using above? These were the green parts of them).

If you have everything prepared and arranged neatly in this step, the serving will become much easier. So take your time and make sure everything is in order.

8/ THE PLATING:

Step-by-step of my plating (1)

Step-by-step of my plating (2) - Last photo is just with aroma oil added, in case you can't tell the difference.

Here's my recipe:

• 6 tbsp. of tare.
• 3 tbsp. of chashu braise liquid.
• 6 ladles of broth.
• 3 tsp. of aroma oil.
• Rest, just add however much you like, but don't overcrowd the bowl.

I didn't make my own ramen noodles but bought a Japanese package instead. I just boiled it according to the package's instructions, which was 3 minutes in this case, strained, and then put the noodles into my broth bowl.

The fruit of my labour yet again.

AND THAT'S IT!

I hope you have learned something from my ramen journey. I know this was my first time, but I think it was a huge success as it tasted pretty authentic and everyone loved it. If anyone here uses my recipe to make their own ramen later, please tag me and let me know.

Have fun cooking!

Second attempt at home made ramen