Japanese Shoyu Ramen (No-MSG / From Scratch)

There’s something deeply satisfying about making shoyu ramen from the ground up — from the tare to the broth, noodles to chashu.
Especially when you skip MSG and rely only on natural ingredients, the result feels pure, honest and true to tradition.

RAMEN KAONASHI

Japanese Shoyu Ramen

Contents

A clean, aromatic Japanese shoyu ramen made completely from scratch with no MSG. This recipe includes homemade tare, clear chicken-based broth, fresh noodles, chashu, aroma oil, and toppings.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 5 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Calories: 700

Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

CHASHU

• 500 g Pork belly or pork shoulder
• 250 ml Koikuchi Soy sauce
• 250 ml Sake
• 30 ml Honey
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 3-4 slices Ginger slices
• 2 cloves Garlic crushed

AJITAMA

• 4 pc Fresh Eggs
• 10 g Katsuoboshi Fish Flakes
• 200 ml Water
• 200 ml Chashu Marinade

RAMEN TARE

• 250 ml Dashi
• 1 pc Kombu
• 3 pc Dried Shitake Mushrooms
• 100 g Mixed Dried Fish Katsuo, Saba, Aji
• 1000 ml Water
• 60 ml Mirin
• 125 ml Regular Soya Sauce
• 100 ml Light Soya Sauce
• 25 ml Thai Fish Sauce
• 10 ml Apple Cider Vinegar
• 50 g Okinawa Sea Salt
• 20 g Honey

NEGI OIL

• 120 ml Water
• 200 g Fat from Fresh Pork Back
• 100 g Leek Negi

CHICKEN SOUP

• 1 pc Whole Chicken
• 1/2 pc Yellow Onion
• 1 pc Ginger Small Portion
• 1 pc Garlic Small Portion
• 1 pc Carrot
• 1 pc Celery
• 10-20 g Katsuoboshi Fish Flakes

NOODLES

• 200 g Top Flour
• 80 ml Water
• 2 g Salt
• 2 g Kansui
• 10 g Corn Starch Small Portion

TOPPING

• 1 pc Leek Negi
• 1 pc Spinach
• 1 pc Chashu
• 1 pc Seaweed
• 1 pc Ajitama

SHOYU RAMEN

• 25 ml Ramen tare
• 1 tbsp Negi Oil
• 130 g Noodles
• 300 ml Soup
• 1 set All toppings

Equipment

• 1 Stock pot
• 1 Sauce pan
• 1 Fine mesh strainer
• 1 Kitchen scale
• 1 Noodle machine
• 1 Instant read thermometer
• 1 Mixing bowls

Method

 

CHASHU

1. Slice pork belly in half
   
2. Set stove to high heat and place pork belly into the fry pan
3. Turn the meat every few minutes to evenly grill all sides
   
4. When all sides are evenly charred, set aside on a plate to cool
5. Combine all ingredients for Chashu Sauce in a pot and boil at medium heat When sauce starts boiling, add pork belly into pot
6. Cover and simmer for 30 min
7. Turn pork belly and simmer another 30 min to marinate the other side
   
8. Remove from pot to cool, and store in the refrigerator

AJITAMA

1. To start preparing Ajitama Marinade, boil water with high heat
2. When water is boiling, add katsuoboshi and switch off the stove
3. Soak katsuoboshi for about 30s
4. Filter katsuoboshi with a strainer and Katsuo Dashi is done
   
5. Combine Katsuo Dashi with Chashu Sauce to complete Ajitama Marinade
6. Heat water to boiling point
7. Add fresh eggs and boil for 6 min without switching off the fire
8. Remove eggs and immediately place into an ice bath, this will create a beautiful yolk colour
9. When eggs have cooled down, peel eggs and soak in Ajitama Marinade
   
10. Store in refridgerator to marinate for at least 1-2 days

RAMEN TARE

1. To make Dashi Combine all dashi ingredients and soak overnight in refrigerator, set aside 250ml to make Ramen Tare
2. Heat dashi in stove with kombu
3. When dashi is beginning to boil, remove kombu (Do not wait until the Dashi is already boiling)
4. Skim any scum from the dashi and continue to simmer for 20 min
   
5. Filter with a strainer and dashi is done
6. Combine the rest of ingredients with dashi and boil (Stir mixture well)
   
7. When mixture boils, turn off the stove and let Ramen Tare cool down before setting aside

NEGI OIL

1. Pour water into fry pan and heat at small-medium fire
2. Slowly add pork fat into pan
3. Break down pork fat into smaller pieces when it starts to cook
   
4. Add more water and continue to fry
5. When water evaporates, pork oil starts to form
6. Continue trying until the pork lard is golden brown in colour
7. Stir occasionally so that more pork oil will come out
   
8. When pork lard is soaked in pork oil, turn off stove and strain pork oil into a bowl
9. Dice leek (negi)
10. Heat pork oil into sauce pan at low-medium fire
11. Add diced negi and stir well from time to time to mix in the flavours
    
12. Continue to cook until negi turns golden brown in colour (Do not use strong fire and make sure negi does not get burnt), the oil will become really fragrant at this point
13. Place sauce pan into an ice bath and stir the mixture to cool

CHICKEN SOUP

1. Chop chicken into smaller pieces for boiling
2. In a large pot, add water (2 to 2.5L) until chicken is fully covered and heat
3. When water starts boiling, remove scum and simmer 2 hours
   
4. Add remaining ingredients into soup and continue to simmer for 1 hour
5. Stop fire and remove chicken from the soup
6. Bring remaining soup to a boil again, add katsuoboshi and stop the fire to soak for 5 min
   
7. Strain Chicken soup into a bowl which is placed into an ice bath to cool and set aside
   

NOODLE

1. Mix water, salt and kansui
2. Slowly mix the 200g of top flour in 2-3 batches
3. Wrap the mixture to prevent drying and let it stand for 30 min
4. Combine mixture by kneading with hands to make into dough
5. Place dough into ziplock bag and press to flatten both sides evenly
   
6. Remove from bag and fold in before placing back into bag and flatten again
7. Repeat doing this until dough is smooth, before removing from ziplock bag and wrapping the flattened dough with cling wrap
8. Let dough stand for 40 min, remove from wrap and use a roller to flatten
9. Cut into 2 long rectangular pieces that fits the noodle machine
10. Flatten dough progressively using the machine
11. Add corn starch to the dough
12. Change machine to noodle dial to cut the noodles
    

RAMEN TOPPING

1. Dice negi into smaller pieces and soak in water for 5 minutes
   
2. Boil water with some salt added and blanch spinach for about 1 min when water is boiling
3. Place spinach immediately into ice bath to cool
4. Slice Chashu (Usually 2-3 pieces is needed for 1 ramen)
   

SHOYU RAMEN

1. Reheat chicken soup in stove
2. Add Ramen Tare (Sauce) 25ml into serving bowl
   
3. Add diced negi into serving bowl
4. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of negi oil, and add some fried negi bits
5. Place 130g of noodles in boiling water and cook for 1 min
6. Once chicken soup boils, add 300ml of soup over Ramen Tare
   
7. Drain noodles well (very important) and add into serving bowl
8. Using chopsticks, re-arrange noodles neatly
9. Add 2 pieces of chashu, ajitama, spinach and seaweed as toppings
10. Finally Shoyu Ramen is ready to serve.
    

Video

Notes

• Keep the soup heat gentle to maintain clarity.
• Adjust the tare strength by adding a little chashu braising liquid.
• Fresh noodles dramatically improve flavor and texture.
• For richer soup, add chicken wings or a small amount of pork bones.
• Store leftover tare and chashu liquid for up to 1 week in the fridge.

Why I Made This Recipe

Many packaged ramen recipes or restaurant bowls rely on MSG or artificial flavor enhancers.
But I wanted to create a recipe that:

• feels balanced and clean — no heavy aftertaste, just clear, smooth flavor
• uses real homemade tare and broth — so you control every element: saltiness, depth, aroma
• recreates the authentic taste of Japanese shoyu ramen, even if you cook abroad

This “from-scratch & no-MSG” shoyu ramen is for those who care about ingredients, technique, and authenticity.

What Makes this Shoyu Ramen “Clean & Deep”

• Homemade tare — a simple mix of soy sauce, mirin, sake and dashi, gently simmered to bring out umami without bitterness
• Clear chicken-based broth — simmered on low heat to extract subtle flavors from bones and aromatics without cloudiness
• Fresh noodles with kansui — giving you that firm yet springy texture that pairs perfectly with clear broth
• Fresh toppings & aroma oil — chashu, ajitama, menma, green onions, and a light garlic/ginger aroma oil for balance

No shortcuts, just time and care.

Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

Tips for Customization & Variations

• Want more depth? Add some chicken wings or a few pork bones to the broth — gets you richer gelatin & body.
• Prefer lighter bowl? Halve the tare, increase broth — results in “light shoyu ramen”.
• Like more aroma? Add a drop of sesame oil or chili oil at the end — but only a drop.
• Vegetar ian / pescatarian? You can skip chashu — use shiitake-kombu dashi + tofu + soft-boiled egg.

Why Fresh Noodles & Homemade Ingredients Matter

Fresh noodles have a different bite and elasticity compared to dried instant noodles.
They absorb broth better, give clearer texture, and match the light but deep taste of the broth.

Similarly, homemade tare and broth let you control saltiness, aroma, fat —
that control is especially important for a no-MSG recipe, where artificial flavor is removed.

Want to Try It? Prepare Your Tools

Because this is from-scratch ramen:
Make sure you use a proper pot, strainer, thermometer, noodle equipment —
good tools make a big difference. If you want, check out which tools I personally use → All tools I use

Especially with homemade noodles — a good rolling pin or noodle machine dramatically changes texture.

After the Bowl: What to Watch & Improve

• If broth tastes flat → next time add more aromatics (onion, ginger), or simmer a bit longer.
• If salty → reduce tare or dilute with extra broth.
• If noodles gooey → check kneading & rest time; ensure correct kansui ratio.

Good ramen at home isn’t about perfection — it’s about tweaking, tasting, and improving over time.

Explore More Ramen Styles

If you like this shoyu bowl, you might also enjoy:

• Classic Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen — creamy pork bone broth
• Rich Tori Paitan Ramen — creamy chicken broth base
• Black Garlic Oil Tonkotsu — deeper aroma & flavor

Mix and match styles — that’s the fun of home ramen.