Hello! In this recipe, I will show you how to make the Original Japanese Ramen also known as Chuka Soba 中華そば.

Chuka Soba actually means Chinese Soba when translated from Japanese. This term originated when Chinese style noodles came to Japan in early 1900s to inspire the creation of Japanese Ramen and was the commonly used term when referring to Ramen in the olden days. A lot of shops still refers their Japanese ramen as Chuka Soba today.

My ramen recipe recreates this old-school style of Chuka Soba, which is inspired by Higashi Ikebbukuro Taishou-ken, which is one of the oldest ramen shop in Japan.

The main component of this ramen is in the soup base, which uses a lot of ingredients including pork, chicken, duck, dried fish and vegetables boiled for almost 6 hours to give depth to the taste. Chashu sauce was used to make the ramen tare, which is a traditional method. I enhanced it to increase the umami of the sauce.

This is a 2-part series where the soup base, tare and noodle is also used to make Tsukemen つけ麺 (Japanese Dipping Noodle)

How to make Tsukemen Japanese Dipping Noodle (つけ麺の作り方)

Hope you enjoy the recipe, visit my youtube channel if you do! Please also subscribe if you wish to watch more ramen recipe videos and feel free to leave a comment for request of any ramen recipes. Thank you!

How to make Chuka Soba (Original Japanese Ramen)

Ingredients

for CHASHU

• PORK LOIN 1kg
• USUKUCHI SHOYU 250ml
• KOIKUCHI SHOYU 200ml
• WATER 250ml
• COOKING SAKE 50ml
• SLICED GINGER 1pc
• SHIRONEGI

for SAUCE

• CHASHU SAUCE 400ml
• KOIKUCHI SHOYU 50ml
• THAI FISH SAUCE 30ml
• MIRIN 50ml
• RICE VINEGAR 10ml
• HONEY 1tbsp
• SALT 5g
• KOMBU 1pc
• KATSUOBUSHI 1handful

for SOUP

• PRE BOILED PORK BONE 3pc
• PRE BOILED PORK LEG 2pc
• PRE BOILED CHIKEN FEET 400g
• FRESH DUCK NECK 200g
• WATER 4L
• YELLOW ONION
• CARROT
• GINGER
• SHIRONEGI
• GARLIC
• DRIED NIBOSHI 50g
• DRIED SHITAKE MUSHROOM 3pc
• GRINDED PEPPER 1tbsp
• MINCED PORK 150g

for TOPPING

• CHASHU
• NARUTO
• SHIRONEGI
• MENMA
• AJITAMA

for CHUKA SOBA

• RAMEN SAUCE(TARE) 30ml
• GRIND PEPPER
• NOODLES 180g
• RAMEN SOUP 300ml
• ALL TOPPINGS

STEP 1 : CHASHU(チャーシュー)

1. Pork loin place into cooking pot.

2. Add usukuchi shoyu 250ml, koikuchi shoyu 200ml, water 250ml, cooking sake 50ml, sliced ginger and shironegi into a pot.

3. Start stove at medium heat.

4. Once boiled, change to low heat and simmer 30min.

5. Turn meat and simmer another 30min.

6. After 30min, stop fire, remove chashu and set aside.

7. The remaining sauce is used for making ramen sauce(tare) in the next step.

STEP 2 : SAUCE(タレ)

1. Add chashu sauce 400ml, koikuchi shoyu 50ml, thai fish suce 30ml, mirin 50ml, rice vinegar 10ml, honey 1tbsp, salt 5g and kombu 1pc into cooking pot.
Start stove at medium heat.

2. Add katsuobushi 1handful before sauce boils.

3. Once sauce boils, stop fire and set aside to cool before straining.

4. Strain the chashu sauce. Sauce is done.

STEP 3 : SOUP(スープ)

1. Add pre boiled pork bone 3pc, pre boiled pork leg 2pc, pre boiled chicken feet 400g and fresh duck neck 200g into a large cooking pot.

2. Add water 4L until it covers the meat. Start boiling at high heat.

3. Remove scum when soup is boiling.

4. Cover partially and boil for 2hr.

5. After 2hr add more water, yellow onion, carrot, ginger, shironegi, garlic, dried niboshi 50g(Remove the head and innards from niboshi before using) and Dried shiitake mushroom 3pc.
Add more water until everything is fully coverd.

6. Continue to boil at medium heat for 2hr.

7. After 2hr, add water back to same depth.

8. Add grinded pepper 1tbsp and minced pork 150g.

9. Continue to boil 1.5hr at medium heat.

10. Stop fire and strain the soup. Finally soup is done, total boiling time is about 5.5hr.

STEP 4 : TOPPING(トッピング)

1. Cut chashu into thick slices.

2. Cut naruto into slices.

3. Topping is done.

STEP 5 : CHUKA SOBA(中華そば)

1. Pre heat ramen bowl.

2. Add ramen sauce(tare) 30ml and grind pepper into a bowl.

3. Boil noodles 180g for 4min.

4. Add soup 300ml into a bowl.

5. Add noodles and all toppings into a bowl. Chuka soba is done.

Make your own ramen

If you’d like to make authentic ramen like this recipe, you can make your own with all the ingredients and cooking utensils!
You can buy the ingredients for ramen RAMEN KAONASHI STORE.

Basics of Making Ramen: Cooking Utensils for Japanese Craft Ramen