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.
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.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword ajitama, chashu, homemade noodles, japanese ramen recipe, no msg ramen, ramen from scratch, ramen soup, ramen tare, shoyu ramen
Prep Time 1 hourhour
Cook Time 5 hourshours
Total Time 6 hourshours
Calories 700kcal
Author RAMEN KAONASHI
Equipment
1 Stock pot
1 Sauce pan
1 Fine mesh strainer
1 Kitchen scale
1 Noodle machine
1 Instant read thermometer
1 Mixing bowls
Ingredients
CHASHU
500gPork belly or pork shoulder
250mlKoikuchi Soy sauce
250mlSake
30mlHoney
2tbspSugar
3-4slicesGinger slices
2clovesGarliccrushed
AJITAMA
4pcFresh Eggs
10gKatsuoboshiFish Flakes
200mlWater
200mlChashu Marinade
RAMEN TARE
250mlDashi
1pcKombu
3pcDried Shitake Mushrooms
100gMixed Dried FishKatsuo, Saba, Aji
1000mlWater
60mlMirin
125mlRegular Soya Sauce
100mlLight Soya Sauce
25mlThai Fish Sauce
10mlApple Cider Vinegar
50gOkinawa Sea Salt
20gHoney
NEGI OIL
120mlWater
200gFat from Fresh Pork Back
100gLeekNegi
CHICKEN SOUP
1pcWhole Chicken
1/2pcYellow Onion
1pcGingerSmall Portion
1pcGarlicSmall Portion
1pcCarrot
1pcCelery
10-20gKatsuoboshiFish Flakes
NOODLES
200gTop Flour
80mlWater
2gSalt
2gKansui
10gCorn StarchSmall Portion
TOPPING
1pcLeekNegi
1pcSpinach
1pcChashu
1pcSeaweed
1pcAjitama
SHOYU RAMEN
25mlRamen tare
1tbspNegi Oil
130gNoodles
300mlSoup
1setAll toppings
Instructions
CHASHU
Slice pork belly in half
Set stove to high heat and place pork belly into the fry pan
Turn the meat every few minutes to evenly grill all sides
When all sides are evenly charred, set aside on a plate to cool
Combine all ingredients for Chashu Sauce in a pot and boil at medium heat When sauce starts boiling, add pork belly into pot
Cover and simmer for 30 min
Turn pork belly and simmer another 30 min to marinate the other side
Remove from pot to cool, and store in the refrigerator
AJITAMA
To start preparing Ajitama Marinade, boil water with high heat
When water is boiling, add katsuoboshi and switch off the stove
Soak katsuoboshi for about 30s
Filter katsuoboshi with a strainer and Katsuo Dashi is done
Combine Katsuo Dashi with Chashu Sauce to complete Ajitama Marinade
Heat water to boiling point
Add fresh eggs and boil for 6 min without switching off the fire
Remove eggs and immediately place into an ice bath, this will create a beautiful yolk colour
When eggs have cooled down, peel eggs and soak in Ajitama Marinade
Store in refridgerator to marinate for at least 1-2 days
RAMEN TARE
To make Dashi Combine all dashi ingredients and soak overnight in refrigerator, set aside 250ml to make Ramen Tare
Heat dashi in stove with kombu
When dashi is beginning to boil, remove kombu (Do not wait until the Dashi is already boiling)
Skim any scum from the dashi and continue to simmer for 20 min
Filter with a strainer and dashi is done
Combine the rest of ingredients with dashi and boil (Stir mixture well)
When mixture boils, turn off the stove and let Ramen Tare cool down before setting aside
NEGI OIL
Pour water into fry pan and heat at small-medium fire
Slowly add pork fat into pan
Break down pork fat into smaller pieces when it starts to cook
Add more water and continue to fry
When water evaporates, pork oil starts to form
Continue trying until the pork lard is golden brown in colour
Stir occasionally so that more pork oil will come out
When pork lard is soaked in pork oil, turn off stove and strain pork oil into a bowl
Dice leek (negi)
Heat pork oil into sauce pan at low-medium fire
Add diced negi and stir well from time to time to mix in the flavours
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
Place sauce pan into an ice bath and stir the mixture to cool
CHICKEN SOUP
Chop chicken into smaller pieces for boiling
In a large pot, add water (2 to 2.5L) until chicken is fully covered and heat
When water starts boiling, remove scum and simmer 2 hours
Add remaining ingredients into soup and continue to simmer for 1 hour
Stop fire and remove chicken from the soup
Bring remaining soup to a boil again, add katsuoboshi and stop the fire to soak for 5 min
Strain Chicken soup into a bowl which is placed into an ice bath to cool and set aside
NOODLE
Mix water, salt and kansui
Slowly mix the 200g of top flour in 2-3 batches
Wrap the mixture to prevent drying and let it stand for 30 min
Combine mixture by kneading with hands to make into dough
Place dough into ziplock bag and press to flatten both sides evenly
Remove from bag and fold in before placing back into bag and flatten again
Repeat doing this until dough is smooth, before removing from ziplock bag and wrapping the flattened dough with cling wrap
Let dough stand for 40 min, remove from wrap and use a roller to flatten
Cut into 2 long rectangular pieces that fits the noodle machine
Flatten dough progressively using the machine
Add corn starch to the dough
Change machine to noodle dial to cut the noodles
RAMEN TOPPING
Dice negi into smaller pieces and soak in water for 5 minutes
Boil water with some salt added and blanch spinach for about 1 min when water is boiling
Place spinach immediately into ice bath to cool
Slice Chashu (Usually 2-3 pieces is needed for 1 ramen)
SHOYU RAMEN
Reheat chicken soup in stove
Add Ramen Tare (Sauce) 25ml into serving bowl
Add diced negi into serving bowl
Sprinkle 1 tbsp of negi oil, and add some fried negi bits
Place 130g of noodles in boiling water and cook for 1 min
Once chicken soup boils, add 300ml of soup over Ramen Tare
Drain noodles well (very important) and add into serving bowl
Using chopsticks, re-arrange noodles neatly
Add 2 pieces of chashu, ajitama, spinach and seaweed as toppings
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
Mistake
Result
How to Fix
Over-boiling broth or boiling too hard
Broth becomes cloudy or greasy
Maintain gentle simmer; skim early & often
Strong tare flavor
Too salty or overwhelming taste
Use mild tare and adjust to your broth volume
Overcooked or soggy noodles
Texture ruined
Use fresh noodles, boil just 1.5–2 min
Heavy toppings or too much oil
Overpowers subtle broth
Stick to lighter toppings; use sparing aroma oil
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.