Are you ready to take the plunge and explore how to use Japanese ramen noodles? Authentic traditional ramen is always best and using ramen (non-fried, soft) noodles gives your bowl of ramen that extra touch of authenticity. Yes- you can enjoy a bowl of restaurant-style ramen at home! We can show you how:
The Equipment
Start with a 32 oz bowl for your ramen. The higher the lip the better to hold the broth at the bottom. Ramen fans consume the broth as part of assembling a spoonful to eat. More noodles and toppings are the key here. And a big bowl will do wonders. You need chopsticks and an Asian soup spoon with a flat bottom to hold all that goodness.
The Noodles
Japanese ramen comes in a wide variety of forms, but, the most common is probably in the freezer case in your local Asian market. Some like these are soft, non-fried, and shelf-stable. Non-fried, authentic, Japanese ramen noodles will hold up better over the course of the meal.
Authentic Japanese ramen noodles have a good chew, are made with the best ingredients, and cook in about two minutes. Using good noodles gives your dish a better flavor as the gluten in the noodle is still pliable. Japanese ramen noodles also are great at absorbing but not falling apart with the broth for a tastier bite.
Best Uses for Ramen Noodles
Ramen noodles aren’t just for soup. You can use them in a stirfry, salad, or even okonomiyaki. Below are some of our favorite fresh ramen noodles recipes from our staff:
- Easy Chicken Katsu Ramen
- Creamy Miso with Crispy Mushrooms
- Black Garlic Shio Ramen
- Malaysian Ramen Salad
- Salty-Sweet Asparagus Bacon ramen bowl
Need some great ideas for toppings?
Every ramen bowl should have at least one of each of these: Shoyu egg and chashu pork. Other ideas of what to add can be found here. And if you are adventurous you can see all of our recipes here.
Check out our complete line of ramen products and noodles in our shop
