Heyo!
Recently I made my first shoyu ramen using the Let’s Make Ramen comic as a guide. I did a pork bone stock. Presentation wasn’t amazing, but I thought it turned out pretty solid.
Then I tried a ramen in another town that kind of reset my standards 😀
It was a Beef Shoyu – thin Hakata noodles, tare with soy sauces and chashu, beef lard with negi, lemon onion, house-made yuzu kosho, and turnip.
The broth was on another level.. Way more full-bodied and rich. It really coated the mouth and felt layered and complete. Mine tasted fine, but this had depth I can’t quite replicate or describe.
What usually makes that difference? Emulsification? Higher gelatin extraction? Better tare balance? Any tips are appreciated <3
I’ll attach two photos (mine vs. the restaurant) for context.
by Square_Praline3644
6 Comments
Add more fat, gelatin and msg
Easiest thing to try is an immersion blender to emulsify any present fats. Beyond that, I’m not good enough at ramen myself to give confident advice.
Ciężko przebić w domu ramen z wrocławskiego/łódzkiego Ato 😉
Add gelatine, either in the form of pork knuckles, skin or any cuts high in connective tissue, chicken feet also work great (just cut the nails off at an angle to minimize food waste) if you’re using beef go for really tough pieces and bones with lots of joints/sinew. Generally, the “yucky cheap cuts” produce the best mouth feel or simply add a gelatine packet or agar (pre dissolved). Also for a clear broth I wouldn’t stir it at all during cooking and skim off fat, don’t throw it away but use it for your aroma oil, add 1-2 tbsp of aroma oil (this provides a rich bodied feel and most of the aroma/fat soluble flavours to the dish) it coats your mouth and in terms of ramen texture it is critical for every bowl. Also as another commenter suggested, salt: yes salt is not just for flavour, but use it in the context of tare, tare should compliment the flavour and style of your soup. It increases viscosity and perceived texture of the soup, while most obviously the taste. Also kombu (kelp), dried mushroom and bonito will affect the texture profile of the soup, though I would mainly use them for flavour in your tare.
Recap: gelatine, fat, and salt. Hopefully this gives you some variables to mess around with over the next few times you make ramen
inositol and guanylate
first is fish and second is like shiitake or kelp, similar to msg
apparently they strengthen up each other.
I just recently found out that Bovril has something similar. But you can get some Dashi powder and kelp/shiitake powder. if it’s rich then it’s fatty. probably some quality black pepper helps too both for pork and beef.
Nice