Ramen is easily one of the best dishes we can tuck into after a stressful day at work. Even better on a cold night, ramen warms the soul and fills the belly. However, we’re pretty sure everyone would agree with us when we say that ramen is only as good as the seasoning mix used to make it.
Without a good ramen seasoning mix, ramen noodles can be quite boring. In fact, we’d go as far as saying that you can’t eat them without a flavorful mix of different herbs and spices. Luckily for us, one of the greatest things about a ramen noodle dish is its versatility to work with different flavors.
So much so, today, we’re going to show you how to make ramen seasoning at home. We’ll look at the best flavor combinations you can use to make the most amazing ramen seasoning.
Without further ado, let’s take a look!
What Is Ramen?
If you’ve been living under a rock and you’re not entirely sure what ramen is, let us start by giving you a quick explanation as to what it is. Ramen is a traditional Japanese noodle dish made using Chinese noodles, a variety of meats and vegetables, and a seasoning mix.
Eaten all over Japan, ramen is flavorful, quick and easy to make, and versatile. It can be made using a wide range of different ingredients and served as a noodle soup or with a broth.
More often than not, ramen is made with Chinese wheat noodles and is served in a flavorful broth. A typical ramen broth will consist of miso, soy sauce, and manma. Popular toppings include chicken, pork, nori, scallions, and eggs.
What Is Ramen Seasoning?
In America, most people choose to eat instant ramen noodles. In a packet of instant ramen, the noodles will come with a small sachet of herbs and spices. This sachet is what most people refer to as ramen seasoning.
In this sachet, you’ll find a strong combination of different flavors that have been mixed together to create one seasoning. In restaurants, ramen isn’t served like this. Different spices are mixed together but they don’t come in a sachet.
Therefore, different places might serve ramen with different seasoning mixes. Some examples of flavors we can expect from ramen seasoning include beef flavor, chili flavor, soy sauce flavor, and pork flavor. Most restaurants will use a seasoning mix that has a blend of herbs and spices.
Why Do We Need Ramen Seasoning?
Ramen seasoning is absolutely crucial when it comes to giving ramen noodles flavor. Whether it be a seasoning mix or a seasoned broth, ramen seasoning gives bland wheat noodles their impressive flavor.
Without ramen seasoning, ramen noodles just wouldn’t be as flavorful, spicy, comforting, or delicious. Luckily for us, the possibilities when it comes to making a tasty ramen seasoning are endless.
What Is Ramen Seasoning Made Out Of In Japan?
In Japan, the most common ingredients used to make ramen seasoning include things like:
- Black pepper
- Miso
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Soy sauce
- Sesame seeds
- Red chile pepper
- Onion powder
- Soybean paste
Not all of these ingredients are easy to get hold of in the United States, so the recipes we’ll look at might not incorporate all the ingredients above. Instead, they might include some substitutes that offer a similar flavor.
How To Make Ramen Seasoning
Now we’ve looked at what ramen seasoning is, why it’s important, and how it’s usually made, we can start looking at how you can make it at home. Today, we’re going to show you two different ramen seasoning recipes.
Whilst both recipes show you how to make ramen seasoning, one follows a vegan diet. In terms of flavor, it doesn’t matter which recipe you choose as they both taste great.
Homemade Ramen Seasoning
This first recipe shows you how to make a simple, yet impactful homemade ramen seasoning using staple pantry ingredients. This seasoning is perfect for a bowl of homemade ramen or instant ramen. You could even use it as a meat rub.
Ingredients
- Chicken bouillon cubes: 3
- Garlic powder: 2 tsp
- Onion powder: 1 tsp
- Parsley: 1 tsp
- Cumin: ½ tsp
- Ginger: ½ tsp
- Black pepper: ½ tsp
- Kosher salt: ½ tsp
Instructions
Making this seasoning mix is incredibly easy. All you have to do is measure out all the ingredients above and mix them together in a bowl. One of the best things about this seasoning recipe is that you can add more or less of each ingredient based on your preferences.
If you like your ramen with a stronger kick, you could add ½ or ¼ tsp of cayenne pepper.
Homemade Vegan Ramen Seasoning
The second recipe we have for you shows you how to make a vegan ramen seasoning mix. Once again, this recipe calls for basic ingredients. Here are the ingredients you need to make it.
Ingredients
- Garlic powder: 1 tbsp
- Onion powder: 1 tbsp
- Onion flakes: 1½ tbsp
- Parsley: 1 tbsp
- Green onions: 1 tbsp
- Coconut sugar: 1 tbsp
- Ground ginger: 1 tsp
- Sesame seeds: 1 tsp
- Chili powder: 1 tsp
- Paprika: 1 tsp
- Fine sea salt: 2 tsp
- Ground black pepper: ¼ tsp
Instructions
Like the first recipe we had for you, all you have to do to make this ramen seasoning is mix all the ingredients together. You can add cayenne pepper if you like a kick of heat to your ramen.
This ramen can be used to season your ramen noodles, in a noodle soup, or in a ramen broth.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, two recipes that show you how to quickly and easily make ramen seasoning. Both recipes we’ve shown you will help you make a flavorful and versatile ramen seasoning that can then be used to add plenty of flavor to your noodles.
In this post, we’ve also told you a bit more about what ramen seasoning is, why it’s important, and how it’s traditionally made in Japan. All that’s left for you to do now is make a ramen seasoning to go with your ramen noodles.
We know you’ll love what both recipes have to offer.
So, if you’re planning a trip to Japan anytime soon, do exactly that - plan! Read up on all of the amazing things to do here to make the most of your time. I can bet that you’ll still return home feeling like you could’ve explored much more.
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