Chicken Ramen Soup
This chicken ramen soup is the cozy, slurpable bowl you make when you want noodle shop flavor without leaving the house. A gingery, garlicky broth, tender shredded chicken, and springy noodles do all the heavy lifting, and it comes together in about 45 minutes with simple grocery store ingredients. Every bowl gets a jammy soft-boiled egg, fresh green onions, and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot 5 to 6 quarts
- Medium saucepan for the soft-boiled eggs
- Microplane grater for the ginger and garlic
- Instant-read thermometer to check the chicken
- Spider strainer or slotted spoon for lowering and lifting the eggs
- Large bowl for the ice bath
- Chef's knife and cutting board
- Two forks for shredding the chicken
- Ladle and tongs
- Four ramen bowls
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts 450g, about 2 medium breasts
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 ounces cremini or shiitake mushrooms 225g, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger grated
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
- 4 baby bok choy halved lengthwise and rinsed well
- 3 packages instant ramen noodles 3 ounces each, seasoning packets discarded
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 4 large eggs
- ice cubes and cold water for the ice bath
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- chili crisp for serving, optional
Instructions
- Mince the garlic, grate the ginger, slice the mushrooms 1/4 inch thick, cut the carrots into thin matchsticks, halve and rinse the bok choy, and slice the green onions. Set the ramen noodle blocks aside and discard the seasoning packets. Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Lower the eggs in with a spider strainer and cook for 6 1/2 minutes for jammy yolks (7 minutes for firmer). Transfer to the ice bath for 5 minutes, then peel under cool running water.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and cook 5 to 6 minutes until golden brown. Reduce heat to medium, add the garlic and ginger, and stir constantly for 30 to 45 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth and water, scraping up browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the soy sauce and mirin, then bring to a gentle boil over high heat.
- Lower the chicken breasts into the broth, return to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 14 to 18 minutes until the thickest part reaches 165°F. Rest the chicken 5 minutes, then shred with two forks. Skim any foam from the broth.
- Add the carrot matchsticks to the simmering broth and cook about 4 minutes until crisp-tender.
- Add the ramen noodle blocks, pressing them down to submerge. Simmer 2 minutes, loosening with tongs, then nestle in the bok choy and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot and stir about 1 minute to warm through. Stir in the toasted sesame oil, then taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper as needed.
- Divide the noodles, carrots, and bok choy among 4 bowls. Ladle the hot broth and chicken over the top, tuck in two soft-boiled egg halves per bowl, and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Add chili crisp if desired and serve right away.
Notes
- Always discard the ramen seasoning packet: it tastes dusty and is extremely salty, and your homemade broth tastes much better without it.
- Use low-sodium broth and soy sauce so you stay in control of the salt, since the broth reduces slightly and the soy sauce adds more.
- Do not skip browning the mushrooms; those golden edges add savory, almost meaty depth to the broth.
- Time the eggs precisely: a timer and an ice bath are the secret to jammy yolks and easy peeling.
- Pull the noodles a touch early, since they keep cooking in the hot broth and slightly firm noodles in the pot become perfect noodles in the bowl.
- Rest the chicken before shredding so the juices stay inside the meat instead of on the cutting board.
- Cook noodles separately for leftovers so they do not soak up all of your broth; store broth, chicken, and vegetables up to 3 days in the refrigerator and freeze without noodles or eggs up to 3 months.
- Finish with the sesame oil off the heat, since toasted sesame oil is delicate and its flavor is strongest when stirred in at the end.
- Variations: whisk 1 to 2 tablespoons white miso into a ladle of hot broth and stir back in off the heat for miso ramen, add chili garlic sauce for spicy ramen, swap in boneless thighs simmered about 20 minutes, or use 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken as a shortcut.
- For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth, replace the chicken with cubed firm tofu, and top with a soft-boiled egg or marinated mushrooms.
Nutrition
Serving: 1BowlCalories: 540kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 40gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 230mgSodium: 1100mgPotassium: 850mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 60IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 20mg
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