Craving ramen but can't hop on a flight to Tokyo? NZ Herald Travel has shared a shoyu chicken ramen bowl recipe that gets you a proper Japanese-style noodle soup in well under an hour — and most of that is gentle simmering rather than fussing.
The recipe is a solid entry point for anyone intimidated by homemade ramen. Instead of a multi-day tare and broth project, it leans on a litre of good chicken stock or bone broth, boosted with a quick aromatics base: sesame oil, sautéed onion, garlic and ginger pastes, then seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, Sriracha and a splash of rice vinegar. That combination gives you the salty-sweet-savoury depth that defines shoyu ramen without hours of prep.
From there it's assembly territory. Thin egg noodles go into two bowls, the seasoned broth gets poured over, and each serving is topped with shredded cooked chicken, tender baby bok choy, halved eggs (jammy yolk recommended — boil for around six to seven minutes, then chill), and quarters of nori. A scatter of spring onion, toasted sesame seeds and a drizzle of chilli oil finish it off.
A few practical notes if you're cooking this at home. The quantities serve two, so scale up as needed for a group. It's also flexible: leftover roast chicken works perfectly in place of a freshly cooked breast, and you can adjust the Sriracha and chilli oil to taste. Toasting the sesame seeds for a minute in a dry pan makes a real difference — don't skip it.
Why does a recipe sit in a travel section? Because food is often the fastest route to a destination's culture. Ramen is quintessentially Japanese, and while Tokyo's ramen alleys — think Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho or the Ramen Street inside Tokyo Station — are worth the trip in themselves, being able to recreate a credible version at home keeps the holiday spirit alive between trips. It's also useful pre-trip homework: knowing the difference between shoyu (soy sauce-based), miso and tonkotsu broths makes ordering in Japan a lot less daunting.
For travellers, this is the kind of dish that turns a cold evening into a mini getaway. Serve it with chopsticks, eat at the counter if you have one, and put your phone away for 20 minutes — instant Japan, no boarding pass required.