Miso Noodle Soup (Miso Ramen)

Chilly weather always calls for a bowl of cozy Miso Noodle Soup….

Miso Noodle Soup a.k.a. Miso Ramen is a delicious Japanese dish where chewy ramen noodles are submerged in a flavorful miso broth, combined with ground pork, bamboo shoots, and the much-required soft-boiled egg.

If any food item can give warm, comforting hugs…it would be this Miso Ramen Noodle Soup.

Miso Ramen Noodle Soup

I started making this Miso Noodle Soup recipe after enjoying many bowls of Miso Ramen at my favorite Japanese ramen places.

The ramen cravings were hitting way too often and it became a problem to show up to a ramen place every time they happen.

Since my husband and I are ramen-obsessed humans (yes, such a category of people exists), we now make them at home and have homemade miso ramen at our finger tips whenever we want, however we want.

Which I do realize just bumped us further up the ramen-obsessed scale…

I whole hearted acknowledge that. Thank you very much.

Here’e the beauty of this Miso Noodle Soup recipe. It gives you all the beautiful flavors of the Miso Ramen that you know and love, yet it simplifies the cooking process.

Making Sapporo miso ramen the authentic Hokkaido way is actually quite a strain (pun intended). Many of us busy people will probably give up on it before even getting started.

My goal is always crazy yummy (maintaining all the lovely flavors), cutting corners when I can, and not cutting them when I cannot.

That’s really what this Miso Noodle Soup recipe is all about!

It is delicious, has the flavor profiles of Miso Ramen you find at many restaurants, but is still a fairly easy miso soup with noodles that you will be able to whip together in your kitchen without bending over backwards.

Miso Ramen Ingredients

Using the right ingredients makes a big difference when making this Japanese Noodle Soup. I highly recommend tracking down these ingredients and not substituting them.

Each ingredient adds its own layer to the complex flavor profile to this homemade miso ramen recipe.

Miso Broth and noodles

• Ramen noodles: Similar to my Chicken Teriyaki Noodles and Mongolian Beef Noodles, we are using ramen noodles in this recipe. You can use fresh ramen noodles (typically found in the refrigerated section or frozen section of Asian grocery stores), or use dry noodles from instant ramen packets. In a pinch, use any type of noodles you can get a hold of.
• Sesame oil: this is a nutty, savory oil that sets your Asian cooking apart! Goes a long way and used heavily in Asian cuisine. Do NOT substitute with vegetable oil or another type of plant oil.
• Mirin: Japanese sweet rice wine, similar to sake but with lower alcohol content and higher sugar. Avoid substitute!
• Soy sauce: note that all sauces are slightly different. Use good quality sauces for good quality Ramen Broth.
• Miso paste: Fermented soybean paste. It has a salty, umami complex flavor that is a game-changer for soups.
• Light or low-sodium chicken broth: I prefer using light chicken broth for noodle soup, and always low-sodium chicken broth. Alternatively, use vegetable broth. To get more of a seafood taste in your miso soup, use seafood broth or add dashi (flavoring made with bonito flakes) to water.
• Chili bean sauce: called tou ban jiang in Mandarin, it a chili paste with fermented beans in it. I highly encourage using just a teeny bit of this even if you don’t like it spicy. It’s okay to omit but the soup will taste less like the Japanese restaurant Miso Ramens without it. If really you can’t find this, simple use chili crisp or chili oil as a substitute.

Most likely you will have to get the chili bean sauce from an Asian grocery store or online. As for the rest, most regular mainstream grocery stores should carry them! I have also added affiliate links for convenience.

Toppings

You can add any toppings to top off your Miso Noodle Soup, but here is what I recommend and typically make to go along with this recipe because they are a good combination of delicious and easy:

• Ground pork: boneless pork shoulder or tenderloin cut into smaller pieces works as well; seasoned with black or white pepper.
• Soft-boiled egg: authentic recipes call for seasoning the eggs but I am skipping that step. The soft-boiled egg adds great flavor and texture that is special to ramen dishes.
• Bamboo shoots: I use canned, drain water from a can. You can also specifically get menma, which is seasoned and fermented bamboo shoot traditionally used in ramen. They are harder to find and even harder to make, so I just use bamboo shoots for the ease for it.
• Green onions: chopped into small pieces.

How to Make Homemade Miso Ramen

Step 1: Boil Ramen noodles and Eggs

Boiling the ramen noodles is fairly straightforward. Follow the package instructions to boil them, and then drain and set aside. They should be al dente when done – they get mushy when overcooked.

If ramen noodles are done before the soup is done, rinse them with cold water so they don’t continue to cook or get stuck together.

For the soft-boiled egg (or hard-boiled, if runny yolks are not your thing), follow this guide to perfectly boil the egg to your desired consistency.

step 2: sear ground pork with seasoning

Sear the ground pork under high heat in a large pot, adding mirin, sesame oil, soy sauce, and black or white pepper. I recommend a large pot because we will use this same pot to make the soup (I love not having to bust out an extra pan).

When pork is done, remove and set aside. Leave all the drippings in the pot – they become the base for the miso broth.

step 3: make miso broth

Hey, you already have the pot out! Yes, use the same pot…no need to clean it as the pork juice will conveniently give flavor to the miso ramen broth.

Add the miso broth ingredients to the pot and boil. Let simmer under medium heat. Taste and see if you need to adjust the spice level by adding some chili bean paste.

Step 4: Assemble and slurp!

Once the broth, ground pork and noodles are ready, it’s time to assemble your miso noodle bowl!

Add the noodles and toppings into individual serving bowls, then pour soup all over. Serve immediately because you don’t want noodles to sit in the soup and get soggy.

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy!

You can find us eating ramen noodle soup anytime of the year, but there’s something cozy about consuming it in the winter months. So like clockwork, our ramen consumption doubles in January and February.

Happy cooking/eating/noodle-slurping! 😋

Variations and substitutions

This homemade miso ramen makes a great foundation for a noodle dish customized to your heart’s desires! Consider the following edits to make it your own:

• Experiment with aromatics: Before cooking the miso broth ingredients, saute some aromatics in the pork juices (after removing the cooked ground pork). You can use fresh ginger, chopped shallots, sliced scallions, minced garlic, or even whole garlic cloves.
• Add veggies and fungi: So much possibility here! Different vegetables add different textures and tastes, so try adding corn, bean sprouts, baby spinach, cabbage etc. Shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, even oyster mushrooms work really well too!
• Use protein of choice: Alternatives to ground pork include ground beef, thinly sliced beef, ground chicken, small chicken slices, shrimp…the world’s your oyster. Not a meat fan? Try tofu or gluten, or even add another soft-boiled egg in there.

How to store leftovers

When storing leftover Miso Noodle Soup, I highly encourage storing the noodles separately from the soup in the refrigerator.

If noodles are left in the soup, it will become soggy.

However, feel free to store the egg, ground pork, and bamboo shoots with the soup in the fridge.

For reheating, you can reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍

Other Noodle Recipes

Not only do we love this Miso Noodle Soup, we love noodles in general! Here are some of the other favorites!

• Instant Pot Chicken Ramen
• Simple Thai Noodle Bowl
• Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
• Vietnamese Noodle Bowl
• Wonton Noodle Soup (by my blogger friend, Christie from Christie at Home!)