Tsukemen vs Ramen
The main difference between tsukemen and ramen is that tsukemen separates the components, featuring thicker noodles that are dipped into a rich, concentrated sauce before eating. A traditional bowl of ramen serves the noodles together with a lighter soup. The benefit of tsukemen is that the noodles don’t get soggy, allowing you to enjoy the chewy texture of the thick noodles while customizing each bite with your perfect combination of dipping sauce and toppings.
Why This Recipe Works
Grating the aromatics (onions, carrots, ginger, garlic) and using ground pork makes it possible to quickly brown them, creating a deeply flavorful broth. Baking soda raises the pH of the ingredients, which speeds up Maillard browning significantly, giving this quick tsukemen broth a rich, meaty flavor in minutes. Bone broth ramen gets its unctuous mouthfeel from the collagen in cartilage and connective tissues breaking downinto gelatin. Adding powdered gelatin is a faster way to achieve this texture. To make the rich broth even creamier, the fat and soup base are emulsified with Saikyo miso using an immersion blender. Powdered shiitake mushrooms and katsuobushi are added at the very end to amplify the umami of the dipping broth.
Ingredients
Ground Pork - I love using ground pork as the base for our dipping sauce because it browns quickly and releases plenty of flavorful fat. If you’re going for a lighter version, ground chicken works, but you might want to add a touch more oil to compensate for the lower fat content. Onion - Onions provide the foundational sweetness that balances out the savory elements in my tsukemen broth. Grating it (along with all the other aromatics) allows you to achieve caramelization much faster than chopping. Carrot - Adds subtle sweetness and vegetal character to the soup, complementing the earthy umami of the meat. Ginger - Brings a bright, aromatic warmth that cuts through the richness of the fat, giving the soup base a balanced and invigorating kick. Garlic - Provides a deep, savory foundation that ties all the other flavors together. I like to get the garlic nearly burnt as you get the most complexity from it. Baking Soda - This is my secret weapon for quick tsukemen broth. It raises the pH of the aromatics, which speeds up the Maillard reaction(the browning process that creates deep, complex flavors in the soup base). Chicken Stock - This is the primary liquid for this dipping sauce. I prefer chicken stock for its clean yet rich flavor, but you could use any flavorful liquid, such as pork stock, vegetable stock, or mushroom broth. Gelatin - This is how we cheat time. Traditional ramen broths get their luxurious silky texture from hours of cooking bones and cartilage. Adding gelatin to the soup mimics that unctuous mouthfeel in a fraction of the time. Katsuobushi - These smoked, dried, and fermented skipjack tuna (sometimes translated as “bonito”) flakes deliver a smoky, umami-packed punch that amplifies the broth’s umami thanks to its natural abundance of amino acids and inosine monophosphate. Dried Shiitake Mushroom - Brings a deep earthy aroma and is another umami powerhouse thanks to its high concentration of guanosine monophosphate. Saikyo Miso - This mild, sweet miso lends creaminess and a subtle sweetness to the ramen dipping sauce without making it taste like miso. The naturally occurring lecithin in the soybeans used to make miso also helps to emulsify the fat and soup. White Pepper - Adds a gentle spice and warmth that doesn’t overpower but highlights the broth’s complexity. Fresh Ramen Noodles - For tsukemen, you want thick, chewy noodles that can stand up to the concentrated dipping broth. While fresh noodles are ideal, you can use dried noodles - just look for thicker varieties labeled as “tsukemen” or “thick” ramen noodles. Other types of noodles will also work in a pinch. Just look for thicker yellow noodles such as lo mein. You can also try my ramen noodle recipe if you want to try your hand at making homemade noodles. Scallion - These provide both flavor and color contrast. I like to mince the white parts and add them to the broth so they get partially cooked. Then, I chop up the greens and sprinkle them onto the noodles.
How to Make Tsukemen Broth
To make the soup base for our tsukemen dipping sauce, we’ll build a rich, meaty base with ground pork and a blend of grated aromatics. Grate the onion, carrot, ginger, and garlic directly into a large frying pan, then add the ground pork, salt, and baking soda. The baking soda is crucial here; it raises the pH level of the mixture, which accelerates the Maillard reaction. Mix everything together, breaking up the pork with a spatula or wooden spoon, and cook the mixture over medium-high heat. The aromatics and pork will release their liquids, so continue stirring and crumbling until the meat is cooked and the liquid evaporates. Once the pork mixture is dry and crumbly, add a bit of vegetable oil to the pan. Stir-fry until the pork and aromatics to develop a deep brown color. Don’t rush this part - those browned bits on the bottom of the pan (what the French call “fond”) are flavor gold. If you notice things getting too dark too quickly, lower your heat slightly, but you want to take this as close to burnt as possible without actually charring the ingredients. Once you’ve developed a good color, add your chicken stock and sprinkle gelatin over the surface. Use your spoon to scrape up all those browned bits from the bottom of the pan - that’s where the flavor lives. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to maintain a steady simmer for about 10 minutes to concentrate the flavors. While your broth develops, let’s prepare the umami boost. In a spice grinder, crumble in your dried shiitake (trimmed of tough stems) and add the katsuobushi. Grind them into a fine powder - this will dissolve seamlessly into your broth, adding incredible depth. This mixture will provide a smoky, earthy umami punch that defines the signature Japanese flavor. If you don’t have a grinder, use a small blender or go the manual route with a mortar and pestle. At this point, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the fresh ramen noodles according to the package directions. While the noodles cook, strain your broth through a mesh strainer, pressing on the solids to extract maximum flavor. This ensures a smooth, flavorful soup base without any distracting textures. Add the Saikyo miso and white pepper, then blend everything with an immersion blender to emulsify the miso and broth. Emulsifying creates a creamy, cohesive broth, blending the fat from the pork with the soup base to give it body and a satisfying mouthfeel. Reheat the broth gently over low heat to ensure it’s piping hot and ready for dipping. When the noodles are cooked, drain them. You can plate them up right away, but if you want to improve the texture of the noodles, wash them with cold water to remove as much excess starch from the surface of the noodles as possible. You can then reheat them by pouring over a kettle of boiling water. Shake the noodles to drain off any excess water. Serve your tsukemen ramen with the hot broth divided between two separate bowls and plate the noodles separately, topping them with your favorite toppings.
Toppings
Here are some ideas for tsukemen toppings - these are the elements that can transform your Japanese dipping noodles from good to unforgettable, and you can click on the links to see my recipes for these.
Proteins
Chashu - Tender, melt-in-your-mouth slices of braised shoulder or belly add a rich, savory flavor while the fat slowly melts into the broth as you dip, adding extra richness. Kakuni - Similar to chashu but, cut into thick slabs and braised until it’s melt-in-your-mouth tender. I usually like to torch the surface of the kakuni to heat it up. Chicken Chashu - A lighter alternative made with chicken breast and thigh meat. Naruto - These white and pink swirled fish cakes add a playful pop of color and a bouncy texture.
Eggs
Ajitsuke Tamago (Ramen Egg) - Soft-boiled eggs marinated in soy sauce, mirin, and sake with a jammy yolk that adds a marvelously creamy texture to the ramen. Onsen Tamago - Slow-cooked in a low-temperature water bath, onsen eggs (a.k.a. sous vide eggs) have a custard-like texture that melts into the broth, adding a luxurious silkiness to every dip.
Vegetables
Menma - Fermented bamboo shoots that add a subtle crunch and umami. Blanched Spinach - Adds a deep green color and mild sweetness that makes Tsukemen feel a little healthier. Shiraga Negi - Literally meaning “white hair scallions,” you can splay scallion stems out into sheets and cut them into thin strings before soaking them in ice water. This tames their pungency while causing them to curl into a beautiful garnish. Wood Ear Mushrooms - Rehydrated and briefly blanched before being cut into strips, they add an interesting texture and subtle earthiness.
Accents
Nori - A sheet of dried seaweed, either whole or shredded, adds a briny flavor that deepens the broth’s savory notes with a mineral-rich ocean flavor. Toasted Sesame Seeds - Nutty and aromatic sesame seeds, add a subtle crunch and a warm, toasted flavor to your tsukemen, enhancing its earthy umami. Garlic Chips - Thinly sliced garlic fried until golden and crispy. Adds both texture and intense flavor. Spice - If you want to spice things up, add some chili oil or your favorite chili paste to bring the heat.
How to Eat Tsukemen?
Unlike other types of ramen, where you’re racing against time to finish the noodles before they absorb all of the soup and get soggy, tsukemen allows you to be more deliberate, giving you time to contemplate each bite of noodles dipped in a bowl of tsukemen broth with the perfect mixture of toppings. Just grab a small tangle of noodles with your chopsticks and dip them in the hot soup along with any toppings you want to eat in that bite. The idea is to coat the noodles with the concentrated sauce to lube them up before you slurp them down. If you have any leftover soup at the end, you can soup wari (スープ割り) or dilute it with hot water and enjoy every last drop of those intense flavors you’ve created as a comforting soup.
📖 Recipe
