Prep time
1 hour
Cook time
5 minutes
Course
Main
Skill level
Intermediate
Season
Fall, Winter
Serves
4 to 6
Much like the hot dog, you can pretty much find instant ramen anywhere you go in America. Any grocery store, gas station, or corner market has a pack of ramen somewhere on its shelves. The beauty of instant ramen is its availability, low cost, and ease of preparation. Whether you're a broke student on a budget, or hiking 10 miles into the backcountry, instant ramen provides a lightweight, calorie-dense, sodium bomb that only requires hot water to prepare.
Why Make Fresh Ramen Noodles?
I’d wager that anyone reading this has at some point in time eaten a pack of chicken-flavored ramen, but have you ever had a bowl of fresh ramen noodles? Like canned tuna versus sushi, fresh, made-from-scratch ramen noodles are a different beast from their dehydrated counterparts. Comparing the two is like whitetails to elk; they’re just not the same thing, and it’s not fair to judge one based on the other.
Ramen takes on countless forms and styles. The broth and toppings are open-ended—hot dogs, fish cakes, venison, eggs, pork belly, whatever, it’s all fair game. But what defines ramen are the noodles. Ramen noodles are wheat-based, similar to udon noodles, but with additional alkalinity. The high alkaline content gives ramen noodles their distant texture and durability. They are springy and hold up to scalding hot broths without becoming oversaturated and falling apart.
Unlike instant ramen, fresh ramen noodles can be a chore to find. Specialty markets near metropolitan areas are your only safe bet. I try to avoid city traffic at all costs, so when I want fresh ramen noodles, I make my own.
Use the Right Ingredients for the Best Ramen Noodles
There are only five ingredients in ramen noodles: bread flour, vital wheat gluten, baking soda, salt, and water. It is crucial to use bread flour and vital wheat gluten, and prepare the baking soda before making this recipe. Those three ingredients will define the noodles.
The bread flour has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour, and when combined with the vital wheat gluten, will give the noodles a lot of elasticity and their distinct chewiness. The baking soda will be heated and change from sodium bicarbonate to sodium carbonate. This is a stronger alkaline compound and will give the noodles their defining texture.
In addition to the specialty ingredients, a digital scale is necessary. You will need the scale to determine the “doneness” of the sodium carbonate, and portioning out the remaining ingredients is better done by weight than volume. It is also recommended that you use a pasta roller; the dough is very dense and can be a chore to roll out by hand.
How to Make Sodium Carbonate
To make the sodium carbonate (aka baked baking soda), preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with foil and weigh, record the weight. Add the 300 grams of baking soda and spread out evenly. Bake in the oven for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every half hour or so. Weigh the sheet pan and baking soda after 2 hours, deducting the weight of the pan. The baking soda is converted to sodium carbonate when it is reduced in weight to 200g.
Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Be careful to avoid getting the sodium carbonate on your skin or eyes, it’ll cause irritation. Flush with water if contact is made. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, this will last indefinitely.
Ingredients
- 500g bread flour
- 5g vital wheat gluten
- 200g water
- 5g salt
- 7g sodium carbonate (baked baking soda, see above)
Special equipment
Preparation
- Mix water, salt, and sodium carbonate. Stir to combine and set aside.
- In a stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, combine flour and vital wheat gluten. Mix on low for a minute to combine.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and add a quarter of the liquid mixture. Allow the flour mixture to absorb the liquid, then add another quarter of the water. Continue until all water is added. The mixture should look pebbly. Turn off the stand mixer, remove the bow, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- Press dough into a ball with your hands and divide it into two equal portions. Wrap one portion with plastic film to prevent drying while you work on the other one.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough thin enough to run through the largest setting on your pasta roller. Run the dough through the pasta roller 6 to 8 times on the thickest setting, decrease the thickness, and run it through 6 to 8 more times. The more passes the better, you can’t really overwork this dough. Fold the dough over and run back through the thickest setting 6 to 8 more times. Decrease the thickness on the pasta roller and continue to roll out dough until it is about 1.5mm thick (1/16”). Note: This ramen noodle dough is drier and stiffer than most pasta dough. Avoid adding in extra flour during the rolling process, this will make it even harder to roll out. If the dough is crumbling or tearing in the pasta roller, lightly mist with cold water and fold the dough over itself.
- Lightly dust with flour, shake off excess, fold over loosely, and wrap with plastic. Place in the fridge while you work on the second half of the dough.
- Once all the dough is rolled out, dust with flour and shake off excess. Fold the dough back and forth over itself until it is in a neat stack that is no wider than your knife. Use a sharp, large knife to cut the stacked dough length-wise into noodles about the same diameter as the thickness.
- Once all the noodles are cut, gently shake the noodles to separate and dust with flour. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. You can cook these noodles immediately, or refrigerate them for a few days.
- To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook for 2 to 2.5 minutes, stirring often to prevent noodles from sticking to each other. Strain the noodles and serve immediately.
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Prep time
1 hour
Cook time
5 minutes
Course
Main
Skill level
Intermediate
Season
Fall, Winter
Serves
4 to 6
Much like the hot dog, you can pretty much find instant ramen anywhere you go in America. Any grocery store, gas station, or corner market has a pack of ramen somewhere on its shelves. The beauty of instant ramen is its availability, low cost, and ease of preparation. Whether you're a broke student on a budget, or hiking 10 miles into the backcountry, instant ramen provides a lightweight, calorie-dense, sodium bomb that only requires hot water to prepare.
Why Make Fresh Ramen Noodles?
I’d wager that anyone reading this has at some point in time eaten a pack of chicken-flavored ramen, but have you ever had a bowl of fresh ramen noodles? Like canned tuna versus sushi, fresh, made-from-scratch ramen noodles are a different beast from their dehydrated counterparts. Comparing the two is like whitetails to elk; they’re just not the same thing, and it’s not fair to judge one based on the other.
Ramen takes on countless forms and styles. The broth and toppings are open-ended—hot dogs, fish cakes, venison, eggs, pork belly, whatever, it’s all fair game. But what defines ramen are the noodles. Ramen noodles are wheat-based, similar to udon noodles, but with additional alkalinity. The high alkaline content gives ramen noodles their distant texture and durability. They are springy and hold up to scalding hot broths without becoming oversaturated and falling apart.
Unlike instant ramen, fresh ramen noodles can be a chore to find. Specialty markets near metropolitan areas are your only safe bet. I try to avoid city traffic at all costs, so when I want fresh ramen noodles, I make my own.
Use the Right Ingredients for the Best Ramen Noodles
There are only five ingredients in ramen noodles: bread flour, vital wheat gluten, baking soda, salt, and water. It is crucial to use bread flour and vital wheat gluten, and prepare the baking soda before making this recipe. Those three ingredients will define the noodles.
The bread flour has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour, and when combined with the vital wheat gluten, will give the noodles a lot of elasticity and their distinct chewiness. The baking soda will be heated and change from sodium bicarbonate to sodium carbonate. This is a stronger alkaline compound and will give the noodles their defining texture.
In addition to the specialty ingredients, a digital scale is necessary. You will need the scale to determine the “doneness” of the sodium carbonate, and portioning out the remaining ingredients is better done by weight than volume. It is also recommended that you use a pasta roller; the dough is very dense and can be a chore to roll out by hand.
How to Make Sodium Carbonate
To make the sodium carbonate (aka baked baking soda), preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with foil and weigh, record the weight. Add the 300 grams of baking soda and spread out evenly. Bake in the oven for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every half hour or so. Weigh the sheet pan and baking soda after 2 hours, deducting the weight of the pan. The baking soda is converted to sodium carbonate when it is reduced in weight to 200g.
Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Be careful to avoid getting the sodium carbonate on your skin or eyes, it’ll cause irritation. Flush with water if contact is made. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, this will last indefinitely.
Ingredients
- 500g bread flour
- 5g vital wheat gluten
- 200g water
- 5g salt
- 7g sodium carbonate (baked baking soda, see above)
Special equipment
Preparation
- Mix water, salt, and sodium carbonate. Stir to combine and set aside.
- In a stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, combine flour and vital wheat gluten. Mix on low for a minute to combine.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium and add a quarter of the liquid mixture. Allow the flour mixture to absorb the liquid, then add another quarter of the water. Continue until all water is added. The mixture should look pebbly. Turn off the stand mixer, remove the bow, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- Press dough into a ball with your hands and divide it into two equal portions. Wrap one portion with plastic film to prevent drying while you work on the other one.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough thin enough to run through the largest setting on your pasta roller. Run the dough through the pasta roller 6 to 8 times on the thickest setting, decrease the thickness, and run it through 6 to 8 more times. The more passes the better, you can’t really overwork this dough. Fold the dough over and run back through the thickest setting 6 to 8 more times. Decrease the thickness on the pasta roller and continue to roll out dough until it is about 1.5mm thick (1/16”). Note: This ramen noodle dough is drier and stiffer than most pasta dough. Avoid adding in extra flour during the rolling process, this will make it even harder to roll out. If the dough is crumbling or tearing in the pasta roller, lightly mist with cold water and fold the dough over itself.
- Lightly dust with flour, shake off excess, fold over loosely, and wrap with plastic. Place in the fridge while you work on the second half of the dough.
- Once all the dough is rolled out, dust with flour and shake off excess. Fold the dough back and forth over itself until it is in a neat stack that is no wider than your knife. Use a sharp, large knife to cut the stacked dough length-wise into noodles about the same diameter as the thickness.
- Once all the noodles are cut, gently shake the noodles to separate and dust with flour. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. You can cook these noodles immediately, or refrigerate them for a few days.
- To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook for 2 to 2.5 minutes, stirring often to prevent noodles from sticking to each other. Strain the noodles and serve immediately.